Breitling takes over the dusty watch manufacturer Universal Genève.
The Grench-based watch manufacturer is acquiring Universal Genève from the Hong Kong-based Stelux Group, which has preserved the heritage of the traditional Swiss company since 1989, Breitling announced on Tuesday. Now the brand is about to be given new life again.
“We are very pleased, but we are also fully aware of the task ahead and the profound legacy that needs to be preserved,” said Breitling CEO Georges Kern. “Rebuilding a brand with such a rich history doesn’t happen overnight – it’s meticulous, dedicated work that lies ahead over the coming years. A dedicated team will be brought on board and Breitling and Universal Genève will operate as independent maisons.”
About Universal Geneva
Universal Geneva was founded in 1894. In the 1920s, the brand primarily offered cocktail watches for women and jewelry timepieces for men, which were followed by various watch models and innovations in the decades that followed. In 1966, Universal Genève released the thinnest automatic movement at the time, the Golden Shadow.
The quartz crisis in the 70s and 80s – an economic crisis that threatened the existence of the watch industry in Europe and North America, in which new electronic watches displaced mechanical models – also presented traditional watchmakers with “great challenges and marked a turning point” in the previous path, according to the statement .