Watchmaking in France

Watchmaking in France

THE WATCH FILES

Watchmaking in France

A curated selection of Europa Star articles on the French watch scene.

Faces of French watchmaking

Faces of French watchmaking

GALLERY

What makes a watch French? It’s a tricky question. Does the movement have to originate in France? Is it enough for it to be assembled there? Or designed? To (...)

Both sides of the border

Both sides of the border

EDITORIAL

In our latest issue (3/24), we bring you a comprehensive report on the French watchmaking industry, which has gained momentum in recent years – welcome (...)

Dodane: the end of an era

Dodane: the end of an era

For five generations, the Dodane brand belonged to the Dodane family. Now the company, declared bankrupt, is in liquidation, with multiple potential buyers (...)

Pierre Lannier: an atypical success

Pierre Lannier: an atypical success

Few outside France will have heard of Pierre Lannier. The brand, which is based in Alsace, is nevertheless a leading player on its home market in the under (...)

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The incredible story of Jean Pommier and Lip's electric watch

The incredible story of Jean Pommier and Lip’s electric watch

Star of the Sixties, the electric movement with battery and coil was the promise of a bright future for mechanical watches, until quartz quashed hopes and (...)

Yema: rediscovering a historic brand

French brand Yema can pride itself on a glorious past. Established shortly after the Second World War, in 1948, it quickly made a name for its robust and (...)

Auricoste: over a century and a half of family history

Auricoste: over a century and a half of family history

PORTRAIT

Few French brands still in operation today can claim a history dating back to the 19th century (Lip and Cartier spring to mind). Fewer still have built (...)

March LA.B: creating your own segment

March LA.B: creating your own segment

Drawing on 70s design and a splash of French elegance, March LA.B is currently a committed actor in the French watchmaking landscape. The brand’s (...)

Pequignet: genuine French watchmaking expertise

Pequignet: genuine French watchmaking expertise

Located in Morteau, deep in the heart of French watchmaking territory, Pequignet is perhaps the only genuine watch manufacture in the region. This year, it (...)

Depancel, the sports watch comes of age

Depancel, the sports watch comes of age

Having launched in 2018 as a result of two successful Kickstarter campaigns, Depancel is now looking to establish its brand through a more specific product (...)

Lip, born again (and again)

Lip, born again (and again)

Founded in 1867 by Emmanuel Lipmann, Lip is an iconic brand of the French watchmaking industry. As a family business, it proudly flew the Gallic colours (...)

New beginnings for L. Leroy?

New beginnings for L. Leroy?

Taking everyone by surprise, L. Leroy presented a new unique piece this year. Is this a sign that the French brand is making its return, almost ten years (...)

Herbelin, the French touch

Herbelin, the French touch

PORTRAIT

This family-owned brand, now with the third generation at the helm, knows exactly who it is and what it wants. The offering has been streamlined to focus (...)

France Ebauches rises from its ashes

France Ebauches rises from its ashes

Early 1994, France Ebauches filed for bankruptcy. This was, according to the headline in La Chaux-de-Fonds daily L’Impartial, the “end of French (...)

Yema: aiming for independence

Yema: aiming for independence

As of this year, the Calibre CMM.20 will equip selected Yema watches, including the Yema Wristmaster Traveller Micro-Rotor Limited Edition, and is (...)

Pequignet and Calibre Royal

Pequignet and Calibre Royal

Now with the automatic Calibre Royal, the manual-winding Calibre Royal Manuel (2017) and the Calibre Initial (2021) under its belt, the brand was in need (...)

French movement-making: a pragmatic renewal

French movement-making: a pragmatic renewal

It’s still early days but the ball is rolling: mechanical movement production is returning to France. The likes of Pequignet, Yema, France Ebauches, (...)

Francéclat: a map of France's watch industry

Francéclat: a map of France’s watch industry

This French trade body has as its remit the defence of a robust national watch industry and has identified some 80 domestic brands. Francéclat has also set (...)

Watch Q&A with... Hugues Souparis – Pequignet

Watch Q&A with... Hugues Souparis – Pequignet

“What makes us exclusive: automatic movements designed and assembled in France”

Pequignet: new ambitions for the French watch industry

Pequignet: new ambitions for the French watch industry

FRANCE

The Pequignet factory in Morteau has been taken over by French investment fund Enowe, which aims to revitalise national “houses of excellence”. Although it (...)

Semper & Adhuc: watchmaking in the circular economy

Semper & Adhuc: watchmaking in the circular economy

PORTRAIT

It is by no means limited to watchmaking: the return to the local, the artisanal, the human, has been perceptible for years now, as the limitations of (...)

Bell & Ross: the art of disruption

Bell & Ross: the art of disruption

INTERVIEW WITH CARLOS-A. ROSILLO

The proudly independent Franco-Swiss brand has brought the aeroplane cockpit to the wrist. It has followed a very precise trajectory. A pioneer in the XXL (...)

Merci: the trendy Paris watchmakers

Merci: the trendy Paris watchmakers

FRANCE

The LMM-01 designed by Paris boutique Merci soon gained an illustrious customer – the president of France, Emmanuel Macron. No doubt he saw something of (...)

Introducing French watchmaker Phenomen

Introducing French watchmaker Phenomen

Based out of Besançon, the young brand has launched its debut timepiece: the Axiom. It’s bold and it’s distinctive, but does it have what it takes to make a (...)