DuBois & Fils house has been producing mechanical watches since 1785. Next to Geneva and La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle is one of the 3 most important traditional watchmaking centres in Switzerland. Here, at the French border, the oldest Swiss watch manufacture has been operating for 8 generations. The Swiss oldest watch house's philosophy is: prestigious limited edition watches, made of highest quality materials with sophisticated, perfect movements. DuBois watch house's headquarters is situated in the heart of Le Locle. Some clocks with complicated movements, such as pendular clocks, musical clocks were brought from France. The instruments for watch production and repairing were also brought from France. During the first 10 years Philipe De Bois sold 1300 clocks and soon sales rates reached 360 clocks a year. In 1774 it was registered, that Philipe De Bois had sold 1500 clocks. By 1798, when the French revolution happened, Philipe De Bois was selling over 6900 clocks a year. Philipe De Bois traded all over Europe and even in America. In 1785 Le Locle's tax registries stated, that Philipe De Bois had earned a great fortune on clock sales. By that year his clocks' registry numbers exceeded 21000. 1785 is the year, when Philipe De Bois registered his son Henry as the company's co-owner. Thank to that, the company got its name, which is world famous nowadays – Philipe De Bois & Fils watch. The official Philipe De Bois & Fils Swiss watch registration year is 1785, which makes it one of the oldest Swiss watch houses. Two DeBois catalogues of the start of the 20th century demonstrate the produced men's and women's pocket watch variety, 2 models of which were already equipped with micro-regulation and could be precisely synchronized with the data, provided by Le Locle observatory. The catalogues also feature pocket alarm watches, round table clocks, made of glass and car watches. Apart from the basic wrist watch models, watches with date apertures, automatic watches and chronographs were also produced. Pocket watches, including the advanced ones were available by special order. Even accepting a compromise and producing coated watches, DuBois stands out among other watch brands, setting up their own standard. All gilded DuBois watches are coated with 20-micron 750-carat gold, not typical of other watch brands. In the period of mass watch production globalization, DuBois brand has started accepting special orders and producing limited edition watches. At that time DuBois supplied its watches directly to retail sellers in Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Italy. DuBois house has always followed the longstanding Swiss traditions and has never produced quartz watches. The key of the brands success was in the limited series edition and in the watches, produced using watch technical progress achievements and also in the rare movements' usage. The Swiss company managed to survive the hardest times for the watchmaking industry, such as the shift from pocket to wrist watches and the introduction of quartz elaborations in the watchmaking world. This watch company, that doesn't wish to be taken over, has always saved its blushes under any circumstances, it has survived and continues prospering, while its products are wanted by both collectors and beauty connoisseurs, as it has always been. |