Fortis Watches

Fortis – Strong on Your Wrist

Traditional Swiss brand Fortis has written watch history during a century of existence, manufacturing high-quality watches with innovative designs. Fortis justifies its name (‘strong’) under the water, on the ground, in air, and even in the space.

Company was found in 1912 by Walter Vogt, in the Swiss village of Grenchen. The most important year for the Fortis came 12 years later, when Mr. Vogt set up production with John Harwood, the British inventor of the automatic wristwatch.

After two years of work, partnership gave its final product, the first self-winding wristwatch, the patented Harwood Automatic.

In the next decade, Fortis launched two more legendary automatic watches - the Rolls and the Autorist.

On the 25th anniversary, Fortis produces its first chronograph, famous for superb precision until today.

The first brand’s waterproof watches, in the one of the most successful line in history, came with an even stronger name – Fortissimo.

Worldwide Distribution of Alarm Watches

In 1954, Swiss watchmaker took over the worldwide distribution of alarm watches and two years later, its waterproof alarm watches of the “Manager” – series won the leading chronometer aword.

Half a century of working in a high Swiss watch brands society, Fortis magnified with a two stunning models – the “Stratoliner” and the “Spacematic“, a 25 atmospheres tested absolutely waterproof watch, high precision automatic, chosen that year by the members of the American astronauts team.

Answer on upcoming Japan watch industry and new technologies, Fortis found nowhere else than in its proof tradition. Great move for Swiss brand was a development of the “Flipper” diver watch and the “FORTIS-Cobra”.

A great success in more than 40 countries, Fortis has achieved with the fashionable “Flipper quartz leader”, launched in 1975. Extraordinary design of the watch became a hit in the early 80s –The Rolling Stones, Roman Polanski, Leonard Bernstein and others worn this watch.

Fortis in Space

In the upcoming years, Fortis started to relaunch the mechanical watches and that trend have been followed by many Swiss watch brands.

Ever since, Fortis has been known as a manufacturer of functional and reliable mechanical wristwatches.

Since 1994, Fortis has been the exclusive supplier of major space missions, authorized by the Russian Federal Space Agency.

Based on the close cooperation with space institutions, company developed a unique watch: The FORTIS Official Cosmonauts Chronograph Automatic.

On the occasion of the company’s 85th anniversary, Fortis proudly presented the world’s first and only automatic chronograph with mechanical alarm.

Fortis is the official supplier of many worldwide military squadrons. The aviation industry discovered the uniqueness of its concept and design, and the most significant model from the Fortis Flieger Classic collection, the Flieger Chronograph Automatic, was pronounced as the 2004 European Aviation Watch of the Year.