watchmaker at Eterna in his hometown of Grenchen, like many young entrepreneurs of his region and generation (and perhaps more so today), in 1912 Walter Vogt decided to set up on his own, at 13, John Harwood-Strasse where Fortis still operates today. “This has always been our home,” declares Jupp Philipp, the energetic owner and CEO of Fortis, as he greets us.

Jupp Philipp, owner and CEO of Fortis since 2018.

John Harwood? A familiar name for anyone with an interest in watchmaking history. The story of the brilliant British inventor, who adapted the automatic calibre for the wristwatch (with a rotor that swings 180°, time-setting by rotating the bezel and no crown), is an integral part of Fortis’s own story.

©Archives Europa Star 1966

©Archives Europa Star 1966

©Archives Europa Star 1966

After John Harwood’s death, Europa Star published this article, in 1966, that retraces the development of the automatic wristwatch and the launch by Fortis, 40 years earlier in 1926, of the Harwood Automatic.

©Archives Europa Star 1966

Indeed, the Grenchen brand was first to believe in Harwood’s patent and as early as 1926 presented an automatic wristwatch at the Basel Fair: the serial-produced Harwood Automatic. With a flick of the wrist, watchmaking fundamentally changed. A century later, the now perfected automatic watch dominates the industry.

“Thanks to this innovation, the Harwood Automatic was already a tool watch and laid the foundations for what Fortis is still known for today: functionality, robustness and reliability,” Jupp Philipp declares.

Into space

Under successive generations of the Vogt family, then new owners, the worlds of flight and space exploration became Fortis’s playground, first in 1962 with the Spacematic, presented to the astronauts of the American Gemini mission, then with the 1987 Flieger, its take on the contemporary pilot’s watch.

In 1994 the Fortis Cosmonauts Chronograph was approved by the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) and worn by cosmonauts on the Mir station, then the International Space Station, and even for extravehicular activity, in the vacuum of space.

“These aren’t just space-inspired watches. These are watches that actually went into space. Not the same thing!” Philipp insists. “Our ties with the space industry remain strong. For example, the Swedish Space Corporation helped us build a custom laboratory to test our watches, here in Grenchen.”

©Archives Europa Star 1943

©Archives Europa Star 1952

©Archives Europa Star 1955

©Archives Europa Star 1956

A selection of articles from the 1940s to the 1960s, from the Europa Star archives.

©Archives Europa Star 1966

This emphasis on the tool watch hasn’t prevented Fortis from exploring other creative avenues throughout its history. A long way from pilot’s watches and space chronographs, well before Swatch, the brand released a Swiss-made plastic watch. A symbol of the Seventies with its fun, colourful design, the Flipper sold as many as a million pieces.

Europa Star’s archives confirm just how popular the Flipper was, spotted on celebrities from Mick Jagger to Roger Moore. The movement and dial were contained in a module that was inserted into a plastic shell and could be popped out by the wearer and fitted into another, different coloured one. Entirely customisable, the Flipper was a forerunner to the fashion watch that later conquered the world with its versatility.

©Archives Europa Star 1986

Introduced by Fortis in 1967, the plastic Flipper with its interchangeable case was ahead of its time.

©Archives Europa Star 1986

From collector to owner

In 2018 Fortis reached a critical point in its history. The company lacked the resources of a group in a context of fierce global competition, and a restructuring process was launched (production continued throughout).

The news reached the ears of a young German manager and watch enthusiast who had been collecting Fortis since 2004. Still, Jupp Philipp was involved in a different business entirely. His family are behind Iprona, a company that produces fruit juices, purees and concentrates, employs some 600 people and exports 25,000 tons of concentrates globally each year. He still has an active management role in the family business, as well as managing Fortis.

In 1994 the Official Cosmonauts Chronograph was approved to equip astronauts on the Euromir space mission.

©Archives Europa Star 1995

©Archives Europa Star 2009

“From Switzerland to Space”, published in Europa Star in 2009.

