At The Watch Press we often feature some lesser-known brands (although this by no means implies lesser quality – quite often the opposite in fact) among the brands whose fortunes (and foresight) have afforded them the luxury of high-profile international marketing campaigns and instant recognition worldwide. However, no matter how great the name is today, most share very similar origins in humble beginnings, the luminaries almost always time-served apprentices at the watchmakers bench.Our attention turns this time to the Architects of Time – Ebel – and to their origins in the early years of the 1900s.The Ebel story begins in 1911, although this year only marked the formal establishment of the marque, and the main players are the husband and wife Eugène Blum and Alice Lévy, from whose initials emerged the Ebel name, first registered as the trademark of Fabrique Blum & Cie. in the watchmaking centre of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, on July 15th of that year.Having already spent many years in the industry, they were both accomplished and respected locally and the seemingly natural progression from mender and successful watchmaker, in the case of Eugène, complimented by his wife Alice’s eye for detail and design combined with trend-spotting business acumen and efficiency, brought about the birth of the Ebel watch company.In only their second year, Fabrique Blum & Cie unveiled their first Ebel timepieces. For the lady the emphasis was on delightful design and the use of precious metals and jewels for the Haute Joaillerie models, while for the menfolk more attention was paid to the aura of sophistication and elegance.While Eugène oversaw the production of the movements, ensuring that his own uncompromising standards of precision, reliability and quality were ingrained into the manufacturing process, Alice maintained a steady hand at the helm of the business as well as overseeing the design of the timepieces. Her eye for aesthetic elegance and innovative design meant that the first Ebel watches – one of which, the Ebel Ring watch, picked up a gold medal at the 1914 Swiss National Exhibition in Bern – were immediately ‘en vogue’ and brought the company early success.As a result of the award Ebel was introduced to a wider audience, and following on from the success of the award it began to receive orders for complete watches from other brands, for resale under their own names. This activity alone would become a significant aspect of the Ebel output for decades to come, and helped secure a prosperous future for the young company.In 1925 Ebel enjoyed the honour of winning the Grand Prix at the prestigious Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoraties et Industries Modernes in Paris for their High Jewellery Art Déco wristwatches.Eugène then began to embark on sales tours abroad, encompassing the world and winning orders in the major centres, although the demand which was needed to bring the brand to international prominence eluded him.Charles- Eugène Blum, the son of the founders, joined the company in 1929 and his arrival along with that of Marcel Reuche, a brilliantly skilled watchmaker, soon afterwards heralded the introduction of a new refined system of production which resulted in ever more precise and reliable movements, to such an extent that even the grandee watch houses such as Vacheron Constantine came calling on Ebel for providing movements.At this time the majority of the orders which filled the sales books were coming from lucrative private label contracts with other large watch houses, Ebel’s own designs although central to the identity of the brand were less a priority for the company at the time, although their own Paul Breguette brand was selected for another campaign in the US in the 1930s. Of course Ebel still created svelte stylish pieces in their own name, just not in the same volumes as the supply demanded by their illustrious contemporaries.The ability to provide large numbers of pieces to contract was no bad thing however, and Ebel got a chance to supply their own watches in volume when they won the contract to supply the Royal Air Force from 1939 and through the war years.Following the war, the brand continued its supply to its larger clients, with its own creations coasting along, but not much more than that. Apart from occasional flashes of the old spirit, the art of design for which Ebel had won its early recognition and plaudits seemed to have been replaced by a period of uninspiring, although technically superb, wristwatches.