Fortis Uhren
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| Type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Watch assemblying |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Founder(s) | Walter Vogt |
| Headquarters | Grenchen, Switzerland |
| Products | Wristwatches, accessories |
| Website | fortis-watches.com |
Fortis is a watchmaker founded and based in Grenchen Switzerland that was established by Walter Vogt in 1912.
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[edit] History
12 years after its establishment, Walter Vogt set up production with John Harwood, the inventor of the automatic wristwatch. In 1926, Fortis released the first self-winding wristwatch, the patented Harwood Automatic. In 1937, Fortis commemorated their 25th anniversary by manufacturing their first chronographs and in 1954 they took over the world-wide distribution of alarm watches.[vague] In 1992, they released the first watch with indication of the 52 calendar weeks.[citation needed]
[edit] Cosmonauts' equipment
Since 1994 Fortis has been the exclusive supplier of manned space missions authorized by the Russian Federal Space Agency.[citation needed]
[edit] Fortis Flieger
The company's 75th anniversary Fortis set a trend with their new edition of the Flieger automatic collection, known as the world's first factory of automatic wristwatches.[citation needed]
In 2004, the Flieger Chronograph was awarded the first European Aviation Watch of the Year Trophy.[citation needed]
[edit] Military Squadron Editions
Apart from being the official supplier of tool watches for manned space mission, Fortis also supplied watches to many worldwide military squadrons. The list includes the de:Jagdgeschwader (Germany), Swiss 11 Fighters - Switzerland, Hellenic Tigers - Greece, NATO Forces - Hungary, Immelmann 51 - Germany, Thunder Tiger Aerobatic Team - Taiwan, Papa Squadron - Hungary.[citation needed]
[edit] References
[edit] Further reading
- Mattise, Nathan, "Museum of Fakes: German Gallery Showcases Best Knockoffs", Wired magazine, December 2011 issue. One of the winners for the 2011 annual competition was a counterfeit of a Fortis B-47 calculator model watch which was copied and fabricated in Thailand.