©Archives Europa Star 2009

“A collector buys his favourite brand”, read the headlines. Despite being two very different industries, Philipp believes he has been able to transfer certain skills acquired in the food sector to watchmaking: “I come from an industry that is also very old but you have to constantly optimize processes if you’re to stay the distance. It’s a mindset that fits a brand like Fortis, with its focus on innovation. Having said that, several things about the watch industry surprised me, starting with time management. Everything takes much longer; suppliers are less responsive, which can be frustrating when you’re looking to increase efficiency.”

Coming from the food industry, where everyone sits down at a table to do business, Philipp was surprised not to have access to certain suppliers. “I learned, I slowed down, I adapted,” he continues. “We sell something different in watchmaking. We sell emotions. It’s a more ‘human’ industry. What Fortis did need, however, was a more professional approach. By making changes, we have taken the brand into a new league, which gives it access to the best suppliers. We had to work with the same partners as the biggest brands if we were to elevate our game.”

©Archives Europa Star 2012

This article on Fortis’s centenary in 2012 shows that the brand already had its eye on Mars.

©Archives Europa Star

New ranges, new partners

Since 2018 Jupp Philipp has been on the front line to reposition Fortis. This has meant a complete overhaul of the brand, its production and image, new suppliers and partners, a renovated building, new practices and more employee training. Of the eight staff at the time of the takeover in 2018, six are still there, in a team that has grown to 35 today. “I may not come from watchmaking but I do know how to manage and motivate a team to deliver quality in a new way.”

As he shows us around the Grenchen site, Jupp Philipp highlights that all watches are assembled on-site, by four watchmakers, plus design, development and in-house construction upstream, and quality control downstream. For everything in between, Fortis can count on a network of partners. This emphasis on optimization has put the brand in a new price range, from CHF 1,000-2,000 in 2018 to CHF 3,000-7,000 today, with an average price of CHF 4,000.

The Flieger, recently relaunched under Jupp Philipp, in 2021 in Europa Star.

©Archives Europa Star 2021

One of the first — and crucial — new contacts under Phillip’s stewardship has been with Kenissi, which supplies movements primarily to Chanel, Tudor and Breitling, as well as a small number of third parties. “They liked our long-term approach, without relying on outside investors.” Meanwhile, the brand also works with La Joux-Perret.

“Prices are increasing but you have to compare the brand with its direct competitors,” says Jupp Philipp. “The construction and entire watchmaking content of our watches has evolved. It’s no coincidence that retailers are increasingly interested in stocking us, particularly the independents who we see as authentic partners.”

Collaboration with Xavier Perrenoud

A key figure in reshaping the brand and its identity has been designer Xavier Perrenoud, (read our interview here) who has envisioned the new lines. “He’s part of the family, he has always loved Fortis and appreciates the opportunity to recreate the entire offer of a brand,” the entrepreneur points out.

First launched in 1987, the Flieger pilot’s watch has recently undergone multiple reinterpretations, including this Bicompax Liberty Blue version.

A key figure in redefining the brand and its identity has been Xavier Perrenoud (read our interview here) who designed the new lines. “He’s part of the family. He’s always liked Fortis and appreciates the opportunity to recreate a brand’s entire offering.”

Another is Swiss pilot Marc Rollier, the face of the Flieger, the first relaunch under Jupp Philipp. “Functional watches used to be quite bulky. We’ve refined the design of the Flieger, its ergonomics, to make it a more emotional product. Marc, a local Grenchen pilot, represents its image. We don’t work with famous people, we make them famous!”

The Marinemaster M-44, shown here in Amber Orange, features applied hands, indexes and logo filled with X1 Super-LumiNova and a bidirectional Gear Bezel™. The movement is the COSC-certified Kenissi Werk 11.

Next came the relaunch of the Marinemaster (introduced in 1954), the Stratoliner chronograph with a new streamlined design by Xavier Perrenoud, and the Novonaut, which has become Fortis’s bestseller since debuting in autumn 2023.

