Edox has been writing Swiss watch history for more than a century, making it one of the few long-standing traditional brands with origins dating back to the 19th century.
The Edox watch brand was born from the love confession of a watchmaker who wanted to surprise his wife more than 130 years ago. Thanks to her, Edox continues to produce high-quality Swiss watches using hand to this day.
The brand is many decades old, but it remains true to its core principles: fair-minded Swiss watchmaking combined with groundbreaking technologies. The brand has consistently excelled in the fields of sport diving, sailing and motor racing in particular and today offers high-quality luxury watches, hand-assembled in Les Genevez and priced at on average from 1,000 EUR to 2,500 EUR.
Edox diving watch
Especially in the field of diving watches, the brand has taken a leading role. Particularly notable was the invention of the “Double O Ring” technology in 1961, which was said to be the most efficient crown system in the world at the time and was quickly adopted throughout the industry. To this day, Edox boasts one of the world’s most extensive collections of high-end diving watches for under 2,500 EUR.
Humble beginnings in the Swiss Jura
To understand the story behind Edox, let’s learn a little about the history of the Edox brand. As early as 1884, Christian Rüefly-Flury laid the foundations for a brand that would continue to produce watches independently in Switzerland even 130 years later – its slogan is “Maître-Horloger depuis 1884”.
Founder Christian Rüefly-Flury.
Like most major watch brands today, Edox is the product of a talented watchmaker. However, unlike many of his colleagues at the time, he did not focus on profits but first and foremost on his love for his profession. Founder Christian Rüefly-Flury. was born in 1860 in Courrendlin in the state of Jura, so almost the cradle of watchmaking. At age 23, he married Pauline Flury, an employee of Jean Aegler – a company that was initially a supplier of ébauche movements to Rolex before it was fully absorbed into the company.
For his wife’s 25th birthday, Rüefly-Flury came up with something truly special, a pocket watch. It can be said that it was truly a resounding success and his wife was so delighted with the care and quality of the gift watch that she convinced her husband to start producing watches High quality in nearby Biel. This once again proves that behind every successful man there is a strong woman. Incidentally, for the company name “Edox,” Rüefly-Flury used the ancient Greek word for “hour.” In 1900, the now iconic “hourglass” company logo was born.
Always stay ahead of the trend with Edox
When Rüefly-Flury died in 1921, businessman Robert Kaufman-Hug took over the company. Contrary to the spirit of the times, he decided to decisively reorient the company: the company became the first watch brand ahead of its time to focus on the production of wristwatches.
Especially after the chaos of World War II, the company expanded aggressively. As a result, by 1955, the workforce had grown to nearly 500 employees and Edox was one of the 10 largest watch manufacturers in Switzerland, focusing on the production of especially waterproof watches. A perfect example of the brand’s ambitions in this area is, among others, the “Delfin” model from 1961: With a heavily reinforced back, double sealing and a special shock-absorbing layer, the step This new development sets standards for water resistance and durability. To illustrate this, the Edox “Hydrosub” was born two years later, a diver’s watch built to perfection, operating without any problems at depths of up to 500 meters. meters, which was unprecedented at the time. Thus, the company has shown the way to the future with its innovative technologies.
Delfin watch
As flying became somewhat democratized in the 1970s and more and more people enjoyed long-haul flights, Edox quickly responded with the first world-punctual wristwatch. The “Geoscope” model features a globe on the dial and allows the wearer to see all time zones and 50 cities at a glance on the wrist.
In 1983, the company finally moved from Biel to Les Genevez in the Swiss Jura, where the brand still produces its watches to this day – right in the cradle of Swiss watchmaking.
Edox SkyDiver Military
At the end of the millennium, in 1998, the brand achieved another technological milestone: For the “Les Bémonts Ultra Slim” collection, Edox engineers and watchmakers developed a The world’s thinnest, called 27000. The record of only 1.44 mm thick remains unbroken to this day.
Sports and watch excellence in the 2000s
At the beginning of the new millennium, extreme sports played an increasingly important role for Edox, so the company began to devote more to sporting causes. Considering the company’s watchmaking achievements in these very areas, it only emphasizes once again the relevance of the water element to Edox. In the field of sport, Edox participates as official timekeeper in the Class 1 Powerboat World Championship, Adventure Sailing Series, Dakar Rally as well as the famous World Sailing Championship .
Edox watch
In addition, the brand collaborated with the Formula 1 racing team Sauber F1, or became the timekeeper at the World Championship of the eponymous Class 1 powerboat racing series in the fall of 2006. Edox is not only sponsoring many water racing events but also sponsoring various extreme athletes. Notable examples are for instant racing driver Martin Prokop or powerboater Pal Virik Nilsen.
With an average price ranging from 1,000 EUR to 2,500 EUR, Edox offers genuine Swiss craftsmanship. Furthermore, the Edox brand is one of the last independent watch manufacturers in Switzerland – having played a decisive role in shaping the entire industry. Series such as Delfin, Chronorally, CO-1, SkyDiver, Les Vauberts and Grand Ocean still exist today in modern versions, recalling the heritage with the masterpieces of the past decades.