 Kelek Watches
Founded in 1896
Ernest Gorgerat founded Kelek in 1896 during the year of the first modern Olympics in
Greece. He established his new company in La Chaux-de-Fonds, inaugurating a tradition that
has transformed that Swiss town into the El Dorado of watch making, no mean feat in a
country legendary throughout the world for its stellar timepieces. Because of Kelek, La
Chaux-de-Fonds has become the Mecca of horology, attracting the finest craftsmen, artists
and engineers in the watch manufacturing industry. Over the last 100 years the town and
the company have weathered the extraordinary vicissitudes of the twentieth century, riding
the tide of revolutions, wars, catastrophes and innovations. Now, under the stewardship of
Chief Executive Gabriel Feuvrier, Kelek carries on its remarkable reputation for high
standards and holds its place in the pantheon of outstanding Swiss watch manufacturers.
Great location and its recent renovation have only made it better. Through Feuvrier's
efforts, Kelek hones the technical skills of its engineers, nurtures the creativity of its
artists and craftsmen, promotes international trade, maintains its independence and
profitability, and continues to penetrate the mystery of time in its relationship to
modern society.
Museum Quality of Kelek Watches
The International Watch Museum has four representative Kelek mechanical watches. There
is good reason for this. During the electronic revolution of the 1970s, Gabriel Feuvrier
made the courageous decision not only to resist the prevailing wisdom that counseled
companies to submit to the new technology, but assiduously insisted on perfecting
mechanical movements by making them more technically sophisticated, and by improving their
designs for greater exclusivity. Feuvrier's background as a musician first established his
almost mystical connection to time. While studying with the greatest watchmakers, he
devoured books on all aspects of the industry. He loves the mechanical watch because it is
an integrated work of art fulfilling a specific function and producing a desired effect,
rather than a pretty case housing an electronic device that does all the work. Mechanical
horology of the twentieth century is celebrated through Feuvrier's exacting standards. He
synthesizes centuries of clock and watch making, reaffirming the timepiece as an
integrated partner of today's society, rather than a superfluous cultural adornment.
Craftsmanship of Kelek Watches
Kelek's output in terms of originality and variety is prodigious, but quality prevails
over quantity. That is the company's credo, which it maintains to this day. Its watches
are many, but all come equipped with standard appointments that can vary from watch to
watch, some of which are: automatic movement, 21 jewels, Incabloc, fine timing and timing
in four positions, perpetual calendar with day, week, month, year, leap-year, season, 24
hours and moon phases, Glucydur balance, polished screw heads, articulated lugs, stainless
steel case, titanium case, sapphire glass on top and bottom, mineral glass, appliqué
dials, water resistance, winding-crown, 18 karat gold plating, rhodium-plating, crocodile
straps and one- or two-color steel bracelets. Its superior line of self-winding and fully
equipped chronographs with sub-dials and push pieces are generally 38 jewels, with the
chronograph and calendar mechanisms. The Kelek watch can be richly decorated and engraved,
and may include gilt lettering. The Kelek watch is also handsome, sophisticated, rugged
and professional in every sense of the word. It makes a fine working tool and a precision
instrument that is indispensable to the modern, active lifestyle.
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