West End Watch Company - Appreciation thread and fan club

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

West End Watch Company

* "The imperial watchmaker."
* "The 20th century watchmaker of watchmakers".
* "The Silk Road Watch".

These are just some of the titles bestowed upon this legendary watchmaker.

I want to dedicate this thread to the West End Watch Co. Here, i hope to gather enthusiasts and fans of West End Watch Co. So that they can come together to share views, stories, photos and updates relating to the brand.

The West End Watch Co. is one of the last Swiss independent companies in the watch-making industry. West End watches are carefully assembled and tested till today in the workshops of Leytron, Canton of Valais, Switzerland. Severe entry controls of components as well as strict assembly procedures performed by highly skilful and motivated technicians ensure that only watches of irreprochable quality leave the West End factory of Leytron.

The brand has a loyal following and customer base, and retains a strong retail presence across several countries including Switzerland, France, Greece, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Bhutan, Iran, Kuwait, Pakistan, India, China, Hong Kong, Iraq, Japan, Libya, Yemen, Mongolia, Nepal, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Singapore.

West End Watches have much to offer and a long history to boast about. But its essential technology and innovation lies with three key elements of dependable Swiss Made Technology

1. Waterresistant cases exclusively made of Everbright® stainless steel
Since the 1930's, West End watches are resistant to corrosion thanks to the use of Everbright® stainless steel.

2. Incabloc ® anti-shock system
West End has been one of the first companies to equip its watches with the revolutionary INCABLOC® anti-shock system invented in 1938.

3. Highly-accurate Swiss Made movements
ETA selfwinding calibres fitted into West End watches are the most reliable mechanisms ever made and familiar to watchmakers worldwide. Furthermore, West End finely regulates its movements into 5 wrist-positions to ensure a higher accuracy (between +0 and +15 s/day).


More information about the company's history and timeline can be found here:
https://www.westendwatchco.ch/milestones/20-dates

More information about the company's products can be found at:
https://www.westendwatchco.ch/


More to follow ......

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

West End Watch Co. - a brief history and timeline

Source: https://www.westendwatchco.ch/milestones/20-dates

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

The West End Watch Co. of Leytron, Switzerland​

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At one time, West End watches were a household name in India, and I grew up in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) walking past the monolithic West End Watch Company building near the CST Station (formerly V.T.) in the fort area. My earliest memories of train travel on IR in the late seventies and eighties, through to the nineties, revolve around huge station clocks with the legend "West End Watch Co., Bombay and Calcutta" printed in bold across the face. My family used to own several West End watches that are still among our treasured family heirlooms.

From the latter part of the 19th century, until the advent of cheaper quartz clocks in the 1980s, West End Watches were the standard supplier of clocks and watches to the pre-independence Indian railway companies, notably:

• The East Indian Railway (EIR)
• The North Western Railway (NWR)
• The Madras Railway
• The Bengal-Nagpur Railway (BNR)
• The Jodhpur-Bikaner Railway
• The Eastern Bengal Railway (EBR)
• The Assam-Bengal Railway (ABR)
• The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway
• The Oudh and Rohilkhund Railway (ORR)
• Rohilkhund and Kumaon Railway
• Bengal and North-Western Railway
• Assam Railway and Trading Company
• Calcutta Port Commissioners Railway (CPCR)

Post-independence Indian Railways also used West End clocks to keep time, and these clocks from all periods of the railways in India can still be seen on many stations and sheds over the system (I found a really vintage one in full working order at the Calcutta Tram Company - CTC's - Gariahat tram depot, and newer examples from the 1980s the Central Railways Mumbai division stations, and over the South-Eastern railways networks. Doubtless many hundreds - or thousands - more exist over the vast Indian Railways network. They were also standard equipment for all the major government departments.


A vintage Indian Railways poster for the West End Watch Co.

Last month, I was pleasantly surprised to discover excellent examples of the latest West End Watches prominently displayed at a mall in Doha, Qatar, where I live, and very pleased to discover that the company has been in the uninterrupted business of watch and clock manufacture for the past 125 years. I contacted the company to research their history, and got a very positive response. They are very proud of their Indian links, and also of their rich and often colourful history.

