Busga
Busga was a Swiss watch manufacturer originally called Buess & Gagnebin. The company was located in La Chaux-de-Fonds and specialized in watches for women. The company is said to have been founded in 1870.
Buess & Gagnebin took over the business of Schoepf-Courvoisier from his widow.
In 1913 the Busga Watch Co. name was officially adopted by Buess & Gagnebin. A shortened form of the partners' last names, Busga would be the company's primary name from then on.
The company was officially known as Buess, Gagnebin et Cie. after the 1928 investment of 15,000 francs by American Morton Ollendorf.
In December 1934 the company was incorporated as Montres Busga SA (Busga Watches Ltd). The company was administered by president Fritz Bliss of Zurich, Dr. Max Hollinger of St-Gall, and Charles Buess of Aarau. Emma Perret of La Sagne gained signing authority. The company was located at Rue du 1er Août 39 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. In 1938 Emma Perret replaced Charles Buess on the board. Share capital was increased from 10,000 to 50,000 francs in 1941 as new shares were issued, and it was increased further to 100,000 francs in 1946 with another share issue. The company moved to Rue Alexis-Plaget 34 in 1949.
Fritz Bliss married Emma-Irma Perret on July 7, 1950. This followed the death of his first wife, May Wintsch (1898-1949). In 1952, following the death of Max Hollinger, Fritz and Emma Bliss took over sole control of the firm.
A very unusual keyring watch was introduced in 1958 at the Basel Fair: The "Capitol Alarm Timer" was an alarm watch shaped as an automobile tire that featured a digital hour readout. A similar design in a more conventional pendant was the 1959 "Capitol Line".
Fritz Bliss died on January 18, 1973 at the age of 74. Emma Bliss-Perret died May 4, 1987, at the age of 93. Alfred Perret-Perret worked for the firm for 35 years but was found dead after hiking in 1955. He and Emma were the children of Jules Perret-Benoit (1865-1951).
Personnel
- Fritz Bliss (August 31, 1898-January 18, 1973)
- Emma-Irma Bliss-Perret (1894-May 4, 1987)
- Louis-Alfred Perret-Perret (October 31, 1888-June 13, 1955)