ABOUT MONTRES CHARMEX S.A.™

Over eighty years of watch making history

In 1926, when Max Buergin, the founder of the Swiss watch manufacturer Montres Charmex SA and grandfather of today’s CEO Frank M. Buergin started his apprenticeship, industrial mass production had not yet reached the watch industry and good products were only competed by better products. A watch was not considered an accessory but an investment for life and manufacturers prided themselves on their unrivalled skills. In the meantime, however, odds have changed – or as John Ruskin, a 19th century English writer put it: "There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey“.

We at Montres Charmex SA cannot turn back time but we can strive to manufacture watches that combine the quality, design and functionality our forefathers prided themselves on, timepieces that stand out in today’s array of mediocre mass production watches. To put it in the words of Sir Henry Royce (Rolls-Royce): “Strive for perfection in everything you do. Take the best that exists and make it better. When it does not exist, design it.” We believe that perfection reveals itself in the attention paid to the smallest of details and the choice materials used and we follow this principle in both our lines: Charmex of Switzerland™, classical Swiss Made® dress watches and CX Swiss Military Watch™, the rugged timepieces for professionals worldwide. We pride ourselves of having won the World Record for mechanical diving watches twice, once in 2005 with our 12’000 FEET and more recently in 2009 with our 20’000 FEET, the result of several years of intensive R&D.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

The history of Montres Charmex SA goes as far back as 1926. This was the year when Max Bürgin, the father of today’s owner and CEO started his apprenticeship in one of the leading watch factories near Basel, Switzerland. His exceptional talents soon caught the attention of the management – he was promoted and eventually made head of the technical department.

BESPOKE WATCHES OF SUPERB QUALITY

What he really wanted though was to have his own business, pursuing the traditional art of manufacturing state-of-the art timepieces. His dream finally came true and in 1989 his son Manfred Bürgin together with his wife Kathleen joined the by then prospering company. 1999 their son Frank M. Bürgin followed and thus continued the family’s tradition. Manufacturing bespoke timepieces using but choice materials of the highest quality remains the credo of Montres Charmex SA to this very day.

PERFECTION SWISSMADE

The brand name CHARMEX OF SWITZERLAND® has for decades been a synonym for bespoke Swiss Made watches. Superb engineering and the use of choice materials only are a treasured legacy born out of a long tradition of craftsmanship. The brand name CHARMEX OF SWITZERLAND® is registered worldwide.

QUALITY AND AESTETHICS

Combining craftsmanship and superb quality with an elegant design is at the core of the Charmex philosophy. Reliability & precision describe best the philosophy Charmex has followed since the days of Max Bürgin, founder of Montres Charmex SA. Modern, high-end watch movements made in Switzerland represent a near century-old tradition and are used in all Charmex timepieces.

PRECISION BY CHARMEX

The various parts of the movement are assembled under near clinical conditions. Setting the hands demands the utmost precision as the human eye can detect dimensional tolerances of a mere 1/10 of a millimeter. The scratch-proof sapphire crystal is then attached to the watch case.