Carl F. Bucherer
 | |
| AG | |
| Industry | Watch manufacturing |
| Founded | 1888 |
| Founder | Carl Friedrich Bucherer |
| Headquarters | Lucerne, Switzerland |
Key people |
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Number of employees | 160 |
| Website |
www |
Carl F. Bucherer is a Swiss haute horlogerie company based in Lucerne, Switzerland, which manufactures luxury men's and women's mechanical watches. Since its founding in 1888, the company has been wholly owned by the Bucherer family, making Carl F. Bucherer one of the oldest luxury Swiss watchmakers continuously held by the founding family. The company is run by the third generation, with Jörg G. Bucherer serving as chairman of the board.[1]
The watch models of Carl F. Bucherer are distinguished by their additional functions including the chronograph, flyback, tachymeter, tourbillon as well as indicators and displays such as big date and day, power reserve, 24 hours, moon phases, three time zones, calendar, and perpetual calendar.[2]
History
In 1888, Carl Friedrich Bucherer established his first boutique selling watches and jewelry in Lucerne, Switzerland. In 1919, Carl Friedrich Bucherer launched his first ladies’ watch collection in the Art Deco style. He is one of the first watchmakers to adopt the watch strap, which at the time was still a revolutionary concept. By 1948, the company was focusing on sporty chronographs that prominently displayed the current date.[3]
By 1968, Carl F. Bucherer had manufactured around 15,000 high-precision, certified chronometers, making the company one of the top three Swiss producers of these specialized timepieces. In 1969, the company became part of a Swiss consortium for the development and production of the first quartz movement for wristwatches, the Beta 21.[3]
In 1976, Jörg G. Bucherer, the third generation of the family, took over the company. In 2001, the Carl F. Bucherer brand was repositioned and the company launched the Patravi watch collection. In 2005, the company filed a patent for the monopusher mechanism of the Patravi TravelTec watch, which permits the parallel display of three time zones.[3]
In 2007, Carl F. Bucherer acquired Téchniques Horlogères Appliquées (THA) of Sainte-Croix, Switzerland and incorporated it into the company as Carl F. Bucherer Technologies. The acquisition enables the company to research, develop, and produce its own manufacture movements and modules for additional functions. This leads in the following year to the company's launch of the CFB A1000 manufacture movement, which features a peripheral motor.[4] In 2014, the Manero PowerReserve becomes the first Carl F. Bucherer model to receive a unique laser signature in order to ensure product authenticity and quality.[5] From that year, all models are equipped with this technology.[6]
Production
In order to increase its production capacity, Carl F. Bucherer moved its production workshops from Nidau to a larger production site in Lengnau, Bern in 2002.[7][8] In 2015, Carl F. Bucherer announced that its manufacturing will be consolidated to a new factory in Lengnau in order to optimize production processes and its value-added chain, as well as increase the scope of vertical manufacturing.[9]
The company currently sells about 25,000 watches a year.[10]
In-house manufacture movement
The CFB A1000 caliber is the first reliably functioning peripherally mounted rotor, and is made of tungsten.[11] The peripheral rotor provides power when turning in either direction and allows for full visual display of the movement.[2] The A1000 movement includes the patented "Dynamic Shock Absorption" (DSA) system for effective shock absorption.[11]
Authentication
As of 2014, the company's manufacture movements have been protected against counterfeiting by special laser technology. Developed by the Swiss company Mimotec SA, the CLR-LIGA process imprints a unique signature on the surface of the watch movement using diffractive nano-structuring that can then only be authenticated with a specialized laser scanning device.[6][12]
Models
Carl F. Bucherer watches are divided into five core collections:[13]
- Patravi ("I prevailed"): Sport watches for men and women that incorporate technical innovations and practical additional functions[14][15][16]
- Manero ("That which is guided by hand"): Classic mechanical men's and women's watches[17]
- Adamavi ("To gain something cherished"): traditional models for men and women[18]
- Pathos ("Dedicated to passion"): Women's collection that combines the arts of watchmaking and jewelry[19]
- Alacria ("Capacity for enthusiasm and joie de vivre"): Ladies' line of jewelry watches with a distinctive curved and tapered body shape[20]
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The Patravi ScubaTec diver's watch.
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The Manero Tourbillon Limited Edition.
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The Manero PowerReserve.
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The Pathos Diva Haute Joaillerie.
125th anniversary
In 2013, Carl F. Bucherer celebrated its 125th anniversary with an international roadshow presenting over 200 historical watches and the history of the company. The company also released four limited edition watches: the Manero MoonPhase, Manero Tourbillon, Alacria RoyalRose, and the Patravi TravelTec FourX. A jubilee volume, "125 Years' Swiss History of Time," further commemorated the history of the company.[21]
Partnership with Swiss Football Association
In 2014, Carl F. Bucherer partnered with the Swiss National Football Association, providing each member of the Swiss national football team a Patravi ScubaTec SFV Special Edition watch ahead of that year's World Cup.[22][23] The logo of the Swiss Football Association is at 6 o'clock on the bezel. The back case of each watch has an engraving of the individual player's name.[24]
References
- ↑ "125 Years of Carl F. Bucherer". Watchoogle.
- 1 2 "Movements and functional modules". Carl F. Bucherer.
- 1 2 3 "Swiss History of Time". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Collection 2014/15" (PDF). Carl F. Bucherer. p. 12.
- ↑ "Manero PowerReserve". Carl F. Bucherer. 16 May 2014.
- 1 2 "Fighting Replica Watches With Hidden Laser Images & Nanostructuring". Forbes. 28 May 2014.
- ↑ "Carl F. Bucherer: Mit Personifizierung die Welt erobern". HandelsZeitung. 18 November 2004.
- ↑ "Carl F. Bucherer: From Nidau To Lengnau". Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. 8 November 2001.
- ↑ "Carl E Bucherer - Établissement d'un centre de compétences à Lengnau" (PDF). Journal de Sainte-Croix et environs. 28 August 2015.
- ↑ "In Conversation With Sascha Moeri, CEO, Carl F. Bucherer". Luxury Society. 13 August 2015.
- 1 2 "Collection 2014/15" (PDF). Carl F. Bucherer. p. 14.
- ↑ "Say STOP to counterfeiting…". Mimotec SA.
- ↑ "Collection". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Patravi". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Sport Watches for Men and Women". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Kosmopolitisches für Weltreisende von Carl F. Bucherer". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 29 March 2005.
- ↑ "Manero". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Adamavi". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Pathos". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Alacria". Carl F. Bucherer.
- ↑ "Interview with Mr. Sascha Moeri, CEO of Carl F. Bucherer". Watches International 2014 (Tourbillon International).
- ↑ "«König Fussball» regiert an der Basler Uhrenmesse". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 27 March 2014.
- ↑ "Carl F. Bucherer Teams Up with the Swiss Football Association". Carl F. Bucherer. 24 March 2014.
- ↑ "Argentina vs. Switzerland FIFA World Cup Matchup: Leo Messi's Audemars Piguet Takes On Diego Benaglio's Carl F. Bucherer And More". Forbes. 1 July 2014.