Currently strapless,
this little handwind mechanical nevertheless runs strong, and is in
surprisingly decent shape, cosmetically. Pam can't remember where she
got it, and has no idea how old it is. Information gleaned from the web
would suggest that it had to be manufactured prior to 1972, though:
Buren was named after the location of is initial start up at a little village in Switzerland called Buren, located on the banks of the Aare. The firm started in 1842 making watch parts. In 1873, Buren started making complete watches and called themselves F Suter & Co.
F Suter & Co. continued with varying success to make watches with the trade name of 'Buren' for several years until it was taken over by the British firm of H Williamson Ltd in 1898. H Williamson Ltd, specifically bought the Buren factory to supply Swiss parts for the watches he was making in the UK. This later lead to a court case where he was found guilty of selling 'English Made' watches with Swiss parts in them. While H Williamson Ltd owned the Buren brand, they generally allowed the company to continue on its own with them just being the Parent company and receiving parts from them. By 1905, Buren were making 500 watches a day. Many of them for the parent company, but some were sold in Germany and the USA under the Buren name.
By 1949, Buren were back producing 22 different calibers for watches. In 1954, they patented the mini-rotor for automatic watches. This was a major achievement as the smaller rotor meant that it could be sink flush with the watch movement, so making automatic watches a lot slimmer.
Buren sold many watches and movements with other companies names on them such as Elgin and were often used in Railroad Watches because of their accuracy and reliability. Probably because of this, and the fact that Hamilton Watch Co. of America were known suppliers of Railroad Watches, Hamilton bought Buren from the Swiss in 1966. Under Hamilton's control, the first self winding Chronograph using the mini-rotor was introduced. Hamilton, who was well known in the US for their 'Railroad Watches', marketed Buren watches under their own name, one example is the Hamilton 971 which was a Buren watch. Hamilton also continued to market Buren watches under the Buren name until they again went back into Swiss hands in 1971. In this year SIHH, who owned Omega and Tissot, bought the Hamilton watch Co. However, ironically, it was this Swiss company who finally closed down the Buren factory in 1972.
Buren was named after the location of is initial start up at a little village in Switzerland called Buren, located on the banks of the Aare. The firm started in 1842 making watch parts. In 1873, Buren started making complete watches and called themselves F Suter & Co.
F Suter & Co. continued with varying success to make watches with the trade name of 'Buren' for several years until it was taken over by the British firm of H Williamson Ltd in 1898. H Williamson Ltd, specifically bought the Buren factory to supply Swiss parts for the watches he was making in the UK. This later lead to a court case where he was found guilty of selling 'English Made' watches with Swiss parts in them. While H Williamson Ltd owned the Buren brand, they generally allowed the company to continue on its own with them just being the Parent company and receiving parts from them. By 1905, Buren were making 500 watches a day. Many of them for the parent company, but some were sold in Germany and the USA under the Buren name.
By 1949, Buren were back producing 22 different calibers for watches. In 1954, they patented the mini-rotor for automatic watches. This was a major achievement as the smaller rotor meant that it could be sink flush with the watch movement, so making automatic watches a lot slimmer.
Buren sold many watches and movements with other companies names on them such as Elgin and were often used in Railroad Watches because of their accuracy and reliability. Probably because of this, and the fact that Hamilton Watch Co. of America were known suppliers of Railroad Watches, Hamilton bought Buren from the Swiss in 1966. Under Hamilton's control, the first self winding Chronograph using the mini-rotor was introduced. Hamilton, who was well known in the US for their 'Railroad Watches', marketed Buren watches under their own name, one example is the Hamilton 971 which was a Buren watch. Hamilton also continued to market Buren watches under the Buren name until they again went back into Swiss hands in 1971. In this year SIHH, who owned Omega and Tissot, bought the Hamilton watch Co. However, ironically, it was this Swiss company who finally closed down the Buren factory in 1972.
