Born from the quartz revolution
In the mid-1960s, electronics worldwide is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Integrated circuits are making electronics more powerful and compact, while the 1969 moon landing becomes a symbol of a new technological era. At the same time, quartz technology presents the Swiss watchmaking industry with a new challenge: electronic wristwatches require high-precision, miniaturised printed circuit boards.
In response, Cicorel S.A. is founded on 18 August 1966 in the context of the Centre Électronique Horloger (CEH) development centre. The company is entered in the commercial register on 23 August.
Just a few years after our founding, we have the opportunity to put our expertise to the test: in 1970, we develop printed circuit boards for the Beta 21, the first Swiss quartz wristwatch suitable for series production. Together with Swiss watchmakers, we succeed in integrating 110 electronic components onto a printed circuit board less than two millimetres thick.
However, the next challenge is already waiting: how can we bring such a complex electronic solution to market reliably and on a large scale?
The interior of the Beta 1, the first Swiss quartz wristwatch, developed at the Centre Électronique Horloger (CEH). Copyright: CSEM
The Beta 1 development team, which presented the first quartz wristwatch at the Centre Électronique Horloger (CEH) in Neuchâtel in July 1967. Copyright: CSEM
The Centre Électronique Horloger (CEH) Beta 1. Copyright: CSEM
Production environment at Cicorel S.A.’s first site in Renens, Vaud.
Dial of the IWC Beta 21. Copyright: Shuck the Oyster Vintage Watches.
The Omega Beta 21 model.
Close-up of a printed circuit board with an integrated circuit (IC).