Successor to the legendary Official Cosmonauts Chronograph that was worn during multiple spacewalks, the 42mm Novonaut is fitted with the automatic Fortis Werk 17 column-wheel chronograph calibre. The movement was space-tested in partnership with the Swedish Space Corporation, by attaching it to a gondola that was fixed to a weather balloon and launched into the stratosphere from the Esrange Space Center, north of the Arctic Circle.

Fortis’s bestselling Novonaut is powered by the “space-certified” Werk 17 movement, a high-performance column wheel chronograph that supplies 60 hours of power reserve.

The Stratoliner collection comprises three 41mm stainless steel models — White Dust, Cool Gray and Cosmic Gray — whose Dust Dial™ is inspired by the immensity of space. The Werk 17 movement was tested in the stratosphere in partnership with the Swedish Space Corporation.

Introduced last year, the Vagabond is Fortis’s take on the urban sports watch, featuring a 40mm shaped case in grade 5 titanium, an integrated bracelet, a white gold ring for the GMT scale and the Werk 13 movement with 70 hours of power reserve. Alongside these changes, optimizations and launches, Fortis’s entire visual identity has evolved into something considerably more polished and refined.

The Vagabond, Fortis’s luxury sports model with a grade 5 titanium case and 18k white gold GMT ring.

Solid foundations

“We’ve set out a global vision with these five collections as solid pillars,” says Philipp. “The brand has a far more rounded profile than in 2018 and we’ve built a team that completes our family.”

Annual production is in the region of 2,500 watches. The main markets are Germany – a historic market long before the takeover – followed by the United States and the United Kingdom, the brand’s two most promising markets according to Philipp who also has plans to develop Fortis in Scandinavia. All markets where tool watches have a strong following.

The brand operates a phygital strategy, selling direct to customers through its website (30% of sales) as well as through retail partners (70%). “Our next big challenge will be to help our partners sell more watches. Fortunately, interest in independents is growing. Even if the market becomes saturated, there is a gap in the industry for high-added-value tool watches from independent brands. I am 100% convinced by what we have started. You’ll see, given the stakes, others will follow…”

Based on the iconic Fortis Novonaut, the Amadee-24 watch is built to withstand the extreme conditions of an environment similar to Mars.

The model features a grand mission counter, communication delay tracker and enhanced durability for use in extreme conditions.

Next stop Mars. Fortis stands poised to equip the first missions to the Red Planet and is developing models such as the Novonaut Amadee-24, for the AMADEE-24 Mars Analog Mission, led by the Austrian Space Forum in the Mars-like landscape of Armenia’s Arat province.

The project carries on Fortis’s space odyssey… with one difference: whereas the 1990s models were equipped with Valjoux movements, the movements in the new space watches are custom-developed by the brand and its partners. Fortis has also developed its own Triple Gasket System.

The Werk 7 movement powering the Flieger F41 Mission Black delivers a 70-hour power reserve.

The brand is firmly focused on the tool watch and is “not a supermarket”, as Jupp Philipp likes to remind us. Fortis today is about sleek designs, a distinctive typography and a coherent identity. Its long history means it also enjoys a solid fan following (remember that Jupp Philipp was a fan before he became CEO).

“In Germany, football clubs are owned by the supporters. I like this analogy,” he continues. “We have a duty to always satisfy our loyal fans, but we also need to expand our customer base and bring new enthusiasts onboard.”

The original Cobra, introduced by Fortis in the 1970s. The brand’s heritage is full of possibilities for contemporary reinterpretations.

©Archives Europa Star 1971

With this much history, it’s tempting to imagine a departure from tool watches. Next year will be the 100th anniversary of the Hardwood Automatic. And with the MoonSwatch frenzy still fresh in everyone’s mind, how about a re-released Flipper?

We can imagine Jupp Philipp’s response — “Focus, focus, focus!” — and it would be hard to deny the powers of this laser-sharp concentration. If journalists had the final say, who knows how many brands would have disappeared!