What follows is a brief history, extracted from the material that was provided by the West End Watch Co., and reproduced with their permission.


It all started when The West End, a trendy district of London, inspired its name to Mr Arnold Charpie, who was the Bombay representative of the firm Alcide Droz and Sons, a watch company established at Saint-Imier in Switzerland. Mr Charpie suggested that dials labelled "West End Watch Company" were sent to him. They proved to be a great success, and in 1886, Mr Amstutz and Mr Droz bought Mr Charpie's license for exploitation of the trademark. The West End brand was born.

Until the middle of the last century, West End Watches were called Sowar, Queen Anne, Keepsake, Standard, Extra, Sillidar.

The most popular model was Sowar, which is still manufactured today. In Hindi, "Sowar" means "warrior". However, it is not this reason alone that accounts for the image of the fearlessness and courage of the brand; it is said that Sir Thomas Edward Lawrence and his soldiers wore West End Watches. Thanks to his troops and to the Indian armies, the reputation of the brand spread from Tibet to Aden.


Vintage promotional poster of the West End Watch Co., featuring an Indian Railways steam locomotive and rolling stock.

The West End Watch Company also owes its keen reputation to the sometimes hazardous itineraries necessary to be followed to deliver the watches from Switzerland to the Indies, then to Middle East, China, and Southeast Asia. At the dawn of the 20th century, the long journey from Switzerland to Bombay was full of adventure. It involved taking the consignments by train to Marseilles, then by ship across the Mediterranean Sea, the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Once checked, the watches were dispatched from Bombay throughout the Asian continent.

Delivering West End Watches has never been just a routine! During the Second World War, to avoid the Suez Canal and escape enemy submarines, some consignments were sent via Argentina and took one year to arrive! The anecdotes that relate the adventures of the travelers and the watches during that time are numerous; consignments torpedoed, or returned to Switzerland undamaged after coming up against closed borders. Once again, the reputation of the brand was carried wide and far by the English soldiers throughout Asia, from Burma to Japan passing through China.

Even today, West End Watches stand for adventure. For instance, when the lowest roads of the Himalayas are unsuitable for motor vehicles because of snow, deliveries don't stop, and are carried along on the back of yaks! For more than a century, the passion that drives all those associated with the design, manufacture and commercialization of West End Watches has in no way faltered. The passion also inspires, without any doubt, all those who like wearing watches so rich in history.


A West End vintage watch for railway and telegraph office use. Note the letters around the dial with 'Z' for midnight, 'A' for 1am, etc. - this alphabetic code is still used today for designating goods trains based on their time of departure.

Source: Author: Shantanu Sen, 2011, available at https://www.irfca.org/articles/west-end-watch-co.html

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

West End Watch Co. - the watchmaker of watchmakers​

The West End Watch Company was set up to export Swiss watches to India. It had offices in Switzerland, Bombay and Calcutta. The company still exists, supplying Swiss watches to India, the middle east and China.

The West End Watch Co. did not manufacture watches. It bought watches branded with the West End name and its own model names and logos from Swiss watch manufacturers. Some of the best known models were the Sowar and Sowar Prima, Secundus, Matchless and Queen Anne. Sowar is written in script and often misread.

The early history of the West End Watch Co. is rather difficult to piece together. In compiling the following history I have drawn on Kathleen Pritchard's "Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775 - 1975", Karl Kochmann's "Clock and Watch Trademark Index of European Origin" and the judgement of the Mumbai High Court in the case of The West End Watch Co. vs The Berna Watch Co. on 22 November, 1910.

Foundation of The West End Watch Co.​

In 1864, Alcide Constant Droz and Henry Perret of St. Imier in the Swiss Canton of Berne founded the watchmaking company Droz and Perret. This company subsequently went through many changes of name and registration, and registered many trade marks.

1885 West End Watch Trademark
In 1883 the company changed its registered name to Alcide Droz & Fils (Alcide Droz and Sons). Two of the sons were the brothers Louis, the elder, and Constant. The firm was recorded as makers of watches, specialising in waterproof (imperméable) watches. They registered a trademark of a flying eagle carrying a watch in its beak, surrounded by the words "Imperméable Brevete Dans Tous Pays" (Waterproof Patented in All Countries). On 16 October 1885 they registered a trademark of an eagle carrying a watch in its beak with above it the name "West End Watch".

