Buser: Difference between revisions
Faschwanden (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
==Buser== | ==Buser== | ||
Buser Frères & Cie | '''Buser Frères & Cie SA''' (founded in 1891 as ''Gebrüder Buser & Berger'') was a family-owned Swiss watch and ébauche manufacturer. It was founded in Waldenburg and, from 1902 at the latest, based in Niederdorf in the Waldenburgertal, canton of Basel-Landschaft. The firm made many of its own components and calibres, sold watches under a family of brands (Frenca, Nidor, Esta, Neo, Tiptop, Buwat and others) and supplied movements to third parties such as [[Gruen]]. In 1961 it became one of the founding members of Manufactures d'Horlogerie Suisses Réunies SA (M.S.R.), into which it was absorbed in 1995. | ||
== Recognising Buser movements == | |||
Buser movements most commonly carry the trademark capital "B" within a triangle, registered on 7 March 1918 (IGE no. 41429). | |||
== History == | |||
In 1961, Buser joined | |||
=== Foundation and partners (1891–1902) === | |||
==Links== | According to commercial-register entries cited by the Grail Watch Wiki, the company ''Gebrüder Buser & Berger'' (French: ''Buser Frères et Berger'') was founded in Waldenburg on 8 September 1891 by Albert Buser-Weber, Fritz Buser-Bieder, Johannes ("Hans") Buser and Albert Berger-Haas. Some sources give 1892, the year of the firm's earliest known trademark (an "AB" in an oval, registered 6 September 1892). | ||
Berger left in January 1893, and Johannes Buser left in February 1894. Arnold Lohner-Leuenberger of Grindelwald joined as a partner and the firm became ''Gebrüder Buser & Lohner''. Lohner left in January 1902 and set up a new factory in Hölstein, the forerunner of Oris. On 1 January 1902 Albert Buser-Weber and Fritz Buser-Bieder formed ''Gebrüder Buser'' (Buser Frères) in Niederdorf, taking over the assets and liabilities of the predecessor. | |||
Buser also had links to Alsace. Unfinished movements (ébauches) were exported from Niederdorf to Alsace for assembly until 1914, and a related operation, A. Buser & Co., existed in Gross-Hüningen in the second half of the 1890s. | |||
=== From ébauche maker to complete watches (1908–1920) === | |||
An advertisement of 1908 shows the large Niederdorf factory and offers lever and cylinder watches of all kinds, including Lépine and savonnette cases. In July 1913 the business passed to a new firm, ''Albert Buser''. In 1914 ''Berger, Buser & Co.'' planned a new watch factory in Oberdorf BL; Berger & Co. Oberdorf is later reported as a Felsa branch within Ebauches SA (about 1927/28). | |||
In February 1916 the business became a limited partnership, ''Buser & Cie.'' (Hans Buser as the partner with unlimited liability). From 1916 the company produced complete watches: pocket watches, wristwatches, ladies' and necklace watches, and in-dash car clocks (possibly limited to supplying movements to other car-clock makers). On 7 March 1918 it registered three marks at the IGE: the B in a triangle, '''Esta''' and '''Nidor'''. Nidor is the oldest of the house brands; the name derives from the home town, Niederdorf. | |||
In January 1920 the firm was renamed ''Buser & Co., Uhrenfabrik "Nidor"'' (''Nidor Watch Co.''). Nidor was used on lever watches and Esta on cylinder watches, while the ébauche factory carried the name '''Frenca''', which appears as a factory name in the ''Indicateur Davoine'' of 1924. | |||
=== Two parallel firms and the AG (1923–1928) === | |||
From February 1923 two Buser companies existed side by side in Niederdorf: ''Buser & Co., Uhrenfabrik "Nidor"'' under Hans Buser (dissolved in 1934 after his death) and ''Gebrüder Buser & Cie.'' under Albert and Hermann Buser, which carried the Frenca line. Frenca was advertised from 1 February 1926 in the ''Revue internationale de l'horlogerie'' and registered as a trademark on 29 January 1927. | |||
On 30 March 1928 the second firm became a public limited company, ''Gebrüder Buser & Cie. AG'' (''Buser Frères & Cie. SA''), seated in Niederdorf, with a share capital of CHF 200,000 (raised to CHF 300,000 in 1930). In English-language trade the firm appeared as ''Buser Bros & Co.'' (Pritchard) and ''Buser Brothers & Co Ltd'' (on share certificates). It is also reported as a partner works of Ebauches SA from 1928. | |||
From about the 1920s Buser also ran a branch in Reigoldswil, documented in the local history ''Heimatkunde Reigoldswil'' (1987): two rented workshops on the village square and in the factory building of Friedrich Blaser-Plüss. A 2024 oral-history interview confirms the factory. Reigoldswil is still named alongside Niederdorf as a Buser site at the founding of M.S.R. in 1961. | |||
=== Frenca years (1930s–1950s) === | |||
From the 1930s Frenca was the firm's main brand. A wristwatch with the dial signature "CHRONOMETER / DUNHILL / FRENCA" documents a supply relationship with Alfred Dunhill of London around 1930–1935. At the 1941 Swiss Industries Fair in Basel, Frenca showed a wristwatch with centre seconds and a 1/5-second foudroyante at 6 o'clock. During the Second World War the firm used the slogan "La Montre du Soldat" for robust wristwatches, and "La Montre Soignée" appears on a 1943 magazine advertisement. | |||
