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Joël Pynson
Mars 2026
1. From La Chaux-de-Fonds to Biel
Fernand-Adolphe Droz and Alfred-Hervé Droz founded a watchmaking factory in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1929 [1]. After Alfred’s death in 1935, the company became Fernand Droz [2]. In 1946, Roger Pauli took over the factory, and the company was renamed after him [3].
At the same time, Alfred Laager, who had been working with his family at Nisus SA, established a finishing workshop under his own name in Biel in 1945 [4]. In 1947, he took over the Roger Pauli factory and changed the company’s name to Alfred Laager, Montres Jovial [5]. This allowed him to claim the company was founded in 1929.
In 1948, Alfred Laager left Nisus to devote himself to his own company.
2. Montres Jovial
Jovial watches will be available on the market starting on that date. These are classic watches based on Ébauches SA movements.
1949
1954
In 1962, André Laager joined Alfred, and the company became Jovial Watch Factory Ltd [6].
In 1967, a new, modern factory was opened in Biel [7].
In 1968, Jovial launched its most remarkable watch: the Jovial Vision 2000.
1968
Subsequently, the models will be much more traditional.
1977
In 1984, due to the “quartz crisis,” Jovial Watch Factory ceased all watchmaking operations and became a financial company under the name Jovial SA [8].
But Jovial’s story does not end there.
In 1992, Jean-Claude Racine and Mohammad Dabaan founded Jovial Montres SA in Biel [9]. The company launched a full range of watches and focused on the Middle Eastern markets.
2003
The company is still in business and is based in Biel: https://shop.jovialwatch.com/
[1] FOSC 1929
[2] FOSC 1935
[3] FOSC 1946
[4] FOSC 1945
[5] FOSC 1947
|6] FOSC 1962
|7] La Fédération Horlogère, 1967, 10, p. 15
[8] FOSC 1984
[9] FOSC 1992
The FOSC (Swiss Official Gazette of 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 2.5 TB of data on more than 1,000 Swiss watch manufacturers. This database has been built up over a period of around 30 years and continues to be updated with around 50 to 100 GB of data each year. The database consists of historical documents, mainly Swiss trade journals, dating from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. Most of these documents are not available on the Internet. The 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.
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