In 1884 a watch business was started in Bombay by Alcide Droz & Fils and Arnold Charpie. Some reports say that Charpie was the Indian representative of Droz, but I haven't found anything to substantiate this. The firm was evidently a joint venture between Charpie and Alcide Droz & Fils, with the intention of mainly, but not exclusively, importing watches manufactured at the St Imier factory.

In 1887 Alcide Droz & Fils underwent another change of name, becoming Droz & Cie (Droz and Co.). Also in 1887, Arnold Charpie retired from the Bombay firm, and it became wholly owned by Droz & Cie. And also in the same year of 1887, the Bombay firm was renamed the West End Watch Co. And finally, also in 1887, Alcide Droz & Fils patented a trademark of a bear and flag with the word Berna, and also registered "West End Watch Co." on a movement. I think these events, all taking place in the same year, were all connected. The name of the Bombay company before the retirement of Arnold Charpie is not known, but it was evidently not The West End Watch Co. It appears likely that when Charpie retired in 1887 and Droz & Cie took over completely, they took the opportunity to rebrand the company The West End Watch Company, using the trademark name that they had already registered in 1885.

There is a story that after the creation of the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Arnold Charpie decided to add a Helvetia figure, as appeared on Swiss coins, as a trademark, but that this caused a problem because Muslims reject representations of the human form. The story goes that Charpie ordered replacement dials bearing the name West End Watch Company. It is said that this was because he always stayed in and enjoyed the West End on his visits to London. However, as the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property was not created until 1893, some six years after Charpie had retired and eight years after Alcide Droz & Fils had registered the West End Watch trademark, this part of the story at least must be apocryphal.

The West End Watch Co. remained a wholly owned subsidiary of Droz & Cie until 1891, when Jacques-Arnold Amstutz became a partner. In 1893, The West End Watch Cie. was listed as a brand of Droz & Amstutz, St Imier; a branch of a Bombay firm of the same name. In 1895 the Indian branch was named West End Watch Co., Droz & Amstutz, and in 1898 this was changed to West End Watch Co., Droz, Amstutz & Cie.

It seems that at some stage in the early 1890s the two Droz brothers separated their business interests. Constant Droz joined up with Jacques-Arnold Amstutz in India, forming a company called Droz and Amstutz, and Louis Droz remained at the factory in St Imier with the company Droz & Cie.

In 1904 Droz & Cie, the exclusive owners of the St. Imier Factory, got into financial difficulties and converted their manufacturing business into a Joint Stock Company under the name of the Fabrique d'Horlogerie Berna. The West End Watch Co. supported the flotation by taking up a large number of shares in the new Company. At the same time, Droz & Cie sold their interest in the West End Watch Co. to Jacques-Arnold Amstutz and Constant Droz.

By virtue of their large shareholding in the new company, Constant Droz and Jacques-Arnold Amstutz were able to insist on a monopoly of all the products the joint stock company Fabrique d'Horlogerie Berna sent to India for a period of ten years. But by 1907 the joint stock company Berna was itself in trouble, and in December went into liquidation. It seems that at least part of the reason for this was a lack of orders from The West End Watch Co., who had complained about the watches supplied by Berna and began importing watches largely from other manufacturers, while they ceased giving orders to the St. Imier factory.

The West End brand gave the Swiss made watches a distinctly imperial feel, and the clever juxtaposition of Swiss precision engineering and an Empire brand name was a hit. By the mid-1930s, the company estimated that 100,000 of its Queen Anne model alone were being worn in India.

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West End and Longines​

The most famous supplier to West End is undoubtedly the Longines. The Swiss base of West End was located in St-Imier, not far from Longines and it seems that Jacques-Arnold Amstutz had a good relationship with Longines. From the early 1910s Longines supplied watches to West End branded with the West End name and logo, the only company in the world to which this privilege was granted and which contributed significantly to West End's reputation. In the 1950s the management of Longines reconsidered this arrangement and from 1955 only watches with Longines branding were supplied to West End.

