Wittnauer

Albert Wittnauer, a Swiss immigrant, arrived in New York City in 1872 at age 16 and worked for his brother-in-law Eugene Robert, who ran the J. Eugène Robert Company importing Swiss watches (notably Longines). Seeing opportunity in affordable Swiss-quality watches for the American market, Wittnauer created the Wittnauer brand in 1880, assembling watches domestically to keep prices competitive. In 1888, Albert took over J. Eugène Robert Company and renamed it A. Wittnauer Company. The company built its reputation serving navigators, explorers, and astronomers who needed reliable timepieces. Wittnauer became deeply involved with the U.S. Navy for aviation and navigation testing. In 1918, they introduced the AllProof, one of the first water-resistant watch models. Amelia Earhart used Wittnauer instruments during her historic 1932 solo transatlantic flight, and Jimmie Mattern wore the AllProof during a 1933 around-the-world flight attempt - the same watch later worn by Neil Armstrong on the Gemini 8 mission in 1966. NBC selected Wittnauer as official timekeeper for radio broadcasting in 1926. During WWII, Wittnauer produced compasses for the U.S. military. After the last Wittnauer brother died, Martha Wittnauer became CEO in 1916 - one of the first female CEOs of a watch company - and led the company until 1936, when the Wittnauer family sold the business to Hella Deltah Company; it was then renamed Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company. Longines acquired it in 1950, maintaining separate factories. In 1969, the company was sold to Westinghouse Electric Corporation. In 1994, SMH (later Swatch Group) took over Longines distribution in the US, and Wittnauer separated as Wittnauer International Inc. Composite Resources LLC purchased it in 1996, but the company lost $5 million. Bulova then purchased it for $11.6 million in 2001. Today, watches are marketed under the Wittnauer name as a fashion brand distributed through department and discount stores, though the brand has long since lost its identity as a precision instrument maker.