Zodiac (watch brand)
Zodiac is a Swiss watch brand founded in 1882 by watchmaker Ariste Calame .
Brand history
Foundation in Le Locle
Ariste Calame founded the workshop in Le Locle (Switzerland) in 1882 to manufacture the special watches that later became known under the name Zodiac. He was the son of a watchmaker and landowner, whose family history dates back to 1537. Fulfilled with the goal of creating the most precise watch that ever existed, Calame made it a point to control every phase of manufacture - from design to production . Over time, their high quality and technical innovations made the watches internationally known.
The establishment of the workshop benefited from the generally favorable situation of the flourishing Swiss watch industry. Statistics say that e.g. B. in 1896 34,000 employees in ten cantons produced four million watches worth 100 million Swiss francs . In the same year, the world exhibition took place in Paris , which gave the watch industry an additional boost. When Ariste Calame retired in 1897, Switzerland was already exporting more than 7.3 million watches valued at 120 million Swiss francs.
From 1900 Calame's son Louis-Ariste took over the management of the company. In 1908 he registered the name Zodiac as a trademark. Previously the company was officially called "Ariste Calame", but was also known under the name "Zodiac". At the beginning of the 20th century the company had around 50 employees. The classic wristwatch did not yet exist. Zodiac manufactured its own calibers and movements that were used to make pocket watches .
Technical innovations
In 1924 the first pocket watch with a caliber 1617 movement came on the market, which attracted attention with its particularly flat shape. At this time René A. Calame, the son of Louis-Ariste Calame, joined the company as a technical employee and set new impulses for technical and business development. Further innovations followed: In 1930 the company launched one of the first Swiss wristwatches with an automatic movement. The great success of this watch led to the development of the world's first automatic sports watch that same year. In 1949 Zodiac presented the "Autographic" at the Basel watch fair. It was an automatic watch with a visible power reserve display . The buyer was guaranteed that the watch would lead or lag a maximum of one minute per month. A short time later, the "Autographic" became the official watch of Swiss railways. In 1951 a new company building was inaugurated. a. caused discussion because of its daring architecture.
In 1955, Zodiac brought out the "Sea Wolf" model. This was one of the first diving watches to be manufactured and successfully marketed for the masses: in 1964, the annual production volume was already more than 10,000 pieces.
The end of the 1950s was followed by the extremely robust “Super Sea Wolf” model, which was able to withstand water pressure of up to 750 meters thanks to the patented crown and winding shaft system and an improved design of the rear of the case. In 1960, the "Sea Wolf" model was expanded to include an additional 24-hour hand for Greenwich Mean Time and presented as "Aerospace". The successor model was the "Aerospace Jet". This was equipped with real 24-hour hands that ran around the dial only once every 24 hours. It was introduced in 1962. In 1968 Zodiac presented the first Swiss electronic wristwatch, the "Dynotron".
A year later, the watch manufacturer brought the well-known “Astrographic” onto the market, which received several awards for its design . It had no hands in the classic sense, but hands that were apparently not connected to the dial , which were printed on transparent acetate disks that rotated around the center of the dial. Zodiac increasingly focused on the US market and between 1950 and 1970 became one of the most successful and popular Swiss watch brands among Americans. In 1970 the Zodiac "Sea Wolf" became the official watch of the US Navy Seals . In 1977, Zodiac introduced the world's first LCD wristwatch with an official chronometer certificate. A year later, Zodiac launched the world's thinnest quartz wristwatch with traditional technology and the thinnest automatic wristwatch with calendar function.
Acquisition by Fossil Inc.
In the 1980s, sales fell sharply, so that Zodiac could eventually no longer repay its bank loans and filed for bankruptcy . In 1990, Willy Gad Monnier bought Zodiac, but seven years later it went bankrupt as well. As a result, the American company "Genender International Wheeling" acquired the Zodiac brand, which it finally sold to the American lifestyle company Fossil Inc. in 2001 . Since then, the watch manufacturer has been responsible for the design, production, sales and marketing of Zodiac watches as the owner.
The following collections always consisted of classic, fashionable and sporty timepieces. In 2004, Zodiac presented its new, nostalgic collection at the Basel watch fair. The new product families such as “Sea Dragon” and “V-Wolf” have mixed elements from the original Zodiac collection with an additional contemporary style. Fossil Inc. intended to continue the tradition of technical competence. For the 125th birthday of the brand, a reinterpretation of the “Astrographic” model came onto the market in autumn 2007.
At the beginning of 2014, within the so-called Heritage collection, both the “Astrographic”, the “Sea Dragon” and the “Sea Wolf” were reissued on the basis of mechanical movements very close to the original models. In particular, plants from Swiss Technology Production (STP), which Fossil bought in 2012, are used. This means that Zodiac is priced somewhat higher within the group.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Roger Ruegger: History of the diving watch . Dive (into) watches. December 1, 2003. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 9, 2011.