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West End Model Names​

Some of the best known models were the Sowar and Sowar Prima, Secundus, Matchless and Queen Anne. Sowar is written in script and often misread. Other names were Sillidar, Aftab, Everbright, Keepsake, XL and The Burma.

1934: A Significant Year​

In 1934 two events occurred that had a significant effect on the subsequent history of the company. Bernard Taubert offered them the Decagonal cases with 10 flat screwed backs and cork sealing in the winding stems, which he guaranteed 100% waterproof, and Georges Braunschweig of La Chaux-de-Fonds offered the company the Incabloc shock resisting system for protecting the balance staff from breakage.

Extract from M. Foëx Memoirs

Extract from M. Foëx Memoirs

The extracts shown here from the memoirs of M. Foëx, managing director of the West End Watch company from 1916 to 1973, were supplied to me by M. Jérôme Monnat, the current CEO of West End Watch Co.

M. Foëx relates how Bernard Taubert and Georges Braunschweig sold their respective waterproof watch case and shock protection system to the West End Watch Company in November 1934. West End immediately, on 12 November, ordered watches with Incabloc shockproofing and Taubert Decagonal cases from Lavina, who made the movements and assembled the watches.

Lavina was founded in 1852. In 1928 they advertised as Lavina, Dubois-Peseux & Cie, with factories at La Chaux-de-Fonds and Villeret, offering good quality lever watches from 10½ to 20 lignes.

The West End Watch Co. thus became one of the first companies to make watches that were waterproof and had the Incabloc shock resisting system. For their market in India and the Far East West End used the brand name Sowar on their watches, which means 'one who rides' in Persian and was adopted as the name of cavalry troops in India. The shockproof and waterproof versions were called in addition "Prima". The Sowar Prima became West End's most successful model.

The West End Watch Co. used Taubert's waterproof Decagonal watch case with the cork stem sealing and 10 flat screw case back from 1934 until 1954, when Taubert were no longer able to keep up with West End's demand, which by then had risen to more than 2,000 case per month. The lifetime of Swiss patents in the 1920s and 1930s was normally 15 years, so by 1954 the Taubert patents for the cork seal and Decagonal case had long since expired. West End asked the Donzé to copy Taubert's cases which, after some hesitation, they manage to do, complete with cork sealing and 10 flat screwed case back. M. Foëx remarks We are saved.

Exploded view of West End Sowar Prima

The exploded view of a West End Sowar Prima here shows how the watch was assembled using a Taubert Decagonal case. The movement, complete with dial and hands, is first dropped into the carrier ring and secured by the two case screws. The carrier ring is then inserted into the case from the back. The winding stem is then inserted through the stem tube, where the cork seal is already in place, and is secured into the movement by tightening the setting lever screw.

With the movement and carrier ring in the case, the inner cover or cuvette then fits over the lower end of the carrier ring. The case back is then screwed into place and it contacts the small dimple in the centre of the cuvette, holding it, the carrier ring and the movement firmly in place.

The case back has 10 flats, hence the name Decagonal, which are gripped by the key used to tightening the back down onto a lead gasket. The lead gasket is not shown in the picture, it is already installed in the main part of the case at the bottom of the threads that the case back screws into.

The effectiveness of the Taubert Decagonal case is shown by the fact that although this particular West End Watch Co. watch has had a fairly tough life, probably in India because the inner cover has the mark "CS(I)" for the Civil Service in India, the movement is as clean and crisp and bright as the day it left the factory.

The West End Watch Co became thus one of the first company to use the Incabloc shock resisting system in their watches, and they used Taubert's waterproof Decagonal watch case with the cork stem sealing and screw back from 1934 until 1954, when Taubert were no longer able to keep up with West End's demand, which by then had risen to more than 2,000 case per month.

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West End and Mido​

Similar to the arrangement with Longines, Mido supplied Multifort watches to be sold in India, produced by Mido with West End trade marks and logos. These watches were marked on the dial "West End Multifort". Mido stopped selling watches to West End in 1951 because they wished to distribute watches in India on their own.

