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Joël Pynson
September 2025
1. The Chatelain family
Léon Ducommun and Reynold Chatelain registered their watch factory Chatelain & Ducommun in Tramelan in 1893 [1]. They must have started business a year earlier, since official history records 1892 as the date of foundation. But the following year, Reynold found himself alone and the company took his name [2].
In 1895, Reynold joined forces with Numa Chatelain. The company's name was changed to R. Chatelain & Cie [3]. The Postala trademark is registered the same year. The factory specialized in the Roskopf watch, named after its creator, a simplified economy watch with pin anchor, in great demand at the time.
1894
1895
In 1901, the two partners separated and Numa Chatelain took over the Postala brand [4].
1902
In 1906, Numa Chatelain joined forces with Aurèle Voumard and Armand Choffat under the name Chatelain, Voumard & Co. [5]. In 1907, Armand Choffat was replaced by Hermann Leppert, and the company became Voumard Leppert & Co [6].
2. Voumard, Leppert & Cie
Although Roskopf watches continued to be produced, the Manufacture now began to produce classic anchor watches, with calibers of excellent quality, as evidenced by the chronometer bulletins obtained from the Neuchâtel Observatory.
This orientation would come in very handy later, when the statut horloger introduced in the late 1920s prohibited Roskopf watchmakers from producing other types of watch, unless they could prove they had already done so.
As the Postala brand grew in importance, in 1908 the company became Postala Watch [7].
1907
1908
Another change in 1912: the factory was taken over by Charles Jacot and Maurice Monnier under the name Postala Watch, Jacot & Monnier [8].
3. Postala Watch
The manufacture of Roskopf watches was gradually abandoned, in favor of fine pocket watches and wristwatches from 1915 onwards.
1913
1916
Like many other factories, Postala ran into difficulties during the Depression of the 1920s. In 1929, it was taken over by Gagnebin et Nicolet, a watch manufacturer founded in 1911 by Armand Nicolet and Georges Gagnebin [9], which used the Niga brand.
4. The Gagnebin family from Tramelan
The company then changed its name to Gagnebin et Nicolet, Manufacture d'horlogerie Niga et Postala [10]. But in 1932, Armand Nicolet was replaced by Georges' wife, Adèle Gagnebin-Rossel, and the company changed its name again to Gagnebin et Cie, Manufacture d'horlogerie Niga et Postala [11].
In 1941, Eric and William Gagnebin joined the Board of Directors and the company became G. Gagnebin & Cie. SA [12]. When Georges Gagnebin died in 1941, his widow took his place.
1947
1955
But it was the Niga brand that took center stage, and in 1950 the company became Comptoir des Montres Niga SA [13].
In 1955, the company once again became G. Gagnebin & Cie [14], but the Postala and Niga brands were transferred to Les Fils d'Armand Nicolet, Fabrique des Montres Telda, which does not appear to have used them.
The company G. Gagnebin & Cie. ceased trading in 1967.
[1] FOSC 1893
[2] FOSC 1894
[3] FOSC 1895
[4] FOSC 1901
[5] FOSC 1906
[6] FOSC 1907
[7] FOSC 1908
[8] FOSC 1912
[9] FOSC 1911
[10] FOSC 1929
[11] FOSC 1932
[12] FOSC 1941
[13] FOSC 1950
[14] FOSC 1955
The FOSC (Feuille Officielle Suisse du Commerce) is available on 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, mostly Swiss trade magazines, dating from the late 19th to the late 20th century. Most of these documents are not available on the Internet. Historical articles published on time2tell.com always cite the sources used.
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