Buser supplied '''G.S.T.P.''' (General Service Trade Pattern) pocket watches to the British Army; their case backs are stamped with the Broad Arrow, "S", G.S.T.P., FRENCA and Swiss Made, and the usual movement is the Buser 25/115. After the war came the "Frenca Automatic" with full central rotor (1946), a 21-jewel movement (advertised 1949), a centre-seconds automatic (by 1952) and a 25-jewel automatic with shock protection (1955). Albert Buser, long the head of the company, died on 8 March 1953. | |||
Export material for the Spanish market (distributed through Publicidad Helios, Madrid; undated) describes a complete in-house manufacture, testing in five positions and at different temperatures, Vibrograf inspection and an international guarantee. Further customers included [[Gruen]] in the USA; US importers are recorded from 1924. | |||
=== M.S.R. and the end of the firm (1961–1995) === | |||
On 6 September 1961 Buser joined Revue Thommen (Waldenburg), [[Vulcain]] (La Chaux-de-Fonds) and [[Phenix|Phénix]] (Porrentruy) to form Manufactures d'Horlogerie Suisses Réunies SA (M.S.R.). [[Marvin]] joined in 1976. Buser remained responsible for movements at first; during the 1970s the Niederdorf plant moved increasingly to pressure-measuring instruments and watch production wound down by about 1978. The shareholders voted to dissolve Buser Frères & Cie SA on 31 May 1995, and it was merged into M.S.R., which went bankrupt in July 2000. | |||
== Brands == | |||
* '''Nidor''' – registered 1918; name from Niederdorf; later also a firm name (1920–1928). | |||
* '''Esta''' – registered 1918; cylinder watches. | |||
* '''Frenca''' – ébauche factory name by 1924, advertised 1926, registered 1927; main brand of the house from the 1930s. | |||
* '''Neo''' and '''Tiptop''' (1933), '''Neova''' (1937), '''Buwat''' (automatic line), '''Vibraflex''' (1959), and others such as Sanrival, Edison, Seaprince, Hilton, Heracles, Mirodate and Fechomatic. | |||
== Calibres == | |||
Buser made dozens of calibres, of which Ranfft lists at least 32: manually wound and automatic, including early cylinder and lever movements, open-face hunter movements and chronometer-grade movements. Examples include the 18.5‴ pocket-watch calibres 95/96/105/106; the 11.5‴ calibre 25/115 (G.S.T.P. watches); the 145/146 automatics; the 13‴ calibres 180/181/182, whose design lives on as the Revue Thommen GT82; the 310 (Vibraflex); the 330 (based on Peseux 330); and the 18‴ "Frenca 8" pin-lever movement. | |||
== Buildings == | |||
Before the new building the firm worked at Dorfgasse 10, a former ribbon factory. The later factory complex at Hauptstrasse 15/17 in Niederdorf (house and industrial building, architect Leo Gehri of St-Louis) stands on the far bank of the Frenke. Albert Buser-Weber's villa, "Villa Stephani" (Hauptstrasse 5, built 1907), has been listed in the cantonal inventory of protected monuments since 1998. | |||
== Company names == | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
! Name !! Period !! Note | |||
|- | |||
| Gebrüder Buser & Berger || 1891–1893 || Waldenburg | |||
|- | |||
| Gebrüder Buser & Lohner || 1894–1902 || with Arnold Lohner | |||
|- | |||
| Gebrüder Buser (Buser Frères) || 1902–1913 || Niederdorf | |||
|- | |||
| Albert Buser || 1913–1916 || | |||
|- | |||
| Buser & Cie. || 1916–1920 || complete watches from 1916 | |||
|- | |||
| Buser & Co., Uhrenfabrik "Nidor" || 1920–1934 || parallel to the Frenca firm from 1923 | |||
|- | |||
| Gebrüder Buser & Cie. AG / Buser Frères & Cie. SA || 1928–1995 || became a company on 30 March 1928 | |||
|} | |||
== Sources == | |||
* Pritchard, Kathleen H.: ''Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775–1975'', Vol. I & II, N.A.W.C.C., 1996, entry Buser Frères & Cie, pp. B-146–148. | |||
* Foskett, Stephen: ''Buser Frères'', Grail Watch Wiki (commercial-register, ''Indicateur Davoine'' and ''La Fédération Horlogère'' references). | |||
* Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE) trademark records. | |||
* ArchitekturBasel: ''Uhrenfabrik Buser & Co Niederdorf'', Baselbieter Baukultur #41, 2019; Kantonale Denkmalpflege Basel-Landschaft, inventory entry Niederdorf, Hauptstrasse 5. | |||
* Heimatkunde Reigoldswil (1987) and oral history, 2024. | |||
== Links == | |||
[[Switzerland]] | [[Switzerland]] | ||
Latest revision as of 22:50, 15 October 2026
Buser
Buser Frères & Cie SA (founded in 1891 as Gebrüder Buser & Berger) was a family-owned Swiss watch and ébauche manufacturer. It was founded in Waldenburg and, from 1902 at the latest, based in Niederdorf in the Waldenburgertal, canton of Basel-Landschaft. The firm made many of its own components and calibres, sold watches under a family of brands (Frenca, Nidor, Esta, Neo, Tiptop, Buwat and others) and supplied movements to third parties such as Gruen. In 1961 it became one of the founding members of Manufactures d'Horlogerie Suisses Réunies SA (M.S.R.), into which it was absorbed in 1995.
Recognising Buser movements
Buser movements most commonly carry the trademark capital "B" within a triangle, registered on 7 March 1918 (IGE no. 41429).
History
Foundation and partners (1891–1902)
According to commercial-register entries cited by the Grail Watch Wiki, the company Gebrüder Buser & Berger (French: Buser Frères et Berger) was founded in Waldenburg on 8 September 1891 by Albert Buser-Weber, Fritz Buser-Bieder, Johannes ("Hans") Buser and Albert Berger-Haas. Some sources give 1892, the year of the firm's earliest known trademark (an "AB" in an oval, registered 6 September 1892).
Berger left in January 1893, and Johannes Buser left in February 1894. Arnold Lohner-Leuenberger of Grindelwald joined as a partner and the firm became Gebrüder Buser & Lohner. Lohner left in January 1902 and set up a new factory in Hölstein, the forerunner of Oris. On 1 January 1902 Albert Buser-Weber and Fritz Buser-Bieder formed Gebrüder Buser (Buser Frères) in Niederdorf, taking over the assets and liabilities of the predecessor.
Buser also had links to Alsace. Unfinished movements (ébauches) were exported from Niederdorf to Alsace for assembly until 1914, and a related operation, A. Buser & Co., existed in Gross-Hüningen in the second half of the 1890s.
From ébauche maker to complete watches (1908–1920)
An advertisement of 1908 shows the large Niederdorf factory and offers lever and cylinder watches of all kinds, including Lépine and savonnette cases. In July 1913 the business passed to a new firm, Albert Buser. In 1914 Berger, Buser & Co. planned a new watch factory in Oberdorf BL; Berger & Co. Oberdorf is later reported as a Felsa branch within Ebauches SA (about 1927/28).
In February 1916 the business became a limited partnership, Buser & Cie. (Hans Buser as the partner with unlimited liability). From 1916 the company produced complete watches: pocket watches, wristwatches, ladies' and necklace watches, and in-dash car clocks (possibly limited to supplying movements to other car-clock makers). On 7 March 1918 it registered three marks at the IGE: the B in a triangle, Esta and Nidor. Nidor is the oldest of the house brands; the name derives from the home town, Niederdorf.
In January 1920 the firm was renamed Buser & Co., Uhrenfabrik "Nidor" (Nidor Watch Co.). Nidor was used on lever watches and Esta on cylinder watches, while the ébauche factory carried the name Frenca, which appears as a factory name in the Indicateur Davoine of 1924.
Two parallel firms and the AG (1923–1928)
From February 1923 two Buser companies existed side by side in Niederdorf: Buser & Co., Uhrenfabrik "Nidor" under Hans Buser (dissolved in 1934 after his death) and Gebrüder Buser & Cie. under Albert and Hermann Buser, which carried the Frenca line. Frenca was advertised from 1 February 1926 in the Revue internationale de l'horlogerie and registered as a trademark on 29 January 1927.
On 30 March 1928 the second firm became a public limited company, Gebrüder Buser & Cie. AG (Buser Frères & Cie. SA), seated in Niederdorf, with a share capital of CHF 200,000 (raised to CHF 300,000 in 1930). In English-language trade the firm appeared as Buser Bros & Co. (Pritchard) and Buser Brothers & Co Ltd (on share certificates). It is also reported as a partner works of Ebauches SA from 1928.
From about the 1920s Buser also ran a branch in Reigoldswil, documented in the local history Heimatkunde Reigoldswil (1987): two rented workshops on the village square and in the factory building of Friedrich Blaser-Plüss. A 2024 oral-history interview confirms the factory. Reigoldswil is still named alongside Niederdorf as a Buser site at the founding of M.S.R. in 1961.
