Once one of Switzerland’s largest watchmakers, Tavannes built everything from military watches to ingenious Art Deco curiosities. Today, it remains one of vintage watchmaking’s great under-the-radar names.
Henri Frédéric Sandoz - (Image by Grail Watch Wiki)
Some of the best vintage watches bear a name that requires a little explanation. Tavannes certainly qualifies. Founded by Henri-Frédéric Sandoz in the Swiss village of Tavannes in 1891, the company grew from a small operation into a full-fledged manufacture and, at its peak, one of Switzerland’s largest watch producers. Its history became closely intertwined with that of Cyma, which explains the Tavannes, Cyma, and Cyma-Tavannes signatures found across watches from the period.
1930's Tavannes Chronograph - ARCHIVE
More interesting is the sheer breadth of Tavannes's output. During World War I, the Submarine, an early waterproof wristwatch, was developed for the demanding conditions naval personnel faced. There were military watches, elegant dress pieces, shaped Art Deco cases, and some seriously good chronographs.
Then there were the wonderfully eccentric creations. The late-1920s Belt-Watch placed a watch inside a belt buckle and was retailed by Hermès, allowing the dial to pop into view at the push of a button. Meanwhile the related La Captive style (also retailed with Dunhill) further explored the idea of a watch as a transformable object — such as a versatile travel clock — rather than something simply strapped to the wrist.
A 1920'S Tavannes silver belt buckle watch made for Hermès - (Image by Antiquorum)
Behind all that creativity was a substantial watchmaking operation. Tavannes manufactured its own movements, developed automatic calibers, registered hundreds of patents, and became an important movement producer within the Swiss industry. And there happens to be a particularly good example of the company’s watchmaking currently available at Analog:Shift: the Tavannes Hermès Triple-Register Chronograph.
Dating to the 1940s, it combines an unusually large 38mm stainless steel clamshell case with a manually wound, column-wheel Valjoux Calibre 71 and a spectacular black-gilt dial double-signed by Tavannes and Hermès. Add three registers, an outer telemeter scale, golden feuille hands, and decades of natural aging, and it becomes a pretty convincing snapshot of just how sophisticated Tavannes could be at its best.
Tavannes Hermès Triple-Register Chronograph - IN THE SHOP
Like many historic Swiss names, Tavannes was swept into the industry consolidation of the 1960s, with the original operation effectively coming to an end in 1966. Yet its relative obscurity today makes the vintage watches all the more interesting. Simple time-only and dress pieces can still be found for a few hundred dollars, while military watches and unusual references climb from there. Chronographs generally occupy the $1,500-$5,000+ range, with rare oversized examples, exceptional dials, and important provenance — like the one we have here — commanding considerably more.
For a company with this much history, innovation, and variety, there’s still a surprising amount of watch for the money. Tavannes isn’t so much an obscure watchmaker as a major one that history somehow forgot. And pieces like the Hermès chronograph are a reminder that sometimes the most interesting vintage watches are hiding behind the names collectors haven’t yet learned to chase.
