Cormoret
Cormoret is a small village located very close to Courtelary in the Saint-Imier valley of the Jura Triangle. It is best known as the home of the Gala watch factory as well as tooling makers Technos (not the watch brand) and W. Meyer Fils. Much of the watchmaking in Cormoret was initiated by the Favre and Liengme families.
A small village, the population of Cormoret was just 641 around 1900, 815 by 1920, and drifted back to 734 in 1930, 626 in 1950, and just 490 today.
Watchmaking in Cormoret
Watchmaking did not develop in Cormoret until the late 18th century, and even then the village was more focused on agriculture and their stone quarry. Mills were established along the "torrent" of the Suze River in the 17th century, and these were later also used for metalwork. The first watchmaker in Cormoret was Jean-Henry Comtesse of Sonvilier, who settled in the village late in his life.
After the Napoleonic wars, Cormoret followed other Saint-Imier valley towns into watchmaking. Around 1850, watchmaking came using Japy Frères ebauches, with Lépine and key winding watches coming later. The mill was demolished and re-developed by the Favre family into a watchmaking factory around 1880, and this laid the foundation for the Gala brand that would follow. The Liengme family was also making watches at this time, and the two family firms, Favre Frères and Liengme & Cie., developed the trade through the turn of the century.
L. & W. Favre was a new firm created around 1900 to exploit an alarm movement invented by Louis-Eugène Favre. The company was absorbed into Favre Frères in 1918. A similar situation occurred with the ebauches business of Serge and Jacques Liengme, which was absorbed into Liengme & Cie. ten years later. Liengme took over Favre Frères in 1938, consolidating most watchmaking in Cormoret into a single firm and focusing on the Gala and Veto brands.