Wristwatch News Quarterly newsletter of NAWCC Wristwatchers, Chapter 181 Volume |.issue 3, Winter 2002 Welcome to Wristwatch News, the quarterly newslet- ter of NAWCC Special Inter- ‘ext Chapter 181, This newslet- ter Is devoted t0 information about wristwatches of ll ‘types. f you have an article idea, please contact Editor! Publisher at: Bruce Shawkey, P. ©. Box 74, Bransville, WI 53536. Email brime@inwave. Inside this issue: Minerva wotches 1 ‘Annual Meeting a ‘Chapter 181 Founded Janu- ary 2002. Chapter officers: President: Bruce Shawkey VP: Charles Cleves Sec/Treas: Rene Rondeau Director: Raymond Messier Director: Michael Porter Please note: The entire con- ‘tents of this newsletter is ‘copyrighted by NAWCC ‘Chapter 181. Please contact the editoripublisher before reproducing any of this, newsletter’s contents. In ad- dition, certain articles may bbe copyrighted by the indi- Vidual author(s) and will re- quire their approval as well. Collectors fanatical over Minerva Copyright© 2002 Bruce Shawkey ‘As most dealers will tell you, there are just cer- tain watches you remember selling. 1 remember about six months ago coming across a little watch in a dealer's “bargain bin.” It vas just 29mm diameter — some call this a three- quarter size watch. It had a dial so darkened, I couldn’t even see it at first. But it looked like quality watch, with an all stainless steel serewback case. So I looked more closely at the dial. It said “Minerva.” I knew in- stantly this was an unusual watch. First, because this was the first vintage Min- crva of any kind I had ever come across at a show. Sec- ‘ond, because it was a time- only watch. Minerva is known mostly for chrono- I checked the ease and movement. Bingo — both were signed, making this a triple-signed Minerva. 1 asked the dealer how much he wanted. The price was $60. I paid the man, figur- ing 1 could at least make a litle profit on the watch. Little did I realize how well would do. T had the dial refin- ished, and had my watch- maker put on new hands, a new crystal, and give the My $60 Minerva, turned $250 with a new dial and hands. movement a COA (clean, oil, adjust). I put the watch on eBay (does anyone realy need to know what eBay days and 26 bid- ders later, I had $250 for the watch! Tt turns out that nice vintage Minerva watches don’t come up that often on eBay, or anyplace else for that matter. (Finertimes. com, for example, has only offered 15 vintage Minerva watches for sale since the year 2000, and they sell lit- erally thousands of vintage ‘watches each year.) I did a little digging, and it turns out there is a fairly well developed group of vintage Minerva collec- tors out there who eagerly buy up most anything that comes up forsale. And once im their. possession, these watches are rarely let go! ‘They have their own discus- sion forum on Timezone. com, moderated by William Konomes, perhaps better known by his _intemet “handle,” which is “Chronopassion.”” To say collectors are passionate about Minerva is an understatement. I put them on a par with Ulysse Nardin and Ilinois collec- tors. In fact, what I once ‘wrote about Illinois collec- tors could just as easily ap- ply to collectors of Minerva: ‘They would skip their own ‘wedding rather than pass up ‘an opportunity to acquire a piece for their collection! Yet for all the passion and fervor on the collectors’ side, Minerva has, for the past 144 years, been a rela- tively quiet company. Dur- ing their final years as a ily owned business, they by an Italian conglomerate (as of the year 2000), they do not even maintain a pres- cence on the Internet. (For a time, Konomos managed the official Minerva website — www.minervawatches. com — but the site is eur- rently ile). So let’s take a look at ‘this quiet little Swiss com- pany and perhaps we can understand why it instills ‘such passion among collec- tors. The story of Minerva Wristwatch News Vol. 1 Issue 4 page 1Minerva (Continued from page 1) begins in 1858 when 18-year old Charles- Yvan Robert partnered with Hyppolite Robert to form the C&H Robert Watch Co. in Villeret Switzerland, We do not know the exact blood be- ‘except that Char- few years younger than his The partner. business was "tially an exablis- ler of rough CCharles-Yvan Rober, 1862. movements, or ebauches, —_pro- duced by Robert of Fontainmelon. (This company would eventually become FHF one of Switzerland's most prolific suppl crs of ebauches.) In 1880, Hyppolite retired, leaving the business to Charles to run. He changed the name of the company to C. Robert. We do rot know much about the company's early ing for Robert Freres Villeret. It was off cially protected in 1911. The sons under- took an ambitious plan to convert the busi- ness from an efablisseur to a manufactures which, as the name implies, is a true manu- facturer of watch movements. In 1902, just four years after they took over the com- pany, the brothers achieved this status and again the company name was altered slightly to “Fabrique des Faverges, Robert Freres.” ‘The conversion of raw metal into a living, breathing mechanism is the pinnacle of stature among watch manufacturers. Only a handful of Swiss companies suc- ceeded at it, and Minerva remained in this elite fraternity from 1902 to 2000 (it re- ‘mains to be seen what the Italians will do with the company). This is undoubtedly one of the biggest reasons why Minerva is held in such high regard among collectors. ‘The company makes what they sell. They have been a company of craftsmen and not simply businessmen who affix their name to a watch fitted with someone else’s movement. We can see this “craftsmen” aspect of the company in the incredibly low turnover rate of its employees. For example, the in September 1915. It was 11 lignes. In 1910, the eldest son, Charles- Auguste, died at the age of| 45. Two years later, the company’s co-founder, Charles- Yvan, died at the age of 72. Certainly a Jong life in an era where the average male life expectancy was 48 years. He had lived to see profound changes in the Swiss watch industry. In 1888, there were just 190 watch and clock companies. That number ‘grew to 3,946 companies by 1905, making ‘Switzerland the undisputed world leader in ‘watch and clock manufacturing, During these years, the company was, of course, primarily making pocket- watches, as were all Swiss companies. ‘company hired a gentleman by the name of Wristwatches were not even mentioned in years, as these records were lost over the Ami Buchser, a “case fitter;* in 1895, He ensuing decades. We do know that Charles retired in 1945 at the age of 71 after serv- ‘was awarded a bronze medal at the grand ing 50 years with the company! Another exhibitions held in Antwerpen (Belgium) employce designated “No. 19” was R. in 1885. In 1886, Charles registered the Kaufmann. Hired in 1902 as a “cutter,” he brand name “Mercure” and a year later reg- retired SI years later in 1953. By 1993, istered the brand name “Minerva.” How- when the “offical” history of Minerva was ever, the name by which we know the com- written, the company had hired a total of Swiss export records until 1906, when sta- tistics indicated 10,000 units were ex- ported. That number is the proverbial “drop in the bucket” compared to the mil- lions of pocketwatches that were exported. By 1908, Minerva had already discovered a niche market in pocket stopwatches and ‘chronographs. It would only be a matter of pay today was not officially adopted until 1923. In 1878, two sons joined the fim, Charles-Auguste and George-Louis. A third son, Yvan Robert, joined the com- pany in 1885 "The sons took over the company in 1898, changing, the name to “Fabrque Robert Freres” (Brothers). Three additional rand aaa wore regiated tht your — Arana, Tropic, and Hertha. We can as- some. the company had significant mar- tots in Asia a the Cliose tranaations of Arana and Tropic => also were registered V ‘The first trademark of the company was also adopted, a V-shaped logo with an ar- just 354 employees since their inception in time before Minerva adopted the technol- 18581 In this day and age when people ogy to the wrist. change jobs almost as frequently as they But before that could happen, tragedy change their socks, you have to marvel at again struck the Robert family. In 1916, the this statistic, We can only assume that the middle son, Georges-Louis, died at age 46. employees at Minerva loved their work! ‘The Beginnings of Wristwatches Unlike many companies whose first production of wristwatches are not trace- able, we know exactly when Minerva made its first “bracelet watch” for men. An early logbook which survived to become part of the company’s historical records indicates the date January, 1909, The watches were fitted with a new caliber 12, a time-only movement that was 12 lignes, or 26.7mm, in diameter. (One ligne equals 2.255 mm.) We even know the movement serial num- ‘The youngest son, Yvan Rober, took over the management of the company with an associate and in 1918 renamed the com- any again to “Fabrique des Faverges, Robert Freres S.A.” ‘The year 1920 saw the company ex- ‘ceed 1 million Swiss francs in gross sales forthe first time. That was followed by an ‘economic depression for the next two years that cut gross sales in half. Despite the fact the depression lingered for the next two year, the company came out with a time-only caliber, the No. 19, in April 1922. It was the smallest ofthe movements row splitting the letters R, F and V, stand- ber of the first wristwatch: 841,479. And yet produced, at just 9-3/4 lignes. Wristwatch News Vol. 1 Issue 4 page 2(Continued from page 2) Then, in 1923, the company intro- duced its first wrist chronograph, move- rent serial number 1,260,379. It was fitted With the new 13 ligne Caliber 20, which became the backbone of the company's wrist chronographs. It remained in produc- tion until the early 1960s. Initially, the 17- jewel movement vas fitted with one pusher button, but was modified in 1940 to two push buttons. It records to 30 minutes, A second wrist chronograph caliber, No. 52, ‘was introduced in 1944, It was a 14 ligne movement with 60-minute recorder. The year 1923 was also the year when execu- tives chose the Greck goddess of farming, craftsmanship, and science to represent the company name. Thus, “Fabrique Minerva, Robert Freres $.A.” was bom, The name ‘was Further refined in 1929 to “Minerva 8. a Boom times continued for Minerva during the remainder of the 1920s. They ‘were atthe top of their game, and had ere ated many specialized dials on both wrist and pocket chronographs, to appeal to sci- entists, tchnicians, and physicians. They also marketed to pilots and to sports enthu- siasts — dog and horse racers, and road rally (both auto and motoreyele) enthusi- asis, We are extremely fortunate that a catalog from this period survives and is in Seven wrist chronographs from an early Minerva catalog. From top left: Reference 2033; Reference 1320; Reference 2032; Refer- ‘ence 2031; Reference 1322 (The only mode! with molded versus wire lugs; this model also has a dial gradated in pulsations for phy- sicians‘ use.); Reference 1420; and Reference 1321. The models with the straps were available in gold, gold-filled, or base metal (nickel) cases. The models without straps were available only in base metal cases. Prices were not listed and must have been con- tained in a separate price list. Wristwatch News Vol. I Issue 4 page 3