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Joël Pynson
October 2024
1. Weiss & Co. in La Chaux-de-Fonds
Henri-Albert Weiss, from Bavaria, founded the Henri Weiss watch factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1898 [1]. Later, however, the year 1895 was chosen for the start of operations. Little is known of the early years of the company, which became Henri Weiss, Manufacture de montres White Star in 1919 [2]. The White Star trademark was registered the following year [3].
Philippe Weiss officially joined the company in 1923 [4]. He was an inventive watchmaker who would later also take part in the umbrella organizations of the Swiss watchmaking industry.
1926
As early as 1926, Philippe Weiss patented a screw-down crown for water-resistant watches, making it easier to wind the watch [5]. This innovation was not lost on Hans Wilsdorf, head of Rolex, who bought the patent in 1928 [6].
In 1927, Philippe Weiss took charge of the company, which became Weiss et Co, Manufacture de Montres White Star [7].
1940
In 1940, Philippe Weiss patented a watch with world time, adapted to a chronograph [8]. Gallet & Co. in La Chaux-de-Fonds, having launched a Flight Officer model in every respect similar to the patent, it is possible that Philippe Weiss granted a license. This original chronograph was also marketed by White Star in the early 1950s.
1949
In fact, it was after the 2nd World War that White Star enjoyed a new lease of life with the release of numerous watch models, based on calibers from the Ébauches SA trust: automatic, calendar, chronographs, with in particular the world hours chronograph in 1951, and an original calendar watch, Diagrafic, in 1952.
2. White Star and Dolmy
In 1954, Philippe Weiss took over Vittori et Cie, Fabrique de Montres Dolmy, Montre Sélection, and renamed it Montre Dolmy SA [9].
1928
Léopold Vittori and his wife Rosa had founded the Dolmy factory in 1919 in La Chaux-de-Fonds [10]. In 1929, Léopold Vittori took over the C. Meyer-Graber Fabrique Sélection, a Roskopf watch specialist [11], and integrated it into the Fabrique de Montres Dolmy in 1933 [12].
For Philippe Weiss, this acquisition was undoubtedly linked to the strong growth of Roskopf watches on international markets in the 1950s. White Star thus became the brand name for anchor watches, and Dolmy for Roskopf watches with pin anchors.
1957
During the 1960s, White Star produced a few chronometers, tested at the Bureau Officiel in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Production of automatic watches, chronographs and ladies' watches continued, with the arrival of diving watches in 1970. But the company did not invest in quartz watches and went bankrupt in 1979.
1961
1970
This is not the end of the story, however, as Philippe Weiss continues to manage Dolmy, which will continue to produce counters and chronographs, and even watches under the White Star brand.
1992
Philippe Weiss died in 1987, and it was Jean-Pierre Weiss who continued Dolmy's activities until 2009, the year of his death [13].
Finally, in 2010, a new company, White Star Watch SA, was created in La Chaux-de-Fonds [14], and White Star watches are now available [15] (2024).
3. Main White Star models
White Star's chronographs and calendar watches are interesting models, but two stand out from the crowd.
- World Time Chronograph
1951
This is the chronograph with the system patented by Philippe Weiss and probably at the origin of Gallet's Flight Officer. However, it was launched later (1951) and is much rarer.
- Diagrafic
1952
This is White Star's most emblematic model. It's a calendar watch with a date hand on the periphery of the dial and the day of the week at noon. The originality of this watch lies in the fact that the day is indicated by a disc bearing a small sun which is set to the day, charmingly enlivening the dial. What's more, the sun disappears at night and reappears the following morning.
Launched in 1952, this model doesn't seem to have been produced for very long, and is therefore quite rare.
The White Star website today: https: //whitestar-watch.com/
[1] FOSC 1898
[2] FOSC 1919
[3] FOSC 1920. White Star was also the name of a line of transatlantic liners.
[4] FOSC 1923
[5] Patent CH 122110
[6] FOSC 1928
[7] FOSC 1927
[8] Patent CH 215450
[9] FOSC 1954
|10] FOSC 1919
[11] FOSC 1929
[12] FOSC 1933
[13] FOSC 2009
[14] FOSC 2010
[15] https://whitestar-watch.com/
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 the Fédération Horlogère, Le 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 on The Watch Library
The FOSC (Feuille Officielle Suisse du Commerce) is available on E-periodica
Notes: Concerning 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 privately owned company, independent of any watch manufacturer.
Time To Tell, 2024
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