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Montres CIMIER SA is an independent Swiss watch manufacturer whose headquarters is in Biel, Switzerland. CIMIER produces mechanical watches as well as quartz watches.
History
The origin of CIMIER goes back in 1924 when the watchmaker Joseph Lapanouse founded his company LAPANOUSE SA in Hölstein and sold his watches under the brand CIMIER. Since the beginning, Joseph Lapanouse specialises in manufacturing pin-pallet watches, called Roskopf.
In the 1950s, the company, that became in the meantime LAPANOUSE-CIMIER SA, industrialized the first pin-pallet escapement chronograph sold at 21 million pieces during its lifetime. At the end of the 1960s the annual production reaches 1.5 million pieces and the company is employing over 500 people in Bubendorf.
In the 1970s, the watch industry goes through the quartz crisis. The number of mechanical watches sold reduces drastically. CIMIER develops and industrializes its own quartz movement. However, the number of pieces produced doesn’t reach threshold of profitability. So in 1985, the Swiss manufacturer decided to close temporarily his production.
In 2003, the brand CIMIER lives again through the company which has the same name.
In 2010, CIMIER opens the Watch Academy. The concept allow to consumer to create and build their own watch in Cimier's workshop. The consumer can choose between several manual movements and an automatic movement.