Watch archives & heritage

Archives & heritage

THE WATCH FILES

Archives & heritage

In watchmaking, it’s difficult to talk about the present or even the future without bringing up the past. Our selection of articles on archives and heritage.

0 | 20 | 40 | 60

UNESCO: a new starting point for watchmaking

UNESCO: a new starting point for watchmaking

OPINION

In December 2020, UNESCO added the “craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics” to its representative list of the intangible cultural heritage (...)

New watch archives online (1936-2021)

New watch archives online (1936-2021)

EUROPA STAR

If you have a subscription to our digital archives, you may have noticed that we have now uploaded new sets of issues going back as far as the 1930s: more (...)

Watchmaking now on UNESCO's world heritage list

Watchmaking now on UNESCO’s world heritage list

HERITAGE

UNESCO has registered the craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics on its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of (...)

Can watchmaking avoid another tragic loss of heritage?

Can watchmaking avoid another tragic loss of heritage?

KNOW-HOW

Forty years ago, the quartz crisis caused havoc in the Swiss watch industry, leading to the destruction of many valuable documents in the ensuing economic (...)

A book on the most beautiful watch dials

A book on the most beautiful watch dials

LIBRARY

There are innumerable books devoted to watchmaking, but as astonishing as it may seem, until now there was no work, no comprehensive survey focused (...)

Longines: the forgotten “first commercial quartz crystal watch”

Longines: the forgotten “first commercial quartz crystal watch”

HISTORY / GUEST COLUMN

On August 20, 1969, Longines convened the press in Geneva to announce the world’s first commercial quartz wristwatch. Known as the Ultra-Quartz, it was more (...)

From Bulova to Omega: 50 years of lunar adventures

From Bulova to Omega: 50 years of lunar adventures

FROM OUR ARCHIVES

Today, we tend to associate the conquest of space with the Omega Speedmaster – the only watch worn on the moon, as the Swatch Group manufacture emphasises (...)

Treasures from Enicar's golden age

Treasures from Enicar’s golden age

The legendary Swiss watch company founded in 1913 comes to life again in a beautiful book by Dutchman Martijn van der Ven. The author used illustrations (...)

Secret Gérald Genta designs soon to be revealed

Secret Gérald Genta designs soon to be revealed

EXCLUSIVE

From the Nautilus to the Royal Oak, the most celebrated designer left behind not only a long list of iconic watches, but some 3400 unseen designs. We find (...)

1950-2020: The voices of my ancestors... and mine

1950-2020: The voices of my ancestors... and mine

EDITORIAL

As wishes are in order for 2020, I succumbed to the temptation to look at what my predecessors had written as Europa Star entered each new decade since (...)

The saga of the Bivouac by Favre-Leuba

The saga of the Bivouac by Favre-Leuba

THROUGH THE LENS OF THE EUROPA STAR ARCHIVES

In August 1964, the great mountaineering pioneers Walter Bonatti and Michel Vaucher took four days to conquer the arduous, virgin North face of Whymper (...)

Introducing the MIH Gaïa watch

Introducing the MIH Gaïa watch

HERITAGE

The Musée international d’horlogerie’s second timepiece has been unveiled and released in La Chaux-de-Fonds in honour of the the 25th edition of the eponymous (...)

Two of the oldest horological organizations join forces

Two of the oldest horological organizations join forces

WATCH EVENT

The Horological Society of New York and the British Horological Institute will teach for the first time in their combined 300 years of history joint (...)

The quest for an everlasting story

The quest for an everlasting story

ARCHIVES AND HERITAGE

Never has the watchmaking heritage of watch brands been so well-documented. The fashion for vintage has had a hand in this, forcing watchmakers to (...)

WWII Japanese military watches

WWII Japanese military watches

DAWN OF A QUIET SUNDAY MORNING IN 1941

The rise and fall of the Japanese Empire during WWII is a deeply captivating but also frightening piece of history of the 20th century. If military watches (...)

The Movado Ermeto: the original “smart” watch

The Movado Ermeto: the original “smart” watch

VINTAGEMANIA

The story behind the Movado Ermeto, a disruptive timepiece that went against the flow of the rest of the watch industry. Smart, innovative, elegant yet (...)

The historic links between watchmakers and arms manufacturers

The historic links between watchmakers and arms manufacturers

ARMOURERS AND WATCHMAKERS

Detonators, ammunition and vehicle dashboards: the two sectors complemented one another for no fewer than eight centuries, during which watchmakers (...)

Watchmakers test their DNA

Watchmakers test their DNA

ARCHIVES AND HERITAGE

The grand old companies with an uninterrupted history, such as Rolex, Audemars Piguet or Patek Philippe, maintain their heritage with absolute consistency (...)

Heritage: The power of the past

Heritage: The power of the past

ARCHIVES AND HERITAGE

In the watch business it’s difficult to talk about the present without bringing up the past. It’s almost Pavlovian.

Yesterday's marketing is more modern than you think it is

Yesterday’s marketing is more modern than you think it is

VINTAGEMANIA

Art deco advertisements certainly look prettier mounted on your wall than the modern ones you’ll find in the glossy magazines in your doctor’s waiting room. (...)