Rodania
Rodania (formerly called Rodana) is a Swiss/Belgian watchmaker active since the 1930s. The company was founded by the Baumgartner family in Pieterlen before moving to Bienne, Lengnau, and then Grenchen.
Hans Baumgartner, Roskopfuhren, and Joba
The company that would become Rodania was created in 1930 by Hans Baumgartner in the small town of Pieterlen in German-speaking Switzerland. He had been in charge of the Wasa ebauche factory there, which was founded in 1925 by his brothers Fritz and Ernst (or Ernest) Baumgartner and Hans Sieber. He managed the factory after Ebauches SA took over between 1929 and 1932 after his brothers left. Despite the direct involvement of this holding company, Wasa faced issues as a "dissident" that resisted the control of Fidhor and skirted export controls through a French buyer, leading to bankruptcy and closure in 1935.
Even while still running Wasa, Hans Baumgartner registered Roskopfuhren AG on October 31, 1930. Like Wasa, this new company was located in Pieterlen but it focused on producing watches rather than ebauches. As implied by the name, Roskopfuhren focused on the Roskopf design for inexpensive movements rather than the jeweled anchor style. Company administrators were Paul Glocker (who had founded Ebosa five years earlier and would run that company for decades) as president, and Hans Baumgartner himself. The company moved to Kapellstrasse 54 in Grenchen on February 23, 1932, with Glocker and Baumgartner still in charge. Glocker later married Marie Baumgartner, Hans' sister, and the companies remained close for decades.
Roskopfuhren AG was renamed Joba SA on July 15, 1935, with Paul Glocker leaving to focus on Ebosa. Joba produced watches under the Miki and Joba brands at first, adding the Rocar brand name by 1938. The company added Grety Baumgartner (nee Schwab) and Greta Kirchhofer to management on January 1, 1937. Joba relocated to Lengnau on October 8, 1937 and was recapitalized to 100,000 francs on April 16, 1940.
Joba SA of Longeau/Lengnau returned to the Basel Fair with the Rodana brand in 1942, having started advertising watches using that name the previous year. The company was known as "Rodana SA, Montres Joba SA" in 1943, and simply as Rodana SA at the fair in 1944. A complete range of contemporary watches are seen in a 1946 advertisement.
Rodana
Rodana SA is said to have been incorporated on October 9, 1930, as the company celebrated in 1980 on their 50th anniversary. But the company appears to have been initially incorporated as Siwa AG in Bienne/Biel and modified to become Rodana SA on June 10, 1932. Siwa AG Bienne was registered on April 15, 1932 as a continuation of Joseph (or Josef) Rudolf, Neuchâtel, with Joseph Rudolf of Selzach remaining as president and Walter Ramseyer of Eggiwil as secretary. Siwa was located at Rue de la Garre 34 in Bienne. Joseph Rudolf was removed as president on October 3 of that year, just four days after Orwa SA was registered by the non-Baumgartner partners from Wasa.
Rodana SA failed and was transferred to Quartierstrasse 17 in Grenchen on April 30, 1935. Former secretary Walter Ramseyer of Eggiwil was in charge of liquidation along with Albert Kohler of Wynigen. Rodana SA was removed from the register on August 30, 1935. The creditors of the company (along with those of Mendel Weinzieher of Geneva) were warned in November of that year to submit their statements, including Gnomon of Sofia, R. M. Halpern of Montreal, Karl Hrabak of Prague, and J. Wiener of Bielsko. Rodana SA in Liquidation was removed from the books on May 10, 1937, suggesting that the bankruptcy proceedings were complete.
Rodania
In 1953, Rodana became Rodania.
References
- 1930-1980: 50 years Rodania, Europa Star, 1980