Fabrique d'Ébauches Vénus

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See also Venus Watch for the various watches branded with this name

Fabrique d'ébauches Vénus was a respected producer of watch movements. It was absorbed into Valjoux, which is today part of ETA in the Swatch Group.

Venus Watches versus Vénus Movements

See Also: Venus Watch

The Venus brand name was used on watches produced in La-Chaux-de-Fonds as early as 1902 by Paul Arthur Schwarz and Olga Etienne-Schwarz. The Vénus name was also used on radium dials produced in the 1920s.

Earlier models feature a line representation of the Venus de Milo torso and head and were produced under the auspices of the movement maker using third-party components. Some watches are also co-branded with other companies.

In the 1970's, the movement maker produced watches marked "Venus La-Chaux-de-Fonds" which feature a horizontal line extending from the "V" across the rest of the name and a circular logo above which resembles a ring or loupe. This incarnation of the brand ceased production in the late 1970's as Ebauches SA was absorbed into ETA and later Swatch Group.

The brand was re-launched in 2011 in Geneva using quartz movements from Ronda.

History

Fabrique d'ébauches Vénus was established in 1924 in Moutier, Canton Bern, Switzerland by Paul Berret, his brother Jean-Baptiste, and Otto Schmitz. The Berrets came from Cornol, where their family had a long history of watchmaking, but the brothers had grown up in Delémont, where their father was a wine merchant. After his technical studies, Paul Berret moved to Granges to work as a technical manager for the large firm of A. Schild SA. But he soon saw an opportunity to establish his own ebauche-making business. On May 1, 1924, Berret and partners purchased the Moutier factory formerly owned by Victor Spozio, establishing Vénus. The factory was officially registered on May 15.

Jean-Baptiste Berret left the company the following year to return to Delémont, where he lived to be over 90. He was replaced by Kurt Henggeler, a watchmaker from Unterägeri who would soon found the Hera brand. Otto Schmitz was likely one of the namesake Schmitz Frères, casemakers of Granges, who also supplied Breitling in later years.

Vénus movements are marked with a five-pointed star, reflecting the meaning of the company name. The use of the acute e is ubiquitous in period advertisements, though it us typically not used today when referring to the company.

Vénus was quickly absorbed into Ebauches SA in 1928, with Sydney de Coulon added to management alongside Paul Berret, Otto Schmitz, and Kurt Henggeler. But Henggeler was busy with his watchmaking activities, merging Hera with Madewell and Argo in 1929, and Schmitz was likely similarly occupied with his businesses. Schmitz and Henggeler resigned in 1933, with Paul Perret joining de Coulon and Berret in management.

Vénus produced its first chronograph movement, Cal. 103, in 1933. Venus became famous for chronograph movements, many of which were used by high end Swiss brands. The Venus column wheel chronograph calibres are widely regarded today as being the finest ever produced and remain in great demand. Among these are the Cal. 170, Cal. 175, Cal. 178, and Cal. 179, a three-pusher split-seconds chronograph movement. Indeed, these rattrapante movements are among the only available in the classic period and are much in demand today.

Vénus was further integrated into Ebauches SA in 1947, with a new board of directors composed of Paul Berret, Sydney de Coulon, and Otto Ramseier. Paul Berret died on November 22, 1949, at the age of 61.

Venus also produced cam switching movements. The Venus 180/190/200 series were all cam-switched. But these low-cost movements did not provide sufficient liquidity and Venus was absorbed by rival Valjoux in 1966. The then-new Venus 188 movement was the basis for the Valjoux 7730 and its technology lived on in the Valjoux 7750, still one of the most popular chronograph movements.

Closure of Vénus and ETA in Moutier

The Vénus factory on Rue du Viaduc 21 was expanded in 1971, though it remained fairly small compared to Ebauches SA's large operations in Fontainemelon and Grenchen. Despite the currency crisis of the 1970s and the transition to quartz, Vénus remained in operation in Moutier. In 1980, parent company Ebauches SA took over the factory of Pierce Watch Co. The Rue des Fleurs 17 site was the historic home of Pierce, dating back to its origins as Léon Lévy Frères, but the original buildings had been replaced by a modern low-rise factory in the late 1960s. This was used as a lathe and components supplier by Ebauches SA and its successor ETA in the early 1980s.

Although the company had just recently expanded there, ETA (the reorganized and consolidated Ebauches SA) abruptly ceased operations in Moutier in 1983. The Pierce and Vénus factories were closed and all workers transferred to Grenchen, forced into early retirement, or laid off.

Within a few years, with mechanical movements once again in demand, ETA's attention turned to Moutier. The Pierce factory was reopened and remains in operation today by ETA as their "Usine Les Golats", Site 16. Another modernized, though historic, factory was also available in Moutier. The ETA "Usine Graitery" at Rue de la Paix 90 was opened soon after as ETA's second factory in Moutier. Although not directly linked to Vénus, these two factories can be seen as a continuation of Paul Berret's legacy in the town. The original Vénus Ebauches factory at Rue du Viaduc 21 still stands and is the home of Imhof as of 2022.

Old stock of Venus movements has been depleted in recent years, leading to a run-up in prices for watches with these movements. Jaquet SA became expert at refinishing Venus calibres and, under new name La Joux-Perret, has built up capability to re-create parts and even entire movements if needed.

Reissue

The popularity and beauty of Venus calibres has led to resurrections of the type in the 2000's. In 2000, a number of Venus 179 and 185 movements were reissued by Panerai, Parmigiani, and others. Similarly, in 2004, Maurice Lacroix reissued a series of 150 classic Venus 175 movements for their Masterpiece series, re-branding them Calibre ML 36.

Calibres

See also Category:Venus calibres

See Also

External Links

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