Solvil et Titus
Encyclopedia
Solvil et Titus is a formally Swiss, now Hong-Kong-based, watch
company, founded in 1887 in La Chaux-de-Fonds
, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
by Paul Ditisheim
and developed by Paul Bernard Vogel
.
, son of the famous Ditisheim family
, was born into the small social circle
of industrialist families that led the Swiss watch industry of the time. He studied at the Horological School of in La Chaux-de-Fonds
, the historic birth place of watch-making industry, and received his diploma at the age of 13. He was then trained in several of the major watch makers and worked at his family's Vulcain manufacture until 1892 when he founded his own brands: Solvil (whose items were often signed Paul Ditisheim) and Titus (whose items were generally marked separately).
Through its manufacture, Ditishiem was instrumental in developing the new generation of chronometers, improving them grandly through his studies on the impact of atmospheric pressure
and magnetic fields. He invented the affix balance
. Thanks to his inventions, he was able to make the most precise chronometers ever made. By 1903, his watches were awarded by the Kew
and Neuchâtel Observatories
contests. In 1912, he won the world’s chronometric record of the Royal Kew Observatory
. He also worked closely with Physics Nobel prize
winner Charles-Edouard Guillaume and has been considered the father of the modern chronometers. According to Professor M. Andrade of the Besançon Astronomical Observatory
, Solvil et Titus Ditisheim's devices “constitute the most important progress of modern chronometry
”
and captain of industry
Paul Bernard Vogel
. Vogel, heir to a prestigious family of industrialist and married to the heiress of the prominent Eberhard family
, was also a member of the Swiss watch industry’s elite
. Vogel moved the company's headquarters
to Geneva
where he started expanding it. Vogel was one of the most prominent members of Geneva
's high society
, he was the chairman of the Salon Montres et Bijoux (the Watch and Jewelry's Fair), the most prestigious association of Swiss watch manufacturers and jewelers of the time and used the various social events he organized to advertise his company's collections.
By the 1950's Vogel, feeling the shift in consummer's habits, decided to divided its brands into two. On the one hand, the company kept producing the luxury
watches it was famous for. On the other hand, it started producing lower-cost watches that fitted properly the emerging mass consumption markets. Thanks to this new orientation, Solvil et Titus was instrumental in the development of mechanical
and electronic watches. In 1968, Vogel took the lead of the newly founded Societe des Gardes-Temps SA, a conglomerate
of low cost watch manufacturers which was the world's third largest watchmaking company of the time and had a true international dimension (it acquired the American Waltham Watch Company
and signed a licensing agreement in 1973 with Elgin Watch
– then Swiss watchmaking's biggest foreign investment.
Vogel has foreseen the necessities of broadening the market for watches and of creating an international distribution system and consequently decided to expand Solvil et Titus activities overseas. In the 1970s, surfing on the Asian Tigers
economic boom, he sent his son, Paul Vogel, to grow the family business operations in the Asian market
. Based in Hong Kong
, Paul succeeded into making Solvil et Titus one of the most popular brand in Eastern Asia.
while the Asian activities were sold to Hong Kong entrepreneur
Joseph Wong
and are now part of Stelux Holdings. The company, now headquartered in Hong Kong
, has kept its name and continues its growth as one of Asia's favourite brand, notably thanks to its famous Time is Love advertising campaigns starring superstars Dave Wang Chieh, Chow Yun Fat and Andy Lau
as well as world-renowned footballer Ryan Giggs
, [and] that have become classics of Hong Kong’s advertising industry.
Watch
A watch is a small timepiece, typically worn either on the wrist or attached on a chain and carried in a pocket, with wristwatches being the most common type of watch used today. They evolved in the 17th century from spring powered clocks, which appeared in the 15th century. The first watches were...
company, founded in 1887 in La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of...
, Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
by Paul Ditisheim
Paul Ditisheim
Paul Ditisheim is a famous Swiss watchmaker, inventor and industrialist.-Early years:Paul Ditisheim was born in 1868 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the historic birth place of watch-making industry...
and developed by Paul Bernard Vogel
Paul Bernard Vogel
Paul Bernard Vogel was a Swiss industrialist who owned the Solvil et Titus watch manufacture.-Business life:In 1930, Vogel acquired the Solvil et Titus and Paul Ditisheim brands from their founder Paul Ditisheim....
