Rode
Rode Watch Co. was an American clock and watch manufacturer known for alarm clocks. The company was located in La Chaux-de-Fonds from 1908.
Rode Watch Co. was formed in New York around the turn of the century. The company produced precision clocks and watches using the American system of mass production. Rode established an office in La Chaux-de-Fonds by 1908, locating at Rue Jaquet-Droz 47, before moving to the complex known as the Montbrillant Watch Manufactory alongside Breitling in 1913. Rode replaced the well-known firm of Couleru-Meuri, which had occupied Montbrillant 1 since 1894. Rode's space at the factory was taken over by Sonex/Darax, a joint venture of Eugene Meylan and Henri Jeanneret in 1918 and both Avia and Sonex would later become part of Degoumois & Co. of Neuchâtel.
By 1920, Rode had relocated to Rue Bois-Gentil 9, was at Rue Tilleuls 2-4 in 1922, and then Rue Régionaux 11 in 1924 along with J. Blum-Schwob & Cie. and Z. Perrenoud & Co. In 1927, famed watchmaker Girard-Perregaux & Cie S.A. moved in at the same address.
By 1918, Rode was selling watches using the Avia brand as “Fabrique Avia”. This brand would continue after World War II in the hands of Degoumois of Neuchâtel.
Rode produced 9.5, 11, 13, 17, and 19 ligne movements there, including alarm watches. The company offered both negative setting (for American) and positive setting (for Europe) movements. Rode boasted “unbreakable glass” with a patented “double clinched” bezel for waterproofing.
Rode is no longer listed in Indicateur Davoine after 1928.