Martel Watch

Martel Watch Company was a Swiss watch movement company in the 20th century.

Georges Pellaton's Martel Factory

Founded in 1911 in Le Locle by Georges Pellaton-Steudler, Martel Watch Co. was a specialty maker of repetition and chronograph movements. This category was rapidly rising, especially in Le Locle, and Martel soon became a favored producer. The company is first listed in Indicateur Davoine as Georges Pellaton-Steudler, maker of "Répétitions et Chronographes" at 5 Rue du Chemin-Blanc in Le Locle. On June 23, 1914, the Martel Watch Co. was established in Ponts-de-Martel by Pellaton-Steudler, though the Le Locle office remained active as well through the 1920s. Georges was the son of famed tourbillon creator Albert Pellaton-Favre and brother of Le Locle watchmaking school director Jämes-Cesar Pellaton.

Martel's initial production facilities were modest and distributed throughout Ponts-de-Martel. The famous headquarters building was then only one floor above a garage, and this is where ebauches were produced. These were shipped to a different factory above Mathey-Tissot at Rue de l'Industrie for finishing. Ponts-de-Martel is located near Le Locle, home of Zenith and Universal, and the company long shared some production and management with those companies.

As early as 1917, Martel began specializing in chronograph movements, working with Universal for a movement that the company boasted was the world's first wrist chronograph. These were mono-pusher movements with the chronograph pusher integrated into the crown as on pocket chronographs. In 1932, Universal launched what they claimed was the world’s first two-pusher wrist watch chronograph. With its dual-subdial design and pushers at 2:00 and 4:00, these remain the template for all future chronograph watches. They were powered by the Universal 281 movement, produced in Les Ponts-de-Martel possibly by Martel. A year or two later, in 1933 or 1934, Universal launched a three-subdial chronograph. Zenith and Universal named these chronograph designs compur and compax, a name which has stuck ever since.

In 1937 the Martel factory was unified, with the garage below replaced by new workshops. Georges Pellaton (then known as Pellaton-Dubois after his second marriage) retired in 1940 as Universal Genève took a larger stake in the firm. Management of the company was taken on by his three sons, Georges, René, and Raoul. Pellaton senior died in April 1950.

Martel and Universal

Universal Genève provided funding to completely renovate the building in 1940, and two floors and an attic were added. The facade of the building then carried the name "Universal", and the company proclaimed that chronograph movements produced there were built in-house. This was facilitated by Universal president Raoul Perret, who served on the board of Martel and Zénith as well.

The next great advancement for Martel, with partners Universal and Zenith, was the introduction of a wrist watch chronograph with a calendar complication. Launched around 1942, the new four-subdial design added a dial at 12:00 to show the date, two adjacent windows for day and month, and optional moon phase indicators were also added. By this time, Universal had built their own facility in Les Ponts-de-Martel, and history is unclear as to which company, Universal or Martel, is responsible for these movements.

In 1952 an annex was added to the factory with new modern equipment. In the 1950s, Martel began marketing watches with their own brand name, both time-only and chronograph models. One notable model in the mid 1950s was the Martel Victorious, an automatic movement with date in a waterproof case.

Universal built their own new factory near Geneva in 1956, dramatically reducing demand from Martel.

Zénith and Martel

Through the 1950s, Zenith had begun using Excelsior Park chronograph movements from Saint-Imier and Le Sentier as well, but they continued to rely on Martel. Eventually, in 1959, Zenith purchased Martel and absorbed its expertise, movement designs, and production facilities. Throughout the 1960s, the Martel factory was still called Martel Watch locally but was treated as a branch of Zénith. It became part of Movado-Zenith-Mondia when that group was founded in 1969 and Zenith Time after the 1972 purchase of the group by Zenith of Chicago.

The Martel factory slowly dwindled in staff until January 1976 when the decision was made to close the factory. By this time it employed just 36 people (down from 100 at its peak) and all were offered new positions in Le Locle. The remaining equipment was liquidated at auction in August. A maker of meat pies was to take over the factory in 1977 but this move was delayed by a fire in January of that year. Although the building was damaged, it was able to open later in the year.

Through the Universal and Zénith periods, the Martel factory was lead by three sons of the founder, Georges, René, and Raoul. Raoul Pellaton (1902-1977) died in April 1977. René died in 1982, and his estate bequeathed the annex of the factory building to the village in 1991.

Martel Calibres

• Cal. 1016 - 10.5 ligne chronograph (for Universal Genève)
• Cal. 1226/1326/1426 - 12.25/13/14.3 ligne chronograph (for Universal Genève)
• Cal. 1416/1516 - 14.3/15 ligne chronograph (for Universal Genève)
• Cal. 1916 - 19 ligne chronograph
• Cal. 749 - 14 ligne chronograph (aka Universal 285 and Zenith 146)

See also

• A Short History of Martel Watch Co and Zenith Chronographs