Busga

Busga was a Swiss watch manufacturer active from at least 1883 through 2001. Founded by Jules Schoepf, it was later called Schoepf-Courvoisier and then 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.

Jules Schoepf

A direct line can be traced from watchmaker Jules Schoepf, registered in the 1883 business survey, to Montres Busga. Jules Schoepf was originally from Enges in Canton Neuchâtel but lived in La Chaux-de-Fonds by that year and his workshop was located at Rue du Premier Mars 14. In 1887, Schoepf registered a trademark of a dog's head over the initials JS in a scroll.

Schoepf was officially listed as Schoepf-Courvoisier in July 1888, as this was his alliance name after marrying Laure Courvoisier.

Following the death of Jules Schoepf, his widow took over the business in March 1903. The company was now listed at Rue du Parc 31. Charles-Otto Schoepf, also of Enges and living in La Chaux-de-Fonds, was given power of attorney.

Another trademark, Ródano, was registered in May 1910.

Buess & Gagnebin

Charles Buess of Aarau and Achille Gagnebin of Renan took over the company on July 1, 1911. Now officially called Buess & Gagnebin, Successeurs de Vve Schoepf-Courvoisier, Charles-Otto Schoepf was removed at this time. The firm continued operation at Rue du Parc 31 and continued to use the JS trademark.

The Busga Watch Co. name was added in December 1913 by Buess & Gagnebin. A shortened form of the partners' last names, Busga would be the company's primary name from then on. The Busga and Colma trademarks were registered separately in February 1927.

Busga was officially allowed to trade in gold, silver, and platinum waste by the Federal Council in 1916 along with Laplace & Humbert-Droz of Geneva. This suggests that the company was actively engaged in producing high-end precious metal watches.

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, though the couple had divorced by this time. Marcel Bliss of Zurich was given power of attorney in 1959.

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).

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".

Emma-Irma Bliss-Perret left the company in April 1967 with Marcel Bliss taking her place. His wife Christiane Bliss was added to the board in 1969 along with Charles-André Wintsch of Geneva.

Fritz Bliss died on January 18, 1973 at the age of 74, with Marcel Bliss taking his place as president of Busga. The company moved to Rue Avocat Bille 4 in 1978. Following the death of Charles-André Wintsch, Jean-Claude Bliss and Florence Horni-Bliss were given power of attorney and the company was moved to Rue Avocat Bille 2.

Emma Bliss-Perret died May 4, 1987, at the age of 93. The firm moved to Rue du Signal 8 in 1988.

Montres Busga was liquidated starting in 2000 by Christiane Bliss, Jean-Claude Bliss, and Florence Horni-Bliss following the death of Marcel Bliss. The liquidation was completed the following year.

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)