Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux
Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux was a dissident maker of balance springs in La Chaux-de-Fonds operating from 1905 through 1929. The company was officially registered as La Nationale-Spiraux SA in November 1905 (though even then it used the name "Fabrique Nationale"), briefly represented Paul Perret's Invar springs, and merged with the defunct competitor G.-A. Ulrich (formerly Bucher-Moser) in 1914. The company was purchased by the FSR cartel and merged with Stella and W. Ruch & Cie.
La Nationale-Spiraux
La Nationale-Spiraux was officially formed on November 7, 1905 at Rue de la Charrière 37 in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The company was founded by Alphonse Gogler (1866-1945), a well-known watchmaker who took over the Indicateur Davoine directory in 1902, styling himself a publisher and industry leader. Gogler was a founding member of the Société Suisse des Spiraux in 1898, which was formed by watchmakers to resist the control of the Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies cartel, which had been formed a few years earlier. The creation of La Nationale-Spiraux reflected Gogler's impatience with the growth of SSS and his desire to break the cartel's control.
La Nationale-Spiraux was a Société Anonyme funded with 30,000 francs, enough to come up to speed quickly but not nearly the 125,000 francs used to set up SSS. The workshop was located at Rue de la Charrière 37, the same building used by SSS since 1902. The industry group closed that shop in 1908, moving all manufacturing to Geneva, and it is likely that Gogler's operation was a continuation of production, perhaps using the same suite and machinery. This location was previously used by Eugene Cattin and would later be used by Eugène Couleru's Montres Octo and by Fritz Jetter to produce watch cases under the Diala name in the 1920s and 1930s.
The Annuaire shows the balance spring operation at Charrière 37 as Société Suisse des Spiraux in 1902 and 1903 but as "Fabrique Nationale des Spiraux" starting in 1904. This suggests a de facto change for the operation, which was certainly transitioned from the industry group to Gogler's company by the end of the following year. It also lists the operation (and many other spring factories) under the "Réglages" category, suggesting that these workshops provided regulation as well as manufacturing services.
Paul Perret's Invar Springs
In 1898, La Chaux-de-Fonds regulator and inventor Paul Perret announced that he would exclusively manufacture balance springs using the Invar nickel-steel alloy invented by Charles-Edouard Guillaume and himself. He set up a factory in Fleurier to produce these springs, which promised to upset the entire balance spring industry. Although Perret actively advertised them for sale that year, it is likely that it took a few more years to perfect the material and manufacturing process, and his company was bankrupt in 1902. But production continued despite stiff resistance from the FSR cartel, which took over the operation in 1906, two years after Perret's death.
It is surprising, therefore, that Annuaire lists "Spiraux compensateurs Paul Perret" under Société des Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies in 1903. Perhaps this is an error, since this listing falls under Fabrique Nationale des Spiraux from 1904 through 1907. It is more likely that Perret's factory, which was reorganized as an SA on December 23, 1902, was re-capitalized with an investment from the Société Suisse des Spiraux or Gogler himself. The Fleurier factory remained in operation after Perret's death under Albert Welter with a board made up of respected businessmen and national councillors Henri Wittwer and Edouard Ledermann.
It is likely that Gogler's Fabrique Nationale served as a depot and distributor for Paul Perret's Invar balance springs
Starting in 1908, Perret's springs were advertised under Fabriques de Spiraux Réunies, which had purchased the company in 1906.
and was quickly expanded by taking over the operation of the similar firm Bucher-Moser & Cie in 1916. At the same time, the company brought in Gustave Ulrich to manage operations, and Gogler and Ulrich would work together in many businesses afterwards. The company was reorganized as Fabrique Nationale de Spiraux in 1916.