====== Valjoux ======
{{wst>menue_mov|Valjoux}}

**Valjoux** is a Swiss [[ebauche movement]] manufacturer, currently part of the [[Swatch Group]]'s [[ETA]] division.

===== Foundation as Reymond Frères SA =====
Valjoux SA was founded in [[1901]] by the brothers John and Charles Reymond in Les Bioux and until [[1929]] operated under the name "Reymond Frères SA". The company specialized on [[chronograph]] movements. In [[1910]] it moved to a factory building maintained by the municipality of [[Les Bioux]].

The company's famous [[column wheel]] chronograph movement, [[Valjoux 22|Calibre 22]], debuted in [[1914]] and lasted in production for sixty years. But it was larger than desirable for wrist watch use. The military, involved in the First World War, required reliable bracelet [[chronograph]]s. Thereafter the 13-[[ligne]] [[chronograph]] [[Valjoux 23|Calibre 23]] (diameter 29.33 mm, height 5.85 mm) was developed, which in [[1916]] came to the production stage and soon ticked in the wristwatches of very different manufacturers (for instance [[Audemars Piguet]], [[Patek Philippe]], [[Rolex]], and [[Vacheron Constantin]]). The production lasted nearly sixty years, and until [[1974]] about 125,000 [[ebauche movement]]s of this type were made.

===== The name "Valjoux" =====
Reymond Frères had used the [[brand]] "Valjoux" (short for [[Vallée de Joux]]) and cursive R (for Reymond) mark as early as [[1920]]. By this time the company was specializing in chronographs, [[rattrapante]]s, and [[shaped movement]]s. By [[1923]], Reymond was producing complete finished movements in addition to [[ebauche]]s.

The generational change took place with the name change in [[1929]] The Reymond's sons Marius and Arnold took over the company, which was called "Valjoux SA" from then on. In the [[1930]] years the transition from [[pocket watch]] to [[wristwatch]] movements was performed. In [[1944]] the incorporation into the [[Ebauches SA]] followed, and the primary focus on chronograph movements was retained.

===== Merged into the Swatch Group =====
The company still delivers its high-quality chronograph movements, including the classic [[Valjoux 7750]], to many companies, such as [[IWC]], [[Omega]], [[Breitling]], [[TAG Heuer]], [[Chronoswiss]], [[Sinn]], [[Temption]], or [[Mühle]].

The company has now been entirely absorbed by the [[Swatch Group]], the world's largest watch group. This also expresses in the name of the current calibers, adopted by Valjoux, such as the [[Valjoux 7750]], now called [[ETA 7750]]; and similarly for the other chronograph calibers.

===== See Also =====
  * [[Valjoux calibres]]


{{tag>Movement_manufacturers Movement_manufacturers_Switzerland Swatch_Group Vallée_de_Joux Ebauches_SA Valjoux}}