Solvil et Titus, a legendary name in Swiss watchmaking, was founded in 1887 by Paul Bernard Ditisheim (1868-1945), long revered as the originator of modern chronometry. “Solvil” refers to the village of Sonvilier on the Swiss side of the Jura Mountains, where a factory produced meticulously crafted watch components; while “Titus” pays tribute to the Roman emperor in the first century AD.
Born into an influential circle of industrialist families leading the Swiss watch industry, Ditisheim graduated with a diploma in watchmaking from École d’arts appliqués La Chaux-de-Fonds at the age of 13. After furthering his training at various major watch makers, he achieved his own technological breakthroughs in countering the effects of atmospheric pressure and magnetic fields on timekeeping. Ditisheim shot to fame by winning precision trials against other watchmakers, culminating in his crowning achievement of winning the world’s chronometric record at the Royal Kew Observatory in 1912. Ever since, Solvil et Titus has become synonymous with the highest standards in timekeeping precision – from navigational-purposed watches to chronometers with automatic display of sunrise and sunset time to the minute each day; from watches with perpetual calendars to ones that could strike and incorporated chimes, from