ETA SA - History

History

ETA is the result of successive consolidation of the Swiss watch industry, a combination of several former Swiss watch movement manufacturers including Valjoux, Peseux and Lemania.

In 1856 at Grenchen, Urs Schild, a schoolmaster, and Dr. Girard set up a watch movement (ébauche) factory which eventually became Eterna. In 1926, ETA AS (the movement branch of Eterna, founded in 1896) and FHF (founded in 1793) took part in the creation of Ebauches Ltd. In 1978 AS and ETA merged and in 1985 ETA took in all the activities done before by Ebauches Ltd and FHF (both part of SMH/Swatch Group).

SSIH was founded in 1930 through the amalgamation of Omega and Tissot. By consolidating companies that produced high-quality movements and a number of watch brands, SSIH gradually established a strong position in the Swiss watch industry.

At the time, both SSIH and ASUAG held a number of well-established Swiss watch brands. ASUAG had been founded in 1931. ASUAG expanded through the purchase of companies that made movement-blanks and a number of finished watch manufacturers that were subsequently brought together under the subsidiary General Watch Co (GWC).

In the 1930s, both ASUAG and SSIH entered into complementary research and development programs to combat a severe economic crisis. Following repeated crises in the Swiss watch industry, by the 1970s both ASUAG and SSIH were again in trouble. Foreign competition and the mass production of cheap new electronic products were taking over the market. Eventually, both ASUAG and SSIH faced bankruptcy.

In 1983, critical steps including the merger of ASUAG and SSIH into SMH and the launching of a low-cost, high-tech, artistic and emotional “second watch” - the Swatch. Invented, developed and launched by Ernst Thomke and his team.

During all those years of crisis, and restructuring, since 1978, Dr. Ernst Thomke had been at the helm of ETA SA, and also had become CEO of Ebauches SA and appointed on the Board of Directors of ASUAG. He became SMH's first CEO, position he held until 1991. At that time, Nicolas G. Hayek, as newly elected Chairman of the Board and main shareholder had already become the only person of reference.

In 1998, Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watchmaking Industries Ltd (Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie or SMH), founded in 1983 through the merger Swiss watchmakers ASUAG and SSIH, was renamed the Swatch Group.