Valjoux

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Valjoux is a Swiss ebauche movement manufacturer, currently part of the Swatch Group's ETA division.

Foundation as Reymond Frères SA

The predecessor to Valjoux was founded on July 1, 1901 by the brothers Jean and Charles Reymond in Les Bioux. The company was called J. & C. Reymond Frères and specialized in watchmaking mechanisms. In May 1904 the company moved just east of Les Bioux to Vers-Chez-GrosJean in l'Abbaye and is renamed Reymond Frères, with a focus simply on watchmaking.

On January 29, 1910, a special meeting is held to incorporate the Fabrique d'Horlogerie Reymond Frères SA as a public limited company. The firm is again listed in Les Bioux, with John Reymond and Charles Reymond making up the board of directors. The company raises 65,000 francs capital and specified the it specializes on complicated watch movements.

The company specialized on chronograph movements. In 1910 it moved to a factory building maintained by the municipality of Les Bioux.

The company's famous column wheel chronograph movement, Calibre 22, debuted in 1914 and lasted in production for sixty years. But it was larger than desirable for wrist watch use. The military, involved in the First World War, required reliable bracelet chronographs. Thereafter the 13-ligne chronograph Calibre 23 (diameter 29.33 mm, height 5.85 mm) was developed, which in 1916 came to the production stage and soon ticked in the wristwatches of very different manufacturers (for instance Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin). The production lasted nearly sixty years, and until 1974 about 125,000 ebauche movements of this type were made.

The name "Valjoux"

Reymond Frères trademarked the brand "Valjoux" (short for Vallée de Joux) and cursive R (for Reymond) mark in 1912. By this time the company was specializing in chronographs, rattrapantes, and shaped movements. By 1923, Reymond was producing complete finished movements in addition to ebauches.

The generational change took place with the name change in 1929: The Reymond's sons Marius and Arnold took over the company, which was called "Valjoux SA" from then on. In the 1930 years the transition from pocket watch to wristwatch movements was performed. In 1944 the incorporation into the Ebauches SA followed, and the primary focus on chronograph movements was retained.

Merged into the Swatch Group

The company still delivers its high-quality chronograph movements, including the classic Valjoux 7750, to many companies, such as: IWC, Omega, Breitling, TAG Heuer, Chronoswiss, Sinn, Temption, or Mühle.

The company has now been entirely absorbed by the Swatch Group, the world's largest watch group. This also expresses in the name of the current calibers, adopted by Valjoux, such as the Valjoux 7750, now called ETA 7750; and similarly for the other chronograph calibers.

Timeline

• 1901, January 1 - Under the corporate name Reymond-Golay et Fils, François-Henri Reymond-Golay and his son Charles-Ami Reymond founded a wine and cheese business in Les Bioux
• 1901, July 1 - Under the corporate name J. and C. Reymond Frères, John-Auguste Reymond and Charles-Ami Reymond founded a company for the manufacture of watchmaking mechanisms
• 1904, May 31 - J. & C. Reymond Frères moves from Les Bioux to the locality of Vers-Chez-Gros-Jean in L'Abbaye, rename the company Reymond Frères, and refine the business reason to simply "watchmaking"
• 1910, January 29 - SA de la Fabrique d'Horlogerie Reymond Frères, a public limited company, is incorporated in Les Bioux; its purpose is the manufacture, trade, and sale of watches, specializing in fabrication of ebauches, finishing, and mechanisms of complicated pieces; share capital was 65,000 francs; the board of directors were John Reymond and Charles Reymond
• 1910, February 21 - The former Reymond Frères limited company and Reymond-Golay Fils wine and cheese business are deleted
• 1912, November 14 - Reymond Frères SA trademarks the name "Valjoux" as well as the script "R" brand
• 1925, March 14 - The board of directors consists of John Reymond, Marius Reymond, Arnold Reymond, Charles-E. Rochat, and Hector Golay; John Reymond is director with sole signature; Charles Reymond is removed from the firm
• 1929, January 25 - At a special meeting, the SA de la Fabrique d'Horlogerie Reymond Frères is renamed as Valjoux SA; managing directors are John Reymond, Marius Reymond, and Arnold Reymond
• 1938, January 24 - At a special meeting, share capital is increased to 120,000 francs
• 1938, December 26 - A fund is created for Valjoux workers; administrators are John Reymond, his son Arnold Reymond, and Charles-Edouard Rochat; Arnold Reymond is president
• 1943, December 27 - At a special meeting, share capital for Valjoux SA is increased from 120,000 to 200,000 francs
• 1945, June 27 - At a special meeting the shares are modified to cover a dividend in the event of liquidation; John Reymond is removed as administrator while Marius Raymond, president, and Arnold Reymond are given signing power
• 1946, April 25 - Maurice Perreaud is given power of attorney
• 1947, June 23 - Share capital is increased to 400,000 francs
• 1952, April - John Reymond and Hector Golay, deceased, are no longer part of the administration; Michel Reymond, son of Marius joins

See Also

• List of ebauche factories
• Valjoux calibres