The oldest watch brands in the world

written by YWH team 5 November 2016
Oldest watch brands in the world

We often wonder: what are the oldest watch brands in the world? Who is the oldest watchmaker? We did some research on the websites of watch brands and watchmakers, and tried to find other sources that confirm the stories on those websites. We found some interesting things.

The list of the oldest watch brands and watchmakers in the world is ordered by the year of founding, or starting, or the year they claim to have their origin. Which sometimes differs from the founding year. Let’s take a look. If you find a clickable watch brand, we might have some of their latest models on our site. Brands with a * behind the name have a doubtful year of founding or starting: there is no actual proof of a company under the given name. If you see the temple icon we have a short story about their history in which we explain what stories we have found. So far.

These are the oldest watch brands in the world

year watch brand  
1466Gallet *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1642Haldimann *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1681Jeanrichard *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1695Graham *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1721Raketa *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1735Blancpain 1Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1737Favre-Leuba *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1738Ellicott *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1738Jaquet Droz *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1740Jules Jurgensen 
1751DuBois et Fils 3Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1753Ferdinand BerthoudOldest watch brands in the world - history
1755Vacheron Constantin 2Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1758Gevril * 
1764Arnold & Son *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1770Manufacture Royale 
1773Urban Jürgensen 
1775BreguetOldest watch brands in the world - history
1777Perrelet * 
1780Chaumet 
1785Leroy * 
1791Girard-Perregaux *Oldest watch brands in the world - history
1805Earnshaw * 
1806Louis Moinet * 
1822Bovet Fleurier 
1822Kienzle Uhren 
1828H. Moser & Cie * 
1830Baume & Mercier 
1832Longines 
1833Jaeger-LeCoultreOldest watch brands in the world - history
1837Tiffany & Co. 
1839Patek PhilippeOldest watch brands in the world - history
1845A. Lange & Söhne 
1845Czapek & Cie 
1846Ulysse Nardin 
1847Cartier 
1848Omega 
1850Marvin * 
1850Waltham 
1853Tissot 
1853Revue Thommen 
1854Auricoste * 
1854Racine * 
1856Ernest Borel 
1856Eterna 
1857Dodane 
1858Boucheron 
1858Minerva 
1858Vulcain * 
1860ChopardOldest watch brands in the world - history
1860Panerai 
1860TAG HeuerOldest watch brands in the world - history
1862Cyma 
1865Lebeau-Courally 
1865ZenithOldest watch brands in the world - history
1868IWC Schaffhausen 
1868Zeno 
1873Lonville 
1874Clerc 
1874Piaget 
1875Audemars PiguetOldest watch brands in the world - history
1875Bulova 
1878Croton * 
1881Albert Riele 
1881Movado 
1881Seiko 
1882Cuervo Y Sobrinos * 
1882Hanhart 
1882Zodiac 
1883Alpina 
1884BreitlingOldest watch brands in the world - history
1884Bulgari 
1884Edox 
1885Wittnauer 
1886West End Watch Co. 
1887Eberhard & Co. 
1887Halda 
1888A. Manzoni & Fils * 
1888Berthet 
1888Carl F. Bucherer 
1888Certina 
1889Doxa 
1891Angelus 
1891Ball * 
1891Tavanes 
1892Hamilton 
1892Ingersoll 
1894Universal Genève 
1896Wyler Vetta 
1902Festina 
1904Oris 
1905RolexOldest watch brands in the world - history
1906Montblanc 
1908Concord * 
1911Ebel 
1912Fortis 
1914Enicar 
1917Dugena 
1917Eloga 
1917Rado 
1918Mido 

The year a brand’s history starts

Brands with a * behind their name, claim that the year mentioned is the year their history starts. So the brand has its origin in that year or was founded in that year. But sometimes we are not sure. We could not find any other sources with evidence for their founding year or the year of origin, so we have to do more research. Therefor this article will be updated when we find something new.

Another important thing is that we only listed watch brands that still produce watches and are older than 100 years. So Gallet & Co. (1466) is listed as the oldest watch brand in the world as they claim their origin starts in that year. Although the registered year of founding is 1826. The factory that was the origin of the Russian brand Raketa was founded in 1721, although they started to produce watches around the year 1800. Only in 1961 the first Raketa was made.

Blancpain it is! Sort of…

1 Blancpain is the oldest watchmaker in the world that was registered as such:

Most people see Blancpain (1735) as the oldest watchmaker or oldest watch brand in the world. But they were out of business for a period of time. But that doesn’t change the status of being the oldest.

2 Vacheron Constantin is the oldest watchmaker in the world that was registered as such and was in continious production:

That is why Vacheron Constantin (1755) claims to be “the oldest watchmaker in the world that has been in production without interruption”. One can be sure about that. However, Vacheron Constantin is not the oldest watch brand in the world.

3 Dubois et Fils is the oldest Swiss watch factory in the world

DuBois et Fils (1751) claims to be the oldest Swiss watch factory. 230 years old, they said in 2015, which means they had their first factory in 1785. The year 1785 is thirty years after Vacheron Constantin’s start. Moreover, research shows that the factory (although it was probably a small workshop) really started in 1751. But strangely enough DuBois always communicated 1785 as their founding date. Which is officially correct, but the brand started in 1751. So, they are likely to be correct to say they are the oldest watch factory, but they should change the year into 1751.

The claim of Dubois also means that Blancpain and Vacheron Constantin had no factory when they started. They had a workshop though, but apparently Dubois had something more industrialized than the other two brands in 1785, when Blancpain already existed 50 years and Vacheron Constantin 30 years.

Some brands say they are very old, however…

Girard-Perregaux says they are creating Swiss watches since 1791 (Haute Horlogerie Suisse depuis 1791). But that year a company was founded by Jean-François Bautte and there was no one with the name Girard or Perregaux involved. In 1852 Constant Girard founded Girard & Cie and married Marie Perregaux after which he renamed the company Girard-Perregaux Manufacture or Girard-Perregaux & Cie. The (remains of the) company of Bautte was taken over by Girard-Perregaux & Cie in 1906. Because of that, they claim 1791 as the year it all started for them.

Sometimes there is no hard evidence for the founding year or the year of origin, we already said that. Some claims made about the founding date, the founders and more remarkable moments are sometimes provided by the manufacturer (mostly on their website) but couldn’t be found elsewhere. Or we found something else elsewhere. In some cases, claims looked like a good marketing story rather than authentic history. On some Wikipedia pages, we found: ‘This article contains content that is written like an advertisement’.

Anyway, this is our list of oldest watch brands. So far. If you know a watch brand or watchmaker who’s not in this list but should be, please let us know!

You might be interested in this: the oldest watch in the world. And here you can find a list of the most expensive watches in the world. If you ever decide to buy an antique or vintage or used watch, take a look at our article on how to buy a vintage watch.

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