Yema History
Yema Yachtingraf Croisiere / Credit: AnalogShift
The French often get the back seat when it comes to watchmaking prowess, and that’s if they get a seat at all. But like with many European countries, France was very much involved in the development of the watch industry, with many prominent watchmakers being French. Apart from the big names like Breguet, Cartier, Bell & Ross, and LIP, there is one other brand that should be included in the same conversation and that is Yema.
Yema was founded in 1948 in Besançon, France by Henry Louis Belmont. At 16, Belmont began his studies at the National Watchmaking School of Besançon, graduating top of his class in 1931 and taking up an apprenticeship with his father, who was also a watchmaker. In 1935, he started his first job after his apprenticeship as a watchmaker for one of his eventual competitors, LIP. By 1944 he was made Director of Production and in 1946 he became Technical Director. After success working in the sector, Belmont, who at the time was still called Blum, decided to launch Yema in 1948 with the help of a small team of young watchmakers. Their company took off, launching one of their most popular models in 1963 – the Yema Superman, which although being a total Rolex homage today, has quite an illustrious history. Not only was it 300m water resistant, but it was also one of the watches chosen by the French Airforce for its rescue divers and one of the first watches to introduce the bezel lock. The Superman was followed up the Rallygraf, a racing watch worn by Italian F1 driver Mario Andretti, and the Yachtingraf, a sailing watch, both released in 1966. Yema reached its peak in the late 1960s, becoming the leading French watch exporter by volume, selling watches in over 50 countries. It continued to have minor success in its later years, with French astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien wearing the Yema Spationaule 1 aboard the Soyuz T-6 in 1982.
Unfortunately, Yema has fallen off since the Quartz Attack, with Belmont’s son selling the company in 1982 and it being bought by Seiko in 1988. Finally finding its home in 2009 after it was acquired by Montres Ambre.