Founded in 1875 in Tramelan, nestled in the heart of the Jura Mountains, Armand Nicolet is renowned as an icon of Swiss watchmaking. Specializing in the crafting of precision mechanical timepieces, the brand is distinguished by its use of fine materials and Swiss expertise.
he entire production chain of Armand Nicolet is characterized by meticulous attention to detail and a passion for craftsmanship, enabling the Master Craftsmen of Tramelan to create timepieces of exceptional quality and sophistication.
The Swiss mechanical watch production is classified in three different processes of which T1 is when the parts of movement are decorated, assembled and finely toned by expert watchmakers to make the movement work perfectly.
Back in the days (between the 30’s and the 70’s) Armand Nicolet had one of the most specialized ateliers in the T1 process.
Particularly focused on the complicated mechanical movements produced at that time like the Venus Chronographs (including the Rattrappante or Split Second), the Complete Calendar and many other calibres.
Through the skills and knowledge of their factory’s master watch-makers the company used to finish and sell these movements to many of the most prestigious Swiss brands.
At the end of the 70’s, when the crisis hit the Swiss Watch Industry because of quartz movements making their big entrance on the market, unlike other brands which either closed their factories or underwent a conversion process, the Armand Nicolet factory, managed by Willy Nicolet (son of Armand), succeeded to preserve their extraordinary knowledge keeping the atelier open throughout those difficult years.
The new management saw the huge potential in having this treasure and decided to rescue, maintain and continuously develop the company’s know-how by working on these old movements (such as UNITAS, Venus, ETA, Peseux, FHF etc…) and bringing them back to a new life.
Such beautiful and extraordinary movements are now featured in our O.H.M (Original Historical Movement) Series that because of the few original historical movements still available are created only in Limited Editions.
These products locate Armand Nicolet on the market in a unique position of which we are very proud of.
The precious artisan savoir-faire is alive and dynamic at the Armand Nicolet factory and enables the production of unique and truly valuable watches. Constantly in search of innovation and perfection our master watch-makers rigorously pursue the tradition of Armand Nicolet, developing inside our atelier all steps of the production process, from the project to the assembly and the final control of each part and of the final product.
Each Armand Nicolet watch is delivered with its individual International Warranty Certificate and also a Certificate of Authenticity.
All the Armand Nicolet’s O.H.M Series are produced in Limited Edition as the quantity is limited by the number of movements we have still available. We certify that your Armand Nicolet features an Original Historical Movements that we have restored and finely tuned.
It is not only a beautiful and unique piece of art but also an Original Piece of History.