Frenca years (1930s–1950s)
From the 1930s Frenca was the firm's main brand. A wristwatch with the dial signature "CHRONOMETER / DUNHILL / FRENCA" documents a supply relationship with Alfred Dunhill of London around 1930–1935. At the 1941 Swiss Industries Fair in Basel, Frenca showed a wristwatch with centre seconds and a 1/5-second foudroyante at 6 o'clock. During the Second World War the firm used the slogan "La Montre du Soldat" for robust wristwatches, and "La Montre Soignée" appears on a 1943 magazine advertisement.
Buser supplied G.S.T.P. (General Service Trade Pattern) pocket watches to the British Army; their case backs are stamped with the Broad Arrow, "S", G.S.T.P., FRENCA and Swiss Made, and the usual movement is the Buser 25/115. After the war came the "Frenca Automatic" with full central rotor (1946), a 21-jewel movement (advertised 1949), a centre-seconds automatic (by 1952) and a 25-jewel automatic with shock protection (1955). Albert Buser, long the head of the company, died on 8 March 1953.
Export material for the Spanish market (distributed through Publicidad Helios, Madrid; undated) describes a complete in-house manufacture, testing in five positions and at different temperatures, Vibrograf inspection and an international guarantee. Further customers included Gruen in the USA; US importers are recorded from 1924.
M.S.R. and the end of the firm (1961–1995)
On 6 September 1961 Buser joined Revue Thommen (Waldenburg), Vulcain (La Chaux-de-Fonds) and Phénix (Porrentruy) to form Manufactures d'Horlogerie Suisses Réunies SA (M.S.R.). Marvin joined in 1976. Buser remained responsible for movements at first; during the 1970s the Niederdorf plant moved increasingly to pressure-measuring instruments and watch production wound down by about 1978. The shareholders voted to dissolve Buser Frères & Cie SA on 31 May 1995, and it was merged into M.S.R., which went bankrupt in July 2000.
Brands
- Nidor – registered 1918; name from Niederdorf; later also a firm name (1920–1928).
- Esta – registered 1918; cylinder watches.
- Frenca – ébauche factory name by 1924, advertised 1926, registered 1927; main brand of the house from the 1930s.
- Neo and Tiptop (1933), Neova (1937), Buwat (automatic line), Vibraflex (1959), and others such as Sanrival, Edison, Seaprince, Hilton, Heracles, Mirodate and Fechomatic.
Calibres
Buser made dozens of calibres, of which Ranfft lists at least 32: manually wound and automatic, including early cylinder and lever movements, open-face hunter movements and chronometer-grade movements. Examples include the 18.5‴ pocket-watch calibres 95/96/105/106; the 11.5‴ calibre 25/115 (G.S.T.P. watches); the 145/146 automatics; the 13‴ calibres 180/181/182, whose design lives on as the Revue Thommen GT82; the 310 (Vibraflex); the 330 (based on Peseux 330); and the 18‴ "Frenca 8" pin-lever movement.
Buildings
Before the new building the firm worked at Dorfgasse 10, a former ribbon factory. The later factory complex at Hauptstrasse 15/17 in Niederdorf (house and industrial building, architect Leo Gehri of St-Louis) stands on the far bank of the Frenke. Albert Buser-Weber's villa, "Villa Stephani" (Hauptstrasse 5, built 1907), has been listed in the cantonal inventory of protected monuments since 1998.
Company names
| Name | Period | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Gebrüder Buser & Berger | 1891–1893 | Waldenburg |
| Gebrüder Buser & Lohner | 1894–1902 | with Arnold Lohner |
| Gebrüder Buser (Buser Frères) | 1902–1913 | Niederdorf |
| Albert Buser | 1913–1916 | |
| Buser & Cie. | 1916–1920 | complete watches from 1916 |
| Buser & Co., Uhrenfabrik "Nidor" | 1920–1934 | parallel to the Frenca firm from 1923 |
| Gebrüder Buser & Cie. AG / Buser Frères & Cie. SA | 1928–1995 | became a company on 30 March 1928 |
Sources
- Pritchard, Kathleen H.: Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775–1975, Vol. I & II, N.A.W.C.C., 1996, entry Buser Frères & Cie, pp. B-146–148.
- Foskett, Stephen: Buser Frères, Grail Watch Wiki (commercial-register, Indicateur Davoine and La Fédération Horlogère references).
- Swiss Institute of Intellectual Property (IGE) trademark records.
- ArchitekturBasel: Uhrenfabrik Buser & Co Niederdorf, Baselbieter Baukultur #41, 2019; Kantonale Denkmalpflege Basel-Landschaft, inventory entry Niederdorf, Hauptstrasse 5.
- Heimatkunde Reigoldswil (1987) and oral history, 2024.
