History
1862-1892
Establishment of the Metalworking Factory by the Thiel brothers; start of pocket watch production in 1892
1908
Manufacture of ladies’ wristwatches; introduction of streamlined production methods to manufacture quality products in large unit numbers at affordable prices
1963
Development of a robust, mechanical pin lever movement and the patented electric wristwatch – up to 25,000 watches manufactured every day
1976-1979
Development of a first analogue quartz wristwatch and LCD wristwatches
1979
Production starts on microelectronic components and software development for watch circuitry; in-house manufacture of circuits for watch production
1985
Manufacture of quartz alarm clocks as one of the main product groups
1991
Our firm Gardé is founded as a spin-off from the Co-operative Watch Company (VEB Uhren Ruhla) following the political revolution in the east of Germany. Gardé develops a new, market-oriented range of watches and precision engineering components
1993-1995
Start of development for an innovative radio controlled wristwatch generation. Premiere at the Baselworld in 1995
1995-today
Constant investment in the historical building and manufacturing technology; establishment of stable distribution partnerships; delivery of several hundred thousand radio controlled wristwatches and modules for the markets in Germany, the USA, Japan, France, Italy and Switzerland