SOLD Vintage YEMA YACHTINGRAF assembled in France, NOS!

The story of the Yema watch company begins in Besançon, France, circa 1948. Founded by Henry Louis Belmont, the Yema watch company distinguished itself in the very beginning by creating the first automatic chronometers manufactured entirely in France, and became famous for the technical qualities and sports characteristics of its watches. The mystique of Yema watches was also marked by the brands decision to use name their watches after mythical models such as Superman, Yachtingraf, Rallygraf, Spationaute (which travelled through space on the wrists of Jean Loup Chrétien and Patrick Baudry), North Pole (designed for Jean Louis Etienne who crossed the North Pole), Flygraf, Bipôle, Cap Horn.

Purchased in 1982 by the Matra group, the company was taken over in 1988 by the Hattori-Seiko group where it became a subsidiary to the group in 1995 under the name Yema S.A.. Also in 1995, Louis Eric Beckensteiner joined the company, before taking over as General Director in 2001, and returning Yema watches to their French roots.