F.P. Journe and Chanel take over Ebel, the brand behind the Sport Classique
A surprise from the watch world this week: a consortium led by Montres Journe, with Chanel and former De Bethune chief executive Pierre Jacques, has bought 95% of Ebel from the Movado Group for US$66.5 million. Movado keeps the remaining shares, and Jacques will run the brand on his own.
For vintage fans, Ebel is a name worth remembering. In the 1980s and 1990s it was one of the biggest brands in Switzerland, famous for the Sport Classique, nicknamed the "wave" for its integrated bracelet. Launched in 1977, that model pushed the workforce up fifteen-fold and revenue into nine figures. Cartier even turned to Ebel to produce Cartier watches, and Ebel was the biggest buyer of Zenith's El Primero movements.
The decline began after Pierre-Alain Blum, grandson of the founders, sold the company in 1994 following ill-fated diversifications. Investcorp bought it, then LVMH, and then Movado, which tried and failed to revive it over two decades. Movado is now selling for about what it paid some 23 years ago.
What happens next will be interesting. Old Ebel pieces from the Sport Classique era are well worth a look on the vintage market, and a serious new owner could change how people see them.
Source: SJX Watches
For vintage fans, Ebel is a name worth remembering. In the 1980s and 1990s it was one of the biggest brands in Switzerland, famous for the Sport Classique, nicknamed the "wave" for its integrated bracelet. Launched in 1977, that model pushed the workforce up fifteen-fold and revenue into nine figures. Cartier even turned to Ebel to produce Cartier watches, and Ebel was the biggest buyer of Zenith's El Primero movements.
The decline began after Pierre-Alain Blum, grandson of the founders, sold the company in 1994 following ill-fated diversifications. Investcorp bought it, then LVMH, and then Movado, which tried and failed to revive it over two decades. Movado is now selling for about what it paid some 23 years ago.
What happens next will be interesting. Old Ebel pieces from the Sport Classique era are well worth a look on the vintage market, and a serious new owner could change how people see them.
Source: SJX Watches
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