Lucien Tièche

Lucien Tièche (1857?-1926) was a businessman who took over the Langendorf Watch Company following the death of Charles Kottmann in 1890, facing the ire of striking workers in the 1890s. Tièche formed his own firm in 1903, registering the Roamer brand in 1908. It was taken over by Meyer & Stüdeli in 1916, who made this brand famous in the 20th century.

Lucien Tièche came from Reconvilier, where he was a shopkeeper. He came to Langendorf in 1881 to work in the watch factory there. Arriving on April 4, he swiftly rose to become a close associate of Charles Kottmann and joined the management committee of the factory by 1887 and was named technical director.

Charles Kottmann died suddenly on January 16, 1890. The board of directors promoted Tièche to manage the business, and he continued to mechanize production to increase productivity. Watch movements were produced on a moving assembly line, and an in-house dial and case making capability was soon added.

Tièche was not loved or respected by the workers, especially after he took a hard line against them during the general strikes of 1894. He was called a "carpetbagger" and accused of mistreating workers in the (predominately socialist) newspapers. He responded to the demands of workers who had walked out by threatening to fire the rest of the unionized workers. It was reported the following year that Euseb Obrecht-Kessler of the Société d'Horlogerie de Granges, Peter Obrecht of Obrecht & Cie, and Adolf Schild-Hugi of Gebr. Schild & Co. were allowing Tièche to bear the brunt of the negotiations that they would later benefit from.

The strike was ultimately resolved, with Tièche remaining in charge of the Langendorf factory, but the damage to his reputation was severe. The call went up to bring the Kottmann family back to manage the factory, and the sons of Dr. Auguste Kottmann, younger brother of Charles Kottmann, were the ideal successors.

Following the arrival of Ernst and Rudolf Kottmann in 1901, Tièche left the firm to start his own watch handling business. Known as L. Tièche-Gammeter, it was founded in 1903 in Solothurn and continued to bear the brunt of worker animosity. The company was taken over in 1916 by Meyer & Stüdeli, which was founded by former Langendorf factory workers. The most lasting contribution of Tièche is the Roamer brand, which he registered in 1908 and would continue through the 20th century.

Lucien Tièche died on December 4, 1926 in Bern. He was survived by his widow Elise (née Gammeter) and daughter Bertha Tièche.