Love is more than a corny vow. The former was the driving force and source of inspiration for the Swiss watch brand EBEL, as it was Alice Lévy and Eugène Blum whose love led to the founding of EBEL.
Flowers and chocolates are forgotten. What could be more romantic than immortalizing your initials in a shared name? They stand side by side, Eugène Blum and Alice Lévy, in the letters of the EBEL watch brand, and have been doing so since 1911, which is longer than any bouquet of flowers could bring joy. Love was already a source of inspiration for the brand back then – and still is today. Aesthetics and know-how go hand in hand, as do the founding couple, whose love story is as closely linked to that of EBEL as a handmade friendship bracelet.
All in balance
Alice Lévy had an eye for beauty and a flair for aesthetics that will not leave you untouched. It was she who gave EBEL’s models the elegance and sophistication that can still be felt in the brand’s delicate creations today. Eugène Blum complemented his sweetheart with his passion for functionality and his fascination for clockwork and every cogwheel that makes it run. But it was Pierre-Alain Blum who made EBEL famous far beyond his home town of La Chaux-de-Fonds with the story of his grandparents in mind. In 1977, the scion put his heart and soul into the Sport Classic line: the wavy bracelet and the fully integrated case were to characterize the name EBEL from then on. This was followed in 1982 by The Architects of Time, a line of models that celebrates the balance between function and aesthetics like the great buildings of our time.
Kiss, kiss
Love never fades – and neither does the founding story on which EBEL is based. One reason for the brand to introduce a new logo in 1982: the kissing E, two letters that press together like the lips of Eugène Blum and Alice Lévy. For EBEL, this marked the beginning of a new chapter, which heralded a new era four years later with the Villa Turque. This once again demonstrated EBEL’s connection with great architecture, as it was none other than Le Corbusier himself, who, like his friends Alice Lévy and Eugène Blum, came from La Chaux-de-Fonds and gave this building not only his own signature but also charm. High windows, large rooms, clear lines and geometric shapes underline the aesthetics of the watch brand and at the same time create a home for it: Villa Turque became Maison EBEL, another symbol that underlines the timelessness of EBEL watches.
Tribute to love
In 2016, the Villa Turque, Maison EBEL Limited Edition watch launched to mark the 30th anniversary of Maison EBEL shows just how important the Villa Turque is to the history of EBEL. A romantic act, just like the connection between the founding couple in the name of the Swiss watch brand. EBEL likes to look back and tell its story with pride, but not without taking its eyes off the future. In recent years, the watchmaker has returned to its roots all the more, celebrating the romantic and feminine and translating this aspiration into feminine watch models that bring joy to the wrist. The best example of this is the new EBEL Sport Classic Lady Mint & Praline, a tribute to Pierre-Alain Blum’s Sport Classic line and a tribute to love.
