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Yema

France

Yema

Yema was originally founded in 1948 , by Henry Louis Belmont in Besançon, a city in eastern France renowned for its watchmaking heritage. The goal was to find a gap in the industry that was dominated by switzerland to take advantage of a growing middle class.


The name “Yema” was rumored to have been created by a teenager in a competition run by Belmont.


During the 1960s and 70s the company launched a series of iconic watches as it became one of the leading french watch exporters.


The "Superman" dive watch, the motorsports chronograph 'Rallygraf', the pilot chronograh 'Flygraf', the sailing watch 'Yachtingraf' and in the 1980s the Spationaute, for astronauts. Following the impact of the Quartz crisis, Yema went through a series of ownership changes. Initially being bought by Matra (an industrial group that set up a watch division), then being picked up by Seiko, and eventually by Ambres. At one point they were overseen by Richard Mille, who later set up his own eponymous hyper luxury watch brand.



Why they are special?

Space

Yema were the first french watch in space


Mario Andretti

The Rallygraf was worn by motor racing legend Mario Andretti during the 1970s


Why we like them

The designs of their iconic models are brilliant. Distinctly 1970s with great use of color on subdials. The Rallygraf in particular is gorgeous and unmistakably french.

For some reason, a lot of Yema watches found their way to China, and many were not looked after particularly well. They're an affordable way to pick up a watch with bonafide history and some iconic designs.


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