Louis George (watches)

LOUIS GEORGE
Watches for Kings
Type	Private company
Industry	Watch manufacturing
Founded	1769 by Louis George, re-established 2009
Headquarters	Berlin, Germany
Area served	Berlin, Germany
Products	Wristwatches
Website	www.louisgeorge.biz

LOUIS GEORGE is a German watch brand based at Berlin, Germany. For the article about the watchmaker click here.

The brand name refers to the Berlin master watchmaker Louis George who became the 'watchmaker to King' Frederick the Great of Prussia on 26 December 1769.

Louis George provided clocks, watches and instruments to 3 generations of kings of Prussia and other sovereigns all over Europe including France. He had business relations to Swiss watchmakers like Pierre Jaquet-Droz and Jean-Frederick Leschot.

At the end of the 18th century Berlin was considered a watch making hub - mostly for organ or flute clocks with complicated music works attached released by the clock movement itself. The Louis George workshops of the Baroque era produced further more odometer or watches with complications, i.e. dead seconds watches with Pouzait escapement and early chronometer.

The brand was re-established in 2009 at Berlin, Germany.

Royal console clock of the late Baroque era, made at the Berlin workshops of Louis George for the king of France
Louis George pocket watch, approx. 1810, photo by Dr.Ilk, Munich
Modern LOUIS GEORGE Réf.8945 wrist watch in 18 carats gold
Ennobled watch movement of the Réf.8945

Modern Watch Models

Modern LOUIS GEORGE watches are made from precious metals only. Nearly all the applied crafts and techniques are more or less can be called antique techniques - like fire enameling, original guilloche engraving or manual master engraving, manual gem setting. A group of several specialists provides the necessary services.

Some models will be limited to 25 watches only.

Horloger Du Roi

"Hologer Du Roi" means watchmaker to the King. The term is held in French language since French was spoken at the Berlin royal court to imitate the French royal court. Many local Berlin expressions date back to that time of the late Baroque era.

Watch Models

LOUIS GEORGE is producing mechanical watches only. The Réference 8945 Gravure limitée and the Référence 8954 Demi-Squelette run on ennobled large cliber handwinding Swiss movements. The announced Référence 8963 Grand Automatic will contain a double barrel movement.

External links – History

Berlin address calendar of 1799 at the Historische Sammlungen of the Zentral und Landesbibliothek Berlin, Breite Str.36, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Berlin address calendar of 1801 at the Historische Sammlungen of the Zentral und Landesbibliothek Berlin, Breite Str.36, 10178 Berlin, Germany
Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein, Berlin - Berlin history web portal, registered association

Bibliography

Uhren und Uhrmacherei in Berlin 1450 - 1900 - Miniaturen zur Geschichte, Kultur und Denkmalspflege Berlins, Kulturband der DDR, Berlin 1988
Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World by G.H. Braillie, publisher: READ BOOKS, edition: 2008, mentioned as "watchmaker to the King" on page 121
Pendules neuchâteloises: documents nouveaux by Alfred Chapuis and Charles Kehrli, publisher: Slatkine, 1987, mentioned on page 113
History of the musical box and of mechanical music, by Alfred Chapuis, publisher: Musical Box Society International 1980, mentioned on page 57 as businesspartner of Pierre Jaquet-Droz
Automata: a historical and technological study by Alfred Chapuis, Edmond Droz, publisher: Éditions du Griffon 1958, original by University of Michigan, mentioned on page 199 (letter from the Swiss watchmaker Jean-Frédéric Leschot)
Le Grand Frédéric et ses horlogers: une émigration d'horlogers suisses au XVIIIme siècle; un demi-siècle d'horlogerie berlinoise (1760–1810), by Alfred Chapuis, publisher: Journal suisse d'horlogerie et de bijouterie, 1938, page 64 and 65, illustration of a Louis George pocket watch