Graham Watches (officially known as Graham London) is a company
based on the fine traditions and excellence by British watchmaker
George Graham. The company is one of two that are owned and
promoted by British Masters SA. British Masters SA is located
in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland and was founded in 1995.
One might
ask how a company based in Switzerland can claim to be representative
of British watchmakers. According to Eric
Loth, head of the company, the origin of the brands represented
by British Masters SA are undeniably British. The history of
the brands, their story and the contributions to the development
of mechanical watches are those of British watchmakers. The
decision to locate British Masters SA in Switzerland was based
on the availability of components used in manufacturing. It
was this decision that also allows the company to use the designation “Swiss
Made” on their time pieces.
Mr. Loth brings to the company an impressive background including
several years as Product Development Manager for the Swatch
Group and the head of Gianni Bulgari watches. The company also
has three other partners, Mr. Ernst Thomke, Mr. Jaguet and
Mr. William Asprey.
Early
on it was determined that to honor George Graham all Graham
watches
would be chronographs. This fact pays homage
to the fact that Graham was known as “the father of the
chronograph”.
The first Graham watches of this era were released in 1997.
Called the Foudroyante Chronograph, it featured a 1/8th second
jumping-seconds hand and a crown-operated coaxial flyback.
This was followed by the SprintCounter in 1998 and the Chronofighter
in 2000. In addition to these pieces they have also released
several other lines including the Swordfish, the Mastersplit
and two limited edition models. One of these special editions
is called the Spitfire in honor of one of the most famous fighter
planes in history.
What does the future hold for Graham watches? According to
CEO Eric Loth there is plenty of growth potential. While the
company is limited somewhat in terms of volume due to the complexity
of their watches Loth anticipates that they will see an increase
in sales particularly with lovers of the chronograph.
Graham Replica Watches - A Brief History
The history of the house of Girard-Perrgaux begins in when
Jean-Francois Bautte a young orphan established a manufactory
in Geneva. Jean-Francois had risen above his humble childhood
to learn several trades including that of watch making. It
was now long until his watches found favor in the Royal courts
of Europe. Jean-Francois was also an astute business man and
his business grew to become very successful.
When Jean-Francois decided to retire in 1845, and lacking
any heirs, he sold the company to Constantin Girard and Marie
Perrgaux a married couple. Thus it was that the name Girard-Perrgaux
was born. Within a few years Girard-Perrguax watches were widely
known even gaining acclaim as far as the New World.
Girard
was a master watch maker and one of his most famous pieces
of that time
was the "Tourbillon Sous Trois Points
d'Or", meaning Tourbillion with three gold bridges. So
famous was this pocket watch that it won two gold medial at
the Paris Exhibitions of 1867 and 1889.
It was
in 1881 at the Emperor Wilhelm I of Germany ordered that
Girard-Perrgaux
produce a watch that could be worn on
the wrist for his naval officers. Although some pocket watches
had been adapted to this purpose it was Girard-Perrgaux that
was the first to produce this type of time piece in large scale.
The concept did not meet with long term success however and
it was not until the early 1900’s that the idea of a
watch worn on the wrist achieved commercial success.
Over the ensuing years Girard-Perrgaux achieved several notable
movements. Among these were the Gyromatic movement and the
quartz movement with a frequency of 32,768 Hertz which has
become the accepted standard for the industry.
The quartz
revolution of the 1970’s and 80’s was
a time of turmoil throughout the industry and while Girard-Perrgaux
did not thrive during this period it did survive the period
intact and without compromising their commitment to produce
high quality mechanical time pieces.
In 1992 the company was at a low ebb and was acquired by a
minority shareholder Gino Macaluso. Mascaluso believed that
the only company could survive was to manufacture its own automatic
movements. His belief proved to be correct and Girard-Perrgaux
sales annually exceed 100 million dollars.