West End had business relationships with many Swiss companies. During the interwar period these included Juillard of Cortébert (Cortébert Watch), Leonidas of Saint-Imier, Marc Favre in Cormoret and Bienne, Brack (who became Lavina) at Villeret, Sauter Frères & Co. in Biel as well as watch factories such as Schwob Frères & Co. in Tavannes (Cyma and Tavannes), Charles Tissot & Fils in Le Locle, Thommen in Waldenburg, Mido in Biel and Aubry Frères SA in Noirmont.

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West End Watch Co. today​

The West End Watch Co. is still flourishing today, with 15 million watches having been sold throughout the world during more than 120 years of uninterrupted activity since its creation. West End is today one of the most highly esteemed Swiss watch brand names in the world, especially in India, the Middle East and China. And their watch cases still have Decagonal 10 flat screw backs.

I didn't realise this until I contacted the company seeking information about their links with the Tauberts, and M. Jérôme Monnat, CEO of West End Watch Co. informed me that since the 1930s, West End has never ceased using the Borgel/Taubert case back!

M. Monnat was interested to learn of the Taubert connection and remarked to me that I remember having had to "fight" against one of my major distributors in Asia which was asking us to renounce in using the Decagonal case back in order to reduce cost. It was 5-6 years ago. I had told him that this was part of our heritage and a kind of trademark for our brand, without knowing of the Borgel/Taubert story. Thank you very much for informing us of this significant historical technical feature. It is giving us a new perspective and reinforce our conviction to use Decagonal case backs.

The picture here shows a watch from the current range, still proudly bearing the name Sowar, and with a Decagonal case back descended directly from the original Taubert design. This one has a sapphire crystal window in the centre which the Tauberts never used, but I am sure they would have approved.

Copyright © David Boettcher 2005 - 2024 all rights reserved.

Source: https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/westend.php

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

West End Watch Co - An affair to no END.

“Time stays long enough for anyone who will use it” – Leonardo Da Vinci.

A fine, mechanical wrist watch is probably one of the most beloved possessions of man – something very ‘human’…as it runs when you wind it or by the movement of your wrist. It is so very personal and attached to us…just like a pet. It is not independent like a battery driven machine…and hence we tend to develop a special bond with it. We know it is dependant on us

Imagine, a small, coiled spring which could unwind itself in few seconds does so in 36 hours by the aid of complex engineering! In the history of time keeping - from sundials to tourbillon, so many illustrious brands have graced this supreme and timeless invention of mankind – our time keepers: The clocks and watches.

For me, and I am sure for many, one particular brand remains very special in that journey.
WEST END WATCH CO. Swiss made. Since 1886.

With India, the bond is historic. From Her Majesty’s troups to civilians, it graced generations...

In the recent times, remember Kareena Kapoor’s old wristwatch in the film '3 idiots'?
It was a West End Watch: a true classic and one of the best of Swiss horology.
I am sure, for many of us, there's a West End we possess or at least we know of there is. Don’t we?

I fondly recollect the joy of getting to see for the first time - my Grandfather's gold cased, full hunting, West End ‘Competition’ pocket watch. It was a high-end model of that era. The watch was taken out of the bank locker nearly half a century after his demise. The bold, Roman letters on the superb, enamelled, sub second dial looked riveting and the watch – regal. In the red velvet case, it seemed to be a pearl in the shell.

The expert technician delved into the watch with his eye glass. It was a 23rd January – Indian National Holiday on account of Netaji’s Birthday. The service centre was opened, by appointment, exclusively to attend my Grandfather’s watch so that the work could be done uninterrupted, in quietness and peace. I sat anxiously as the adventure unfolded…

“This watch was last serviced in 1954, right?” I was taken aback by the unexpected deduction.

“Yes, probably, it was the last time before my Grandfather died in 1958.

I heard my father told me the watch used to be maintained by the famed Abrecht & Co. of British India, but how did you infer?”

What Holmes would have termed ‘elementary’, came from the technician as:

“Hmm. In almost microscopic size font, they have inscribed the date on the case inside back.”
The comprehensive servicing was completed at 9:30 p.m in a neat 4 hours job. I remained a patient and amazed spectator waiting to see the long awaited continuity of the past in the present. And finally that wonderful rhythm started to play: tick tock, tick tock… The old, gold watch looked and worked like a showroom piece. Handsome beyond compare, pristine, spotless and with an attached gold chain, it came as a gift for the bridegroom from my Grand Mom’s home!

