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The Encyclopedia of Horology

La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

Corum

Partially verified

High-end Swiss watchmaker known for unconventional design ideas

History

René Bannwart had previously developed his skills working for Patek Philippe and Omega, where he led the design department.

Gaston Ries, who operated a watchmaking workshop since 1924, joined his nephew to transition their small facility into a horological brand. Following years of independent operation, the firm was acquired by Severin Wunderman in 2000, and later by China Haidian Holdings in 2013. In 2025, Haso Mehmedovic completed a management buy-out of the company, restoring it to Swiss ownership.

The extended history summarises the open references listed under Sources; each statement was checked against the cited passage. Confirm key dates in period documents before relying on them.

Current watchmaking & later fate

  • As of April 2025, the company operates under full Swiss ownership following a management buy-out led by Haso Mehmedovic.
  • The firm maintains its headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds, where it employed approximately thirty staff as of 2022.
  • Current product lines marketed by the brand include the Heritage, Admiral, Golden Bridge, and Bubble collections.

As stated in the references listed under Sources, retrieved 2026-11-03. Ownership and collections change; check the maker's own announcements for the latest position.

Key models

Admiral
The Admiral line features models that often incorporate the brand's key logo as a counterweight on the second hand.
Golden Bridge
The Golden Bridge collection includes the brand's unique rod movement, offered in an automatic version since 2011.
Heritage Coin
The Heritage Coin collection features watches crafted from gold coins, a tradition that began in 1964.

Major innovations

  • Corum is known for creating watches using halved coins as casings, a concept introduced in 1964.
  • The company produces watches with rod movements, including the Golden Bridge automatic featuring the CO-313 caliber.

Known markings

  • The brand logo is represented by a key, often found as a counterweight on the second hand of Admiral's Cup models.

Serial numbers

No serial-number system for this maker is recorded in the cited references.

Collecting significance

The catalogued pieces listed on this page show the kinds of objects auction houses, dealers and museums attribute to this maker; each attribution is the source's own.

In the object catalogue

4 catalogued objects are recorded under Corum. Attributions are as given by each source and are not independent authentication.

Diagram

top plate or bridgespillar platebalance and cockwheel train between the plates
Schematic: plate and bridge layout. An outline schematic drawn to show the arrangement of the parts discussed here. It is not a dimensioned working drawing and does not depict a particular maker's calibre.

Sources & references

  1. Corum (Uhrenhersteller), Wikipedia (German), retrieved 2026-11-03 (text CC BY-SA 4.0)
  2. Corum (entreprise), Wikipedia (French), retrieved 2026-11-03 (text CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.