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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tientsin, Fleurier, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland

J. Ullmann & Co.

Partially verified

Swiss watch manufacturer and distributor for the Asian market

History

Jacques Ullmann founded the firm in Hong Kong around 1871, establishing a secondary office in Fleurier.

The company later established a manufacturing facility in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1891. They expanded globally with branches in Shanghai, Tientsin, Paris, and briefly in Vladivostok, serving primarily the Asian market. The company collaborated with manufacturers such as Edouard Juvet and John Barwise to source timepieces including 8-day clocks and repeaters.

In 1918, the firm acquired the company Bovet, though the Bovet name was later sold by Jacques Ullmann's successors in 1932 when they withdrew from the business.

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

Recorded as ceased: 1932. Later use of the name by another firm, if any, is not covered here.

Known markings

  • The firm operated under the name J. Ullmann & Co., also associated with the Jack Watch Factory.

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

2 catalogued objects are recorded under J. Ullmann & Co.. 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. J. Ullmann & Co., Watch-Wiki, retrieved 2026-11-03

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