Langendorf Watch Company SA

Langendorf Watch Company was a Swiss watchmaker known for its fine craftsmanship and great attention to detail.

The factory was located in the village Langendorf, canton of Solothurn, district of Lebern, Switzerland.

Perhaps for those reasons, the factory began organizing housing and training of their workers, and it gained a reputation for being socially responsible.

An advertisement from 1916 showing picture of the factory claimed that it employed 1.500 workers and produced 3.000 time-pieces daily.

The company was then led by Guido Kottmann and a committee of family members, but due to challenging business conditions – and perhaps problems of mismanagement – the company decided to join a conglomerate of watch makers called "Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Uhrenindustrie AG" (SGU) in 1964.

Soon after, in 1965, the Langendorf Watch Company was bought by "Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère SA" (SSIH) which was itself the result of a 1930 merger between Omega and Tissot.

Along with the Langendorf Watch Company, SSIH acquired more than fifty of its competitors, fueled by its newfound commercial success.

The Langendorf Watch Company was attractive for the Lanco brand and its highly sophisticated and semi-automated production line with modern manufacturing equipment.

There's an early wrist watch developed for World War I infantry officers to use in trenches.

The illustration to the right is of a Lanco ladies' watch given as a retirement present, engraved on the rear of its case with the date November 1956.

After 1973, a number of movements from other suppliers were used for Lanco chronographs, the most famous calibers stemming from Valjoux and Angelus.

As of 1998, new Lanco watches are being sold in South Africa by S. Bacher & Company, under license from The Swatch Group.