Early Days

After the construction of the Basel-Olten railway line in the 1850s, the little Jura town of Waldenburg, situated on the Basel-Geneva trade route, was forced to fight the unemployment and poverty in its population

In 1853, the borough decided to introduce the watch and clock making industry and founded the “Société d’ Horlogerie à Waldenburg” (Waldenburg clock and watch making company). But the enterprise didn’t flourish until it was privatised and taken over by the young merchant Gédéon Thommen in 1859

The company, managed under the name of “Gédéon Thommen – Watch Makers”, originally gave its watches the brand mark “G.T.”. Manufacturing and assembly methods were fundamentally improved and particular importance was attached to the production of quality watches

The “système à pièces interchangeables” (interchangeable components system), which consisted in the interchangeability of individual watch components, was groundbreaking and made it possible to transfer to series production

An invention protected by a “Remontoir patent” led to the simplification of the spring winding device and hand adjustment

Strong Growth

While 4,000 watches were produced in 1870, an output of 13,000 watches was reached in 1890. Gédéon Thommen was becoming less and less dependent on suppliers, as the aspiring company could produce movement blanks in its own workshops

From 1875 the company was not only making cylinder watches – they were also producing lever pocket watches. An invention patented in 1885, and which is still amazing today, was the G.T. “Springeruhr” with a very modern looking mechanical digital display

Gédéon Thommens’ far-sightedness and capacity for work were no secret to the public, to whom he devoted himself in many ways. He was co-founder of the “Waldenburger Bezirksblatts” (Waldburg local newspaper) and played an eminent part in the founding of the Waldenburg railway. This opened in 1880 as the smallest narrow-gauge railway in Europe operated by steam and brought traffic to the Waldenburg valley. He was a member of the national assembly for 26 years and was particularly interested in the education system

Early 1900′s

After Gédéon Thommen’s death, his son Alphonse founded the company “Thommens Uhrenfabriken AG” in 1905. The REVUE watches produced with their own production machines according to modern methods met with general approval among experts

The increasing demand for wristwatches was based on the product’s outstanding quality and the opening up of new markets. Subsidiaries were opened in Gelterkinden and Langenbruck and another production facility was built in Waldenburg

The currency breakdown in many countries, the severe economic crisis of the 1930s and the “templating”, i.e. the mass exportation of watch components, which was damaging to the prestige of Swiss watches, also caused the Waldenburg watch manufacturer a lot of trouble

The Thommens Uhrenfabriken AG research and development department surprised the industry experts more than once with innovations, which marked their epoch

1980′s to Present Day

In the 1980s, the company’s management decided to strengthen the link with “THOMMEN” navigation instruments, who had been supplying the aviation industry since 1936 and to rename the watch brand “REVUE THOMMEN”

Although not a household name like Tag Heuer, Breitling or Rolex, the REVUE THOMMEN range of watches have gained many admirers around the world, including US presidents Truman, Eisenhower and Johnson, who all wore REVUE THOMMEN “Cricket” watches

Up to 1961, about one hundred different G.T. calibres were developed and produced. From 1961 onwards, further calibres were added, and were identified by initials. The initials from the beginning of the alphabet were for small watch movements – initials from the end of the alphabet were reserved for the larger watch movements

The manufacturing tradition of REVUE THOMMEN was almost lost. Up until about 1998, movements were simply assembled with parts from the old stock. The REVUE THOMMEN brand was produced for decades within the MSR holding by the company “Vulcain & Studio” in La Chaux-de-Fonds

In 2000, “Vulcain & Studio” ceased activity

However, thanks to the MSR holding’s long-term vision, an exclusive licence agreement was concluded with the company “Grovana Uhrenfabrik AG” in Tenniken/BL, an old and traditional company in the Swiss watch-making industry. The firm was founded in 1924, and is managed today by the second generation of the Bitterli family

Grovana has a worldwide distribution and service network at its disposal, and is as such the most suitable company to perpetuate the sales of REVUE THOMMEN watches around the globe