Shopping Cart
There are no more items in your cart
By Joël Pynson
Last update : October 2024
The company's creator, Edmond Dreyfuss, made it a household name, but it was his successors who developed the most significant models.
1. Montres Ardath company
Edmond Dreyfuss founded his watchmaking business in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1935 [1]. The Ardath trademark had already been registered a few months earlier. In 1939, Ardath took over the watch manufacturer Arthur Béguelin (A.B. Watch) in La Heutte [2], which probably provided the company with suitable manufacturing premises for its future development.
In 1941, Compagnie des Montres Ardath transferred its headquarters to Geneva [3]. The move had a dual purpose: to benefit from the prestige of the city of Geneva, and to take advantage of more advantageous tax treatment [4]. Two years later, the company was renamed Dreyfuss & Cie, Montres Ardath, and Franco Quadri, Edmond Dreyfuss's son-in-law, joined the company [5].
1955
By the end of the Second World War, Ardath had a very complete range of wristwatches, including automatic watches, waterproof watches and chronographs, and was exporting to many countries.
Edmond Dreyfuss died in 1954. The company was taken over by his daughter, Paulette Dreyfuss, in partnership with Enrico Mottironi and Fredy Zaugg. Ardath entered a phase of rapid expansion.
2. Ardath Watch, Dreyfuss & Cie
Ardath takes advantage of the strong growth in the watch market in the 1950s and 1960s. The ranges are enriched with new designs, automatic, calendar, water-resistant and ladies' watches.
1957
A new factory was inaugurated in Geneva in 1956 [7].
Successful models followed: Reefguard diver's watch in 1959, Convertible Seven ladies' watch and Long Distance dual time zone watch in 1962, Versatile interchangeable dial watch in 1964, Stell Diver ladies' diver's watch in 1966, etc.
1965
In the mid-1970s, when the Swiss watchmaking industry went through a serious crisis, Ardath tried to diversify into more luxurious watches, in particular with the Styling of Geneva and Fashion of Geneva collections, and the Alverna collection for the Gulf countries. This move upmarket was also reflected in the use of the Paul Ardent brand name from 1980, and in models in precious metals.
1980
But fierce competition in the luxury segment was to prove the company's undoing, and it was declared bankrupt in 1995 [8].
3. Main Ardath watch models
Most of Ardath's iconic models were created over a fifteen-year period, between the late 1950s and early 1970s.
- Reefguard Denis Diver watch
This model, launched around 1959, is certainly Ardath's best-known and most sought-after.
It's a steel diver's watch, water-resistant to 100m when launched, with rotating bezel, typical 1960s "diver" case, and Felsa automatic caliber with or without date. The dial, which can be black or white, features luminescent indexes and hands, and the occasional small drawing of a diver.
There are many versions of this watch: Denis Diver branding alone, 200m water-resistant case, engraved back with small diver, date or date and day versions with world time bezel. Only the case seems to be constant from one model to the next.
In 1967 Ardath launched a second diver's watch: the Reef-Diver, water-resistant to 200m, with an enlarged case protecting the crown, grey or black dial, safety crown with quarter-turn lock and automatic movement with date. There are also date and day versions of this watch, and ladies' versions.
Finally, in 1966 Ardath launched a ladies' diving watch with a square case, water-resistant to 200m, called Stell-Diver.
- Long Distance dual time zone watch
This is Ardath's second best-known watch. Launched in 1962, it corresponded well to the increase in international trade and intercontinental travel.
It's a watch that actually features a double dial, each with its own hands: one for the original time, on the left with the date, the other for the local time, on the right, without the date.
The watch actually has two movements: one for the original time, automatic with date (ETA), the other manual (Fontainemelon). To keep the watch to a reasonable size, these are two small movements for ladies' watches. There are several versions of this motre, in plated or chrome-plated cases, including a Wisdom model "for Ramadan observance [9]".
In 1968, Ardath launched a Super Long-Distance model, rectangular, with two superimposed dials and two automatic movements and date.
- Convertible and Versatile models
Ardath has always offered ladies' watches. The company distinguished itself in this field with two original models that could be transformed to suit one's mood:
- the Convertible model, launched in 1962, was a ladies' watch delivered with 7 interchangeable coloured bezels that could be changed at will.
- The Versatile model, launched two years later, was highly original in that it was possible to change the dial color! The square watch came with a set of dials in different colors that could be slid onto the side of the watch. Made in two parts, these spare dials opened delicately on insertion to pass on either side of the hands. They also came with matching bracelets.
1- FOSC, 1935
2- FOSC, 1939
3- FOSC, 1941
4- Breitling will do the same in 1952
5- FOSC, 1943
6- FOSC 1955
7- Europa Star, Latin America, 1959, 53, pp. 14-16
8- FOSC 1995
9- Europa Star, 1964, 26, p. 44
Acknowledgements
Most of the watchmaking archives were consulted at the Musée International d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and I would like to thank the museum's curator, Mr. Régis Huguenin, and his team for their warm welcome. The archives of Fédération Horlogère, Davoine and l'Impartial are available online at www.doc.rero.ch The archives of Journal Suisse d'Horlogerie, Europa Star, Revue Internationale d'Horlogerie and Suisse Horlogère are available at The Watch Library The FOSC (Feuille Officielle Suisse du Commerce) is available at E-periodica
Notes :
About Time To Tell: Time To Tell has one of the largest private digitized databases on the history of Swiss watchmaking, with over 2.3 TB of data on more than 1,000 Swiss watch manufacturers. This database has been built up over a period of some thirty years, and continues to be fed with around 50 to 100 GB of data every year. The database is made up of old documents, mainly Swiss trade journals, dating from the late 19th to the late 20th century. Most of these documents are not available on the Internet. Historical articles published on the time2tell.com website always cite the sources used.
Time To Tell is a private company, independent of any watch manufacturer.
Time To Tell, 2024 Reproduction forbidden without authorization. Any use of this article by artificial intelligence is strictly forbidden and will be considered an infringement of copyright.