Bucherer: A long and successful family history
Bucherer’s history began in 1888 when the Swiss businessman and entrepreneur Carl Friedrich Bucherer and his wife Luzern opened a shop for toys and ironmongery. In the following years, the Bucherers transferred their trade to watches and jewellery and in 1919 launched their first collection of ladies’ watches in the Art Deco style. At the beginning of the 1920s, Carl Friedrich Bucherer’s sons Ernst and Carl Eduard Bucherer, a watchmaker and goldsmith, joined the family business. Bucherer’s watches were among the first models to have a strap – a real revolution at the time, and one which contributed significantly to the success of the young company. 1924 marked Ernst Bucherer’s partnership with Hans Wilsdorf (1881-1960) and the addition of the little-known watch brand Rolex to the product range – a decision as strategically far-sighted as it was successful. To this day, Rolex remains one of Bucherer’s most important partners.
Accomplished expansion into Austria and Germany
Even in the difficult 1930s and Second World War period, Bucherer maintained its position in the market, although expansion was muted, and the company was converted into a joint stock exchange company after the death of its founder in 1933. With the production of around 15,000 high-precision chronometers by 1968, the company belonged to the three leading chronometer manufacturers in Switzerland. When the first Swiss quartz movement for wristwatches was developed in 1969, Bucherer was part of the responsible consortium. Jörg G. Bucherer took over the directorship of the company in 1977, the third generation of the family. In the 1980s, the company expanded first to Austria, and around a decade later to Germany. The 1989 acquisition of the Kurz Group – present in numerous Swiss city centers and shopping malls – significantly increased Bucherer’s market presence, as did a similar feat achieved by the acquisition of Swiss Lion AG, primarily focused on the tourism business, in 2001.
Cooperation with numerous international luxury brands
Among other things, Bucherer celebrated its 125th birthday by opening its largest watch and jewellery store in Paris. Further prestigious branches can be found today in Jelmoli in Zurich, Alsterhaus in Hamburg, Oberpollinger in Munich and in KaDeWe in Berlin. With Tourneau, LLC, the largest luxury watch dealer in the USA was acquired in 2018. As well as Rolex, Bucherer today carries international luxury brands such as A. Lange & Söhne, Calvin Klein, Patek Philippe, Swarovski, Tudor, and Gucci, and also designs high-value jewellery lines and exclusive unique pieces with rare diamonds and selected pearls in its own studios. The innovative watch collection Patravi has been part of Bucherer’s portfolio since 2001, and since 2016, its models have been worn by the Swiss national football team. As a promoter of the sport of polo, the company also maintains its own polo team. Since 2015, 25,000 watches have been sold per year, and from 2014, Bucherer’s luxury watches have been protected by a laser signature that is only visible with a special scanner.
Bucherer - Works that have already been sold at Kunsthaus Lempertz:
