| Type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Watch assemblying |
| Founded | 1912 by Walter Vogt |
| Headquarters | Grenchen, Switzerland |
| Products | Wristwatches, accessories |
| Website | www.fortis-watches.com |
Fortis is a watchmaker founded and based in Grenchen Switzerland that was established by Walter Vogt in 1912.
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12 years after its establishment, Walter Vogt set up production with John Harwood, the inventor of the automatic wristwatch. In 1926, Fortis released the first self-winding wristwatch, the patented Harwood Automatic. In 1937, Fortis commemorated their 25th anniversary by manufacturing their first chronographs and in 1954 they took over the world-wide distribution of alarm watches. In 1992, they released the first watch with indication of the 52 calendar weeks.
Since 1994 Fortis has been the exclusive supplier of manned space missions authorized by the Russian Federal Space Agency.
The company's 75th anniversary Fortis set a trend with their new edition of the Flieger automatic collection, known as the world's first factory of automatic wristwatches.
In 2004, the Flieger Chronograph was awarded the first European Aviation Watch of the Year Trophy.
Apart from being the official supplier of tool watches for manned space mission, Fortis also supplied watches to many worldwide military squadrons. The list includes the de:Jagdgeschwader (Germany), Swiss 11 Fighters - Switzerland, Hellenic Tigers - Greece, NATO Forces - Hungary, Immelmann 51 - Germany, Thunder Tiger Aerobatic Team - Taiwan, Papa Squadron - Hungary.