.
Paul Ditisheim: the founder
Paul DitisheimPaul Ditisheim
Paul Ditisheim is a famous Swiss watchmaker, inventor and industrialist.-Early years:Paul Ditisheim was born in 1868 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the historic birth place of watch-making industry...
, son of the famous Ditisheim family
Ditisheim
The Ditisheims are a prominent dynasty of Swiss watchmakers and industrialist family who have been instrumental in the development of the watchmaking industry...
, was born into the small social circle
Social circle
Social circles are groups of socially interconnected people. A Social circle is distinguished from a social pyramid in that there are two perspectives that can be used to describe a social circle: the perspective of an individual who is the locus of a particular group of socially interconnected...
of industrialist families that led the Swiss watch industry of the time. He studied at the Horological School of in La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds
La Chaux-de-Fonds is a Swiss city of the district of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel. It is located in the Jura mountains at an altitude of 1000 m, a few kilometres from the French border. After Geneva and Lausanne, it is the third largest city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of...
, the historic birth place of watch-making industry, and received his diploma at the age of 13. He was then trained in several of the major watch makers and worked at his family's Vulcain manufacture until 1892 when he founded his own brands: Solvil (whose items were often signed Paul Ditisheim) and Titus (whose items were generally marked separately).
Through its manufacture, Ditishiem was instrumental in developing the new generation of chronometers, improving them grandly through his studies on the impact of atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
and magnetic fields. He invented the affix balance
Affixing machine
An Affixing Machine is a machine that affixes postage stamps to an envelope, postcard or wrapper. The first affixing machines appeared in the 1850s but were not widely used until the early 20th century. There were also much larger floor models produced for this purpose. Stamp affixer machines were...
. Thanks to his inventions, he was able to make the most precise chronometers ever made. By 1903, his watches were awarded by the Kew
Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
and Neuchâtel Observatories
Neuchâtel Observatory
The Observatoire Cantonal de Neuchâtel is an astronomical observatory funded by the Public Economy Department of the Neuchâtel State . It is located in Neuchâtel and was founded in 1858. Besides astronomical observations, the Neuchâtel observatory also works with atomic clocks...
contests. In 1912, he won the world’s chronometric record of the Royal Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
. He also worked closely with Physics Nobel prize
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
winner Charles-Edouard Guillaume and has been considered the father of the modern chronometers. According to Professor M. Andrade of the Besançon Astronomical Observatory
Besançon Astronomical Observatory
The Observatoire des sciences de l'Univers de Besançon is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique...
, Solvil et Titus Ditisheim's devices “constitute the most important progress of modern chronometry
Chronometry
Chronometry is the science of the measurement of time, or timekeeping.It should not to be confused with chronology, the science of locating events in time, which often relies upon it.-See also:...
”
Paul-Bernard Vogel: the Golden Age
In 1930, Paul Ditisheim handed over the Solvil et Titus and Paul Ditisheim brands to wealthy Swiss entrepreneurEntrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and captain of industry
Captain of industry
"Captain of industry" was a term originally used in the United Kingdom during the Industrial Revolution describing a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributes positively to the country in some way....
Paul Bernard Vogel
Paul Bernard Vogel
Paul Bernard Vogel was a Swiss industrialist who owned the Solvil et Titus watch manufacture.-Business life:In 1930, Vogel acquired the Solvil et Titus and Paul Ditisheim brands from their founder Paul Ditisheim....
. Vogel, heir to a prestigious family of industrialist and married to the heiress of the prominent Eberhard family
Eberhard
Eberhard or Everard or Everardo is an old Germanic name meaning the strength or courage of a wild boar.-First name:*Eberhard of Friuli , Duke and key figure in the Carolingian Empire*Eberhard of Béthune , Flemish grammarian....
