hen Henry Louis Belmont graduated top of his class from the Ecole Nationale d’Horlogerie in Besançon in 1948, his reflex was to set up his own company. That company would be Yema. After several years of quiet existence, the launch of the Yema Superman in 1963 propelled the brand onto the international stage.

Water-resistant to 300 metres, the Superman was engineered for professional divers but immediately caught the attention of a wider audience. Its patented bezel lock, along with the crown guard, gave the watch its distinctive look while its issue to the French air force forged its reputation as an indestructible tool.

Bolstered by this success, Yema expanded its range. In 1966 the Yachtingraf (with Valjoux movements) and Rallygraf cemented the brand’s reputation as a foremost manufacturer of sport watches in France and probably anywhere in the world.

In 1966, 1967 and again in 1968, Yema was France’s biggest watch exporter, shipping more than 500,000 units a year to over 50 countries. The brand travelled into space, first in 1982 when Jean-Loup Chrétien wore the Yema Spationaute I and again in 1985 when the Spationaute II equipped Patrick Baudry on the Discovery space shuttle, for the first Franco-American orbital flight mission.

Morteau, where Yema is headquartered

Yema also kitted Jean-Louis Etienne on his successful expedition to trek over 800 kilometres, alone, to the geographic North Pole. The purpose-built North Pole watch featured a titanium case, for resistance to extreme cold, and an exclusive system to “avoid” the magnetic north.

Yema’s reputation as a maker of reliable, robust tool watches was sealed, but the quartz crisis would prove fatal for the French brand, which changed hands multiple times between 1980 and 2009.

When the family-owned Ambre group, a specialist in private-label production (until 2010) and watch distribution took the helm in 2009, it did so with the firm intention to build on Yema’s legacy and re-establish the brand. As the second generation at the head of the group, Pascal Bôle invested more than three million euros to develop an in-house calibre.

The MBP1000, introduced in 2011, featured a bidirectional oscillating weight that provided 40 hours of power reserve. More than 250,000 Yema watches were outfitted with this movement during its ten-year career. It was followed in 2021 by the Yema2000, an evolution of the MBP1000 with fundamental gains in precision and durability, then the Yema3000, which is the GMT version.

Christopher Bôle, managing director of Yema

This in-house strategy continues under managing director Christopher Bôle, the third generation at the head of the brand. “Our aim is to maintain our quality-price ratio while developing our own movements,” he explains. “We even produce certain components ourselves, at our factory in Morteau.”

The Wristmaster Traveller with micro-rotor movement (limited edition)

Efforts have paid off. In 2022 the brand launched the CMM.20 micro-rotor calibre which equips the new Superman 500 series. And that’s not all. Says Bôle, “We’ve recently released the CMM.10 which is a three-hands automatic with date. It provides 80 hours of power reserve and COSC-grade accuracy. And we’ll maintain our affordable price points.”

The Yachtingraf Tourbillon Mareographe is equipped with a manual-winding tourbillon movement by Olivier Mory, a renowned watchmaker and movement developer in La Chaux-de-Fonds

Calibre CMM.30

Asked how Yema differentiates itself from the industry’s major players, Christopher Bôle cites the “goodwill attached to the Yema name, which comes from the brand’s history. Each model has a distinct identity, with the different Graf and the Superman, which is well-known to collectors and watch enthusiasts. This is a definite advantage from a marketing perspective. The development of robust, quality, affordable in-house movements broadens our appeal. Our French roots are an advantage too, because people want that ‘French Touch’.” Family ownership, as well as enabling faster decision-making and direct communication, can also draw customers to the brand.

Proposed with two dial colours (blue gradient and lacquered black) in 39mm and 41mm sizes, the Superman Bronze CMM.10 model is limited to 1,948 numbered pieces in each colour

Calibre CMM.30

Yema is reaping the rewards of its strategy. Annual production is in the region of 40,000 units, of which quartz (currently around 20%) accounts for a diminishing share. Yema watches are sold in around a hundred countries worldwide. Shipments to the United States are up, at more than 20% of total.

The Yema Superman is the top seller although the other collections are poised to grow. Christopher Bôle describes 2023 as “an important year for Yema. We’ve made substantial investments and this should open new markets and introduce new customer profiles to the brand and its fabulous heritage. Yema is again becoming the legendary brand it once was. And Morteau is reclaiming its place on the watchmaking map.”