The recollection makes me excited, whenever I think of the episode -the unmatched joy of seeing the watch ticking (after 50 years of rest). It was a moment of truth and a sense of great contentment for me to place the newly serviced watch before my father. It was a rejuvenation of fond memories of profound association.

It is about such joy of restoring and preserving these treasured heirlooms. Of hunting and procuring NOS (new old stock) models which erratically (and rarely) pop up from old shop attics ; and then getting the right wrist straps befitting these old world models!
One day, one of my friend (a fellow watch aficionado) told me:

“Anirban, great news, that shop, I found has got a stock of vintage, but unused West End Watches! 1950s Sowar Prima. Daisy fresh. I got one for myself …people are picking in 2s and 3s…rush, rush !” Oh, what a discovery!!

And there are so many other lovely memories and trivia - that’s the essence of the relationship with this great brand. Each West End Watch that I had inherited or have bought has some special story and adventure around it. No wonder, cause the brand epitomises strength and adventure!

Great watches, great moments, great memories…

The love affair with West End has no end!!

Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

Some of the past /present models of West End Watch Co. are listed, below.

Queen Anne, Sowar / Sowar Prima, Secundus, Keepsake, Sillidar, Philos, Bijou, Competition, Matchless.

Other relatively lesser known models:
Imperator, Aftab, Dost, Index, Themis, Mohka Prima, Genteel, Campaign.

The name of “Queen Anne” was given to this wristwatch in homage to the last queen of England and Ireland of the Stuart dynasty, whose reign, from1702 to 1714, was marked by the ascendancy of the British navy over the oceans of the world and by the birth of the United Kingdom through the union of Scotland with England and Ireland. This watch proved itself worthy of its name, so dear to the British, by its exceptional qualities of reliability and resistance to all the trials of everyday life - like Queen Anne herself.

Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

Queen Anne vintage Trench Watch

Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

At the beginning of the 20th century, a model was launched, called the Sowar — the cavalryman — a tough watch that could be kept in the pocket or worn on the wrist. It soon came to the attention of the military, and in World War I, tens of thousands of Indian soldiers bought Sowar watches before leaving on campaign.


Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

By 1934 the Sowar was a modern wristwatch, the first with the Incabloc™ anti-shock system. Today, after more than a century, the model follows the same concept — robust, clear and functional — with a trustworthy feel and look.

Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

Silver Trench Watch with enamelled dial, circa 1930.


Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

In India, West End watches proved their excellence in their use from the end of the 19th century by all the staff of the main railway companies, the post and telegraph offices, the police, the ports and the Indian and British government administrative services.


Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

The West End Watch Co. in Dalhousie Square, Calcutta. From a postcard published by Thacker, Spink & Co. Photograph by Johnston and Hoffmann, circa 1908.y

Similar West End Watch Co retail outlets were found in abundance across cities in the subcontinent during the late British empire

Source: Author: Anirban Mitra 2014. https://thatsanirban.blogspot.com/2014/08/anaffair-to-no-end.html?m=1

 

[Humpty_Dumpty_Rises]

West End Watch Co.

The West End Watch Company was founded in India in the mid-1800s by a certain Mr. Charpie. The company, based in Bombay and Calcutta, imported Swiss-made "no name" watches and was an instant success. In 1886, the company was bought by Messrs. Droz and Amstutz who, in 1917, founded a new headquarters in Geneva. The firm was at the time the first distributor of Swiss watches to British troops in the Middle and Far East.

An important date for WEWCo was 1934 when, first, it adopted on its famous model Sowar Prima, the "Incabloc" protection system.

Over 13 million watches were sold by WEWCo in the Middle and Far East. In Persia alone, 1,000 watches were sold a day. The business in India was stopped in 1975, when the import of watches from abroad was banned.

That the WEWCo has focused heavily on military supplies is also evident from its advertising.

Source: https://omegaforums.net/threads/west-end-watch-co-from-india-with-love.124164/