====== Consul ======

{{wst>author|[[Foskett, Stephen|Stephen Foskett]] ([[https://grail-watch.com/|Grail Watch]])}}

**Consul** is a historic Swiss watch brand established in [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] as early as [[1900]]. The brand was associated with [[Charles Virchaux]] since [[1926]] and was owned by [[Girard-Perregaux Holding]] from [[1969]] through [[1979]], then by [[Desco von Schulthess]], parent company for [[Maurice Lacroix]], until [[1996]]. Consul is currently located in [[Neuchâtel]] and focuses on the Asian market.

===== Montres Consul =====
François Huguenin established a watch workshop in [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] in [[1900]] and registered the Consul brand in [[1901]] or [[1904]]. Consul claimed to be "since [[1901]]" in advertising in the 1980s, though other sources list [[1900]] as their start date. The company celebrated its 50th anniversary in [[1950]], suggesting this earlier date.

The company was passed to Huguenin's son in law, [[Charles Virchaux]], in [[1934]], eight years after joining the company. He passed it to his son [[Virchaux, Charles-Edouard|Charles-Edouard Virchaux]] in [[1942]]. The brand received recognition for "50 years at the Basel Fair" in [[1991]], suggesting that they first exhibited in [[1941]]. The Montres Consul brand appears for the first time in the [[Davoine]] directory in [[1942]]. It is listed as a subsidiary of Charles Virchaux, Rue Léopold-Robert 63, La Chaux-de-Fonds. By [[1947]] Virchaux and Consul had relocated to Rue Numa-Droz 141.

In [[1952]], Consul won a [[chronometer]] certificate from the [[Neuchâtel Observatory]], and this fact was celebrated for decades to come. The company had been testing all of its watches since [[1946]] and boasted chronometer status for many watches in the 1950s.

A [[1954]] advertisement in [[Europa Star]] shows Consul as a producer of 21 jewel watches with a 1st prize from the [[Neuchâtel Observatory]] [[chronometer]] competition in [[1953]]. The company is also listed as the producer of [[Landi]] brand watches at that time. Consul was shown at the [[Basel Fair]] in [[1957]], and both Consul and Landi were shown from [[1959]] through [[1962]].

Consul listed a 30 jewel automatic calendar wristwatch in [[1965]], along with a men's fob-style watch with a square or round case. The company was using the [[Orly]] brand by this point as well. The company listed ladies pendant watches in the 1960s as well.

===== Consul and Girard-Perregaux =====
Charles-Edouard Virchaux married [[Graef, Paulette|Paulette Graef]], owner of [[Girard-Perregaux]], in [[1951]]. Consul became a joint stock corporation in [[1962]] and was taken over by [[Girard-Perregaux Holding]] in [[1969]]. Charles-Edouard Virchaux would become General Director of the Holding company that year.

The company was officially named Montres Consul SA by [[1966]] with the same address that Virchaux had listed. Consul and Landi again exhibited at Basel that year through [[1972]]. The Consul Alertic, introduced by [[1969]], was a dual-crown alarm watch.

In [[1977]], Consul is listed as a subsidiary of [[Girard-Perregaux]], Rue Girardet 1, La Chaux-de-Fonds. The company had adjoining booths with Girard-Perregaux at Basel since [[1972]], and appears to have specialized in pendant watches by this point.

In [[1979]], Girard-Perregaux Holding was purchased by [[Desco von Schulthess]] of Zurich, owner of [[Maurice Lacroix]]. Consul was re-launched in [[1980]] with an expanded lineup of watches.

Girard-Perregaux was sold by Desco in [[1985]].

===== Catamaran and Consul =====
Consul had launched the [[Catamaran]] brand in [[1983]], with a line of nautical themed watches. A shockproof Catamaran Turbo was shown in [[1985]]. A new design Catamaran followed at Basel in [[1987]], with a line of complicated quartz calendar models launched the next year. The Consul brand was no longer featured on the watches.

Montres Consul moved from La Chaux-de-Fonds to [[Bienne]] in [[1986]]. By [[1992]], Consul was listed as "operating independently" within [[Desco von Schulthess|Desco Zurich]]. The Catamaran was still their major product line at this time, and in [[1994]] this was listed as a separate division of the company, with a new "double hull" design. An Europa Star report suggests that Catamaran had sold 120,000 units in 1993, and present in 52 international markets.

Consul was sold by Desco in [[1996]], and the company was moved to [[Neuchâtel]] in [[1998]]. By the 2000s Consul brand watches were once again on the market. Most were fashionable watches with jewels or mother of pearl.


{{tag>Watch_brands Watch_brands_Switzerland La_Chaux-de-Fonds Girard-Perregaux}}