, was also a member of the Swiss watch industry’s elite
Elite
Elite refers to an exceptional or privileged group that wields considerable power within its sphere of influence...
. Vogel moved the company's headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
where he started expanding it. Vogel was one of the most prominent members of Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
's high society
High society
High society may refer to:* Upper class, group of people at the top of a social hierarchy* Gentry, origin Old French genterie, from gentil ‘high-born, noble* High society , social grouping which socialites may be affiliated with....
, he was the chairman of the Salon Montres et Bijoux (the Watch and Jewelry's Fair), the most prestigious association of Swiss watch manufacturers and jewelers of the time and used the various social events he organized to advertise his company's collections.
By the 1950's Vogel, feeling the shift in consummer's habits, decided to divided its brands into two. On the one hand, the company kept producing the luxury
Luxury good
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and associated with affluence.The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies...
watches it was famous for. On the other hand, it started producing lower-cost watches that fitted properly the emerging mass consumption markets. Thanks to this new orientation, Solvil et Titus was instrumental in the development of mechanical
Mechanical watch
A mechanical watch is a watch that uses a mechanical mechanism to measure the passage of time, as opposed to modern quartz watches which function electronically. It is driven by a spring which must be wound periodically...
and electronic watches. In 1968, Vogel took the lead of the newly founded Societe des Gardes-Temps SA, a conglomerate
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate is a combination of two or more corporations engaged in entirely different businesses that fall under one corporate structure , usually involving a parent company and several subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company...
of low cost watch manufacturers which was the world's third largest watchmaking company of the time and had a true international dimension (it acquired the American Waltham Watch Company
Waltham Watch Company
The Waltham Watch Company, also known as the American Waltham Watch Co. and the American Watch Co., produced about 40 million high quality watches, clocks, speedometers, compasses, time fuses and other precision instruments between 1850 and 1957...
and signed a licensing agreement in 1973 with Elgin Watch
Elgin Watch Company
The Elgin National Watch Company, most commonly known as just the Elgin Watch company was a major US watch company.-History:The Elgin National Watch Company, was founded in August 1864 as the National Watch Company. A number of former associates of the Waltham Watch Company and Chicago watchmaker J.C...
– then Swiss watchmaking's biggest foreign investment.
Vogel has foreseen the necessities of broadening the market for watches and of creating an international distribution system and consequently decided to expand Solvil et Titus activities overseas. In the 1970s, surfing on the Asian Tigers
Asian Tigers
The Asian Tigers is a Pakistani militant group, first publicised when they claimed credit for the kidnapping of former Pakistani intelligence officers Khalid Khawaja, Colonel Imam, British journalist Asad Qureshi and Qureshi's driver Rustam Khan in March 2010. Khawaja was killed in April 2010....
economic boom, he sent his son, Paul Vogel, to grow the family business operations in the Asian market
Asian market
Asian market could mean:* Asian financial markets, see List of stock exchanges and List of futures exchanges for a comprehensive list.* Asian supermarket...
. Based in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Paul succeeded into making Solvil et Titus one of the most popular brand in Eastern Asia.
Hong-Kong
In the late 1970s, Paul Vogel who has inherited the company from his late father came back to Europe and decided to sell Solvil et Titus brands. The European activities became part of EbelEbel
Ebel is a famous Swiss luxury watch company, founded in 1911 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland by Eugene Blum and Alice Levy.-E.B.E.L.:...
while the Asian activities were sold to Hong Kong entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
Joseph Wong
Joseph Wong
Joseph Wong Wing Ping GBS JP was the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology and the Secretary for the Civil Service in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China....
and are now part of Stelux Holdings. The company, now headquartered in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, has kept its name and continues its growth as one of Asia's favourite brand, notably thanks to its famous Time is Love advertising campaigns starring superstars Dave Wang Chieh, Chow Yun Fat and Andy Lau
Andy Lau
Andy Lau MH, JP is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer, actor, and film producer. Lau has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maintaining a successful singing career at the same time...
as well as world-renowned footballer Ryan Giggs
Ryan Giggs
Ryan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
, [and] that have become classics of Hong Kong’s advertising industry.