Buren Watch Company
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Buren
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Buren Watch Company (also spelled Büren) was a Swiss watch manufacturer located in Büren an der Aare in Canton Bern just south of Grenchen and east of Bienne.
History
The Buren Watch Company was created in 1898, following the acquisition of Fritz Suter & Cie, at the Swiss town Büren an der Aare (canton Bern), by the London company of H. Williamson Ltd. There were produced pocket watches of all types and table clocks. Due to the existing rail link H. Williamson Ltd. invested and expanded further in Büren and developed the site into an international branch. From 1916 Henry Williamson used the signature "Büren Watch Co."
Then the H. Williamson Ltd. had to close due to a stock market crash. However, a group of Swiss and an Englishman provided the capital necessary to be able to continue the watch production under Swiss management and with the new name Uhrenfabrik Buren AG.
In 1966 the Buren Watch Company was sold to the Hamilton Watch Company. Buren quickly became the manufacturer of the majority of Hamilton watches, eliminating US production. Buren continued working on new movements, notably Calibre 82, a high-beat movement. But the Buren name was retired before it was finished. After Buren/Hamilton was taken over by the SSIH in 1971, the company rapidly failed. In 1972 came the end of the Buren Watch Company, with all assets sold.
Today the brand name is owned by the Schweizer Uhren Editionen (Swiss Watches Editions) in Hamburg, which again manufactures watches under this label. Partly with old movements, but to a large extent also with ETA movements.
Literature
- The history of watchmaking in Buren / Switzerland (Die Geschichte der Uhrmacherei in Büren / Schweiz); Author: Hans Kocher, ISBN 3-7667-1031-1
Weblinks
- Schweizer Uhren Editionen: Büren (German)
- Büren an der Aare, Wikipedia