Armand Nicolet

Armand Nicolet is a Swiss watch manufacture whose story begins around 1875 in Tramelan, in the Bernese Jura. The son of a watchmaker, Armand Nicolet founded his Atelier d'Horlogerie after a brilliant apprenticeship, soon affirming his technical maturity: in 1902 he produced a pocket watch with a guilloché rose-gold case, enamel dial, single-button chronograph function, complete calendar and repetition of hours, quarters and minutes. True masterpieces of beauty, quality and precision, they are still kept in the Maison's museum and remain sought after by collectors worldwide. On his death in 1939, his son Willy took up the legacy, developing it into one of the region's most important production facilities. In 1987 a chance meeting with the Italian entrepreneur Rolando Braga marked the beginning of a union between extraordinary Swiss technique and Italian creativity.

Between the 1930s and 1970s, Armand Nicolet ran one of the most specialised ateliers in T1 finishing — the process in which a movement's parts are decorated, assembled and finely tuned by hand by master watchmakers for flawless operation. Specialised in complications such as the Venus chronographs (including the Rattrapante), the complete calendar and many other calibres, the manufacture finished and supplied these movements to some of the most prestigious Swiss brands. When the quartz crisis struck the industry in the late 1970s, the factory run by Willy Nicolet managed to preserve this knowledge by keeping its atelier open through the hardest years.

From that heritage comes the O.H.M. – Original Historical Movement series: original vintage movements (UNITAS, Venus, ETA, Peseux, FHF) restored and finely regulated in the atelier, offered in limited editions owing to the small number of calibres still available. Every Armand Nicolet watch is delivered with an International Warranty Certificate and a Certificate of Authenticity: not only a unique work of art, but a genuine piece of history. The artisanal savoir-faire remains alive in the manufacture, where every stage — from design to assembly and final inspection — is developed in-house, in the founder's tradition.

At Calibro, you'll find the available selection of Armand Nicolet watches: Swiss-manufacture timepieces that unite authentic heritage with artisanal savoir-faire — for those seeking quality, history and a piece made to last.