Yema
Encyclopedia
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...
making company in Besançon
Besançon
Besançon , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area in 2008...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. They claim that their watches "stand out from the rest by virtue of their specific design and technological characteristics".
Founded in 1948 in Besançon (Doubs) by Henry Louis Belmont, the company distinguished itself in the very beginning by creating the first automatic chronometers manufactured entirely in France, and became famous for the technical qualities and sports characteristics of its watches.
Having been owned by Seiko
Seiko
, more commonly known simply as Seiko , is a Japanese watch company.-History and ongoing developments:The company was founded in 1881, when Kintarō Hattori opened a watch and jewelry shop called in the Ginza area of Tokyo, Japan. Eleven years later, in 1892, he began to produce clocks under the...
Watch Corporation of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
since 1988, the company recently returned to French hands via a buyout by Louis Eric Beckensteiner. As a result, a transition is occurring as of September, 2005. The new Chairman has set a target for watch sales of 50,000 in 2005 and 100,000 pieces with a turnover of 10 million euros in 2008.