Avia

Avia

Avia a Swiss watch watch company. The history of Avia watches goes back to the latter end of the 19th century. They made good mechanical lever movement watches under their own brand name and provided watches and movements for other brands including New York, The Ball Watch company and A Wittnauer.

The company began its history when, in 1887, H. V. Degoumois was established in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. The brand name of Avia was registered either in 1910 (according to a number of sources) or 1937 (Mikrolisk - the horological trade mark index). The absence of Avia watches pre-dating the Second World War does make one believe that the 1937 date is nearer the mark, but it is difficult to escape the more established 1910 date for the Avia brand's beginnings. Prior to 1937, in 1933, the company of Demougois apparently moved premises to Neuchatel, also in Switzerland, although here again there is some confusion, with other sources quoting the company of Demougois et Cie as being in both Neuchatel and Chaux de Fonds, at the same time, certainly by the registration date of 1910.

During World War 2, the main US distributor of Avia watches was M. A. Mead & Co. in Chicago, and Mead marketed Avia-made military watches, including a military timer that was utilized by air crews searching for submarines. This watch incorporated a very accurate timer and stop watch. Mead watches manufactured by Avia were sometimes marked "AVIA" but also were given the name "Boulevard", and the watches contained movements made by the Avia Watch Factory in Switzerland.

While the wartime history of Avia seems tied up with the United States, the postwar years saw an increase in Avia watches being imported into this country and we have many surviving Avia mechanical watches from the 1950s and 1960s.

In 1968 after becoming part of a consortium of watch manufacturers they developed the first quartz digital watch with a LCD (liquid crystal display) and revealed it to the world in 1972. This invention took the watch market by storm and meant that watches of unparalleled accuracy could be mass produced cheaply. This market lead didn't last long as the technology was easily copied. Eventually Avia was bought out by the Fossil Group who still sell Avia watches today.

Models

Avia Marino

Links

• Great Britain
• Switzerland
• Main Page
• History of Watches

Credits

https://thewatchforum.co.uk/index.php?/topic/95411-avia-forgotten-but-not-gone/