Five Things

[Matt]

Favre-Leuba is (was) an interesting company. In they early 70’s, they owned Jaeger-LeCoultre. Yup.

Rick “and their innovative twin barrel” Denney

They are also arguably the oldest Swiss watch company.

[tribe125]

They are also arguably the oldest Swiss watch company.

Dormant for a quarter of a century, as far as I know, with no connection between the old company and the current Tata Group company.

[Matt]

Dormant for a quarter of a century, as far as I know, with no connection between the old company and the current Tata Group company.

I didn’t realise. Which quarter?

[is that my watch]

I didn’t realise. Which quarter?

was their not several small gaps but think the main one was something like 1985 to 2003 was it or think officially was it 2011 because it got sold a few times I think as I got 2003 to 2006 in my head to and think their was a gap way early too but just can't remember

[is that my watch]

The history of Favre-Leuba:


1702 – Birth of Abraham Favre
1718 – Abraham Favre starts his apprenticeship
1737 – (13th of March) Abraham Favre starts a workshop in Le Locle
1740 – Birth of Abraham Favre II
1749 – Abraham Favre is appointed ‘Maître horloger du Locle’
1792 – Abraham Favre II founds A. Favre & Fils with his sons Frédéric and Henry-Louis
1815 – Henry-Augustes Favre starts a partnership with Auguste Leuba
1815 – Founding of the brand Favre-Leuba
1896 – The company headquarters were relocated from Le Locle to Geneva
1908 – Henri Favre-Leuba (1865-1961) becomes head of the family business
1963 – Officially registered (again) as Manufacture d’Horlogerie Favre-Leuba S.A.
1968 – Last model of the ‘old’ Favre-Leuba (Harpoon) introduced
1985 – Favre family sells the brand
2011 – (16th of November) Titan Company Limited buys the brand

[Rdenney]

1963 was, as I recall from various reading, when they introduced the caliber 250 series, which used twin barrels—a really excellent movement. But it was a manual, and they used A. Schild automatics, principally the 1687. As part of the Ebel-promoted CHP, they were invested in the autowinder for that movement, and called it the 1152.

https://www.intlwatchleague.com/show...ll=1#post76515

FL also shared with LeCoultre in the use of the Girard-Perregaux 351/352, which is found in FL-branded watches from the early 70’s, after Henry Favre had invested in Roger LeCoultre’s SAPHIR holding company.



In fact, most LeCoultre watches were available as Favre-Leuba models. Here’s a Memovox movement with FL branding:



Rick “another currently obscure brand that used to be an important insider” Denney

[tribe125]

I didn’t realise. Which quarter?

I can’t recall the precise dates, but from the early/mid 1980s. There’s not much information out there that hasn’t been glossed in some way, but the company closed with all assets liquidated. The brand name changed hands, but the name was all that remained.

[tribe125]

• The almond green of the Seiko Alpinist was taken from a British Leyland colour chart, where it’s identified as GN-37. The Alpinist was designed for weekend climbers in the Japanese mountains. The Yamaotoko or ‘Mountain Man’ was a distinctive character, with a fondness for British country style, as if he might be rambling in the English Lake District or the Scottish Highlands. Other than tweed and leather, what he needed was a bit of green, so that’s why a Seiko Alpinist is the colour of a 1954 Morris Minor.
  
  
• According to a job advert in 2013, the Queen’s Keeper of the Clocks must be a good timekeeper. There are three Keepers, although they’re now known as Horological Conservators, and they’re responsible for more than a thousand clocks, spread around England and Scotland. They’re pretty busy when the clocks go back or forward, starting their day before dawn. One was advised by his doctor to wind down his winding after developing repetitive strain injury. The Queen also has a Keeper of the Swans, but he only has to work five days a year and other people row the boat.
  
  
• The crown is called the crown because it looked like a crown when combined with the bow (hanging loop) of a pocket watch. Crown winding was invented by Jean Adrienne Philippe, and was the reason for the French watchmaker being hired by Antoni Patek. Initially, Philippe received one third of the company’s profits.
  
  
• Breguet pretty much mastered it, but subsequent watchmakers haven’t always managed to combine complexity with visual harmony. George Daniels said that the danger of making a complicated watch is that you end up with something that looks like a gas meter.
  
  
• NATO straps were originally dive watch straps for the navy, and that’s why the British military NATO is grey. The navy only knows one colour. Before 1973, most British military watches would have had webbing straps in fifty shades of khaki.

[Matt]

• The almond green of the Seiko Alpinist was taken from a British Leyland colour chart, where it’s identified as GN-37. The Alpinist was designed for weekend climbers in the Japanese mountains. The Yamaotoko or ‘Mountain Man’ was a distinctive character, with a fondness for British country style, as if he might be rambling in the English Lake District or the Scottish Highlands. Other than tweed and leather, what he needed was a bit of green, so that’s why a Seiko Alpinist is the colour of a 1954 Morris Minor.
• According to a job advert in 2013, the Queen’s Keeper of the Clocks must be a good timekeeper. There are three Keepers, although they’re now known as Horological Conservators, and they’re responsible for more than a thousand clocks, spread around England and Scotland. They’re pretty busy when the clocks go back or forward, starting their day before dawn. One was advised by his doctor to wind down his winding after developing repetitive strain injury. The Queen also has a Keeper of the Swans, but he only has to work five days a year and other people row the boat.
• The crown is called the crown because it looked like a crown when combined with the bow (hanging loop) of a pocket watch. Crown winding was invented by Jean Adrienne Philippe, and was the reason for the French watchmaker being hired by Antoni Patek. Initially, Philippe received one third of the company’s profits.
• Breguet pretty much mastered it, but subsequent watchmakers haven’t always managed to combine complexity with visual harmony. George Daniels said that the danger of making a complicated watch is that you end up with something that looks like a gas meter.
• NATO straps were originally dive watch straps for the navy, and that’s why the British military NATO is grey. The navy only knows one colour. Before 1973, most British military watches would have had webbing straps in fifty shades of khaki.

There you go again! Many years ago I had a Morris One Ton Van in precisely the colour you are describing (well that and rust inhibitor) and I've often thought they looked the same. Now I know they are I'll have to buy one!

Oh and:

[crownpuller]

• The almond green of the Seiko Alpinist was taken from a British Leyland colour chart, where it’s identified as GN-37. The Alpinist was designed for weekend climbers in the Japanese mountains. The Yamaotoko or ‘Mountain Man’ was a distinctive character, with a fondness for British country style, as if he might be rambling in the English Lake District or the Scottish Highlands. Other than tweed and leather, what he needed was a bit of green, so that’s why a Seiko Alpinist is the colour of a 1954 Morris Minor.

Pedant mode. Dons anorak: GN-37 Almond Green was introduced in 1960 (ish); so a 1954 Morris Minor could not have been in that colour. I dare say they were available in something (very) similar, but wouldn't have been that colour code designation.