Ebauches SA
The holding company of Swiss ébauche makers, founded in Neuchâtel in 1926: one pillar of the watch cartel, controlled by ASUAG from 1931, and later merged into ETA and the Swatch Group.
Founded 1926, Neuchâtel
In the history Switzerland’s network of specialists
Founding
Ebauches SA was a holding company for makers of ébauches and parts, set up in Neuchâtel in 1926 by A. Schild of Grenchen, the Fontainemelon works and A. Michel of Grenchen.1, 2, 3
It was the ébauche makers' answer to the crisis of the early 1920s, one of three organisations with the FH (watch manufacturers) and the UBAH (parts makers, 1927).2, 3
The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland says Fontainemelon, a founding member, began in 1793 as Benguerel & Humbert and made one million ébauches in 1913, two million in 1940 and six million in 1962.10
In the cartel
The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland says it opposed the export of chablons, kits of movement parts, so that watches would not be made abroad with Swiss parts and sold as Swiss.1
With the FH and UBAH it signed the conventions of 1 December 1928 on minimum prices and against chablonnage; under the "syndical reciprocity" of the later collective convention FH members had to buy their ébauches from Ebauches SA, and Ebauches SA could sell to FH members alone.3
Outside makers kept exporting, so in 1931 ASUAG bought a majority of Ebauches SA; it did not complete its control of all ébauche and regulating-part makers until the winter of 1940-41.1, 3
Inside the holding the family-run companies kept competing fiercely, according to the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.1
Growth and merger
The Historical Dictionary of Switzerland says that by 1968-69 Ebauches SA had 23 subsidiaries in Switzerland and three abroad, with 10,000 employees; by 1974 it held a quarter of the world market for mechanical movements.1
Its subsidiary Ebauches Electroniques Marin was founded in 1970, shortly before the cartel collapsed; the Historical Dictionary of Switzerland says the cartel had neglected electronic watches.1
Mergers among its companies began in 1978; ETA took over operational management in 1982, and ETA says its brand was formed from the ébauche factories grouped under the name Ebauches SA before 1985. ETA dates itself to 1793, the year of Fontainemelon's founding.1, 6, 11
In 1983 Asuag-Ebauches merged with SSIH; the group became SMH in 1985 and the Swatch Group in 1998.1, 4
Where Ebauches SA leads
- Owned by, GroupThe Swatch Group
Through ASUAG, Asuag-SSIH (1983) and SMH (1985), Ebauches SA ended inside what became the Swatch Group, its factories grouped into ETA.1, 6
- Formerly owned by, GroupASUAG
ASUAG took a majority of Ebauches SA in 1931 and held it until the merger of 1983.1, 3, 13
- Based in, PlaceNeuchâtel
Ebauches SA was founded at Neuchâtel in 1926.1, 2
- Part of, HistorySwitzerland’s network of specialists
The ébauche makers’ holding of 1926, one of the three pillars of the cartel.1, 3
- See also, PlaceBiel/Bienne
Ebauches SA joined the Biel holding ASUAG in 1931.1, 14
- See also, PlaceGrenchen
Two of the three founders of Ebauches SA in 1926, A. Schild and A. Michel, were Grenchen firms.1, 15
- See also, EventThe ETA supply dispute
ETA’s hold on ébauches came from the factories of Ebauches SA, merged into it between 1978 and 1985.1, 6, 7
- See also, EventThe Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition
Watkins writes that David’s call for manufacturers grouped around ébauche factories led toward later bodies such as Ebauches SA.16
- See also, EventThe Swiss watch cartel and statute
Ebauches SA was one of the three pillars of the conventions of 1928 and of the cartel the statute enforced.3
Facts and sources
Sources
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The watch factory of Adolf Michel at Grenchen from the air, 7 October 1924. (opens in a new tab)
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Sources read November 12, 2026.