====== Solvil et Titus ======

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

**Solvil**, **Titus**, and **Didis** are brands created by watchmaker and entrepreneur [[Ditisheim, Paul|Paul Ditisheim]], whose family had founded the [[Vulcain]] brand. The company was later widely known as **Solvil et Titus** and continues in operation within [[Ebel]] and [[Stelux]] today.

===== Paul Ditisheim =====
Paul Ditisheim was part of the well-known [[Ditisheim]] family of watchmakers of Switzerland. He studied watching in [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] and worked at his family's factory, known for the [[Vulcain]] brand, starting in [[1887]].

Ditisheim founded his own company in [[1892]] and was located at 11 Rue de la Paix in [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]] by [[1894]]. His initial products included watches and jewelry with cylinder and anchor escapements as small as 7 ligne. Ditisheim advertised that he produced watches in both the English ([[bridge]]) and [[Glashütte]] ([[three quarter plate]]) style, including [[chronometer]]s. The company specialized at that time in compact movements, including ladies chronometers with [[enamel]] and [[jewelry]].

Paul Ditisheim was already drawing recognition for this [[chronometer]]s before the turn of the century. He took 1st class in the [[1895]] competition at [[Neuchâtel]] and won a gold medal at the [[1896]] Exposition Nationale de Geneva. This earned him a place on the jury at the International Exposition in Brussels in [[1897]]. His chronometers continued to win prizes at Neuchâtel in [[1897]] and [[1898]] and the grand prize at the Universal Exposition in Paris in [[1900].

Ditisheim's products were marketed for their accuracy and anti-magnetism, with his watches recognized in observatory [[chronometer]] contests by [[1903]]. Ditisheim set a new chronometry record at Royal Key Observatory in [[1912]], and he worked closely with Nobel Prize-winning physicist [[Guillaume, Charles-Edouard|Charles-Edouard Guillaume]] to improve accuracy of his watches. Paul Ditisheim also collaborated with chemical engineer [[Woog, Paul|Paul Woog]] at this time, and the company produced well-known lubricants and oils with his name in the 1920s.

By [[1902]], Ditisheim was producing [[deck clock]]s, and was supplying these to the United States Navy by [[1908]]. The company had also branched out into emerging categories [[Ultra-thin]] pocket watches and "[[wristwatch|bracelets-montres]]" by that year. Ditisheim had also begun to use the **Ditis** brand on watches by [[1908]]. Ditisheim was producing men's wristwatches as well by [[1918]].

Needing more space, Ditisheim hired architect Henri Grieshaber to build a modern new workshop at Rue Serre 24, adjacent to the [[1869]] building already used at Rue du Parc 25. This building had large windows and is just six meters wide, providing optimal working space for the occupants. It features a large sign reading "Chronometres" which is still visible today.

By [[1920]], Paul Ditisheim also opened another factory in the small village of [[Sonvilier]] and launched a new brand reflecting the name of that town, **Solvil**. Over time, this brand would displace Ditisheim's own as well as the shortened Ditis and would become the name of the entire company. The **Titus** brand would appear by [[1934]] at Parc 25 under the name "Titus SA". Though the larger company was still called Paul Ditisheim SA, the watches were now sold as Ditis, Solvil, and Titus, the latter two incorporated separately as Solvil SA and Titus SA in Sonvilier and La Chaux-de-Fonds, respectively.

===== Paul-Bernard Vogel =====
The company was purchased by Swiss businessman [[Vogel, Paul-Bernard|Paul-Bernard Vogel]] in [[1930]], who moved the company to [[Geneva]]. But the name Paul Ditisheim would remain associated with the company and used in advertising for decades after.

The company continued offering watches under three brands Solvil was a high-end brand continuing Ditisheim's legacy, Ditis was the modern chronometry brand, and Titus was an anti-magnetic watch at a moderate price.

Solvil et Titus was a founding member of [[SGT|Societe des Gardes-Temps]], a group of lower-cost watchmakers, starting in [[1968]]. This also included the American [[Waltham]] and (after [[1973]]) [[Elgin]] companies.

In the 1970s, Paul-Bernard's son Paul Vogel took over and focused on the Asian market. He sold the European operations to [[Ebel]] and integrated the Hong Kong company with [[Stelux]].


{{tag>Watch_brands Watch_brands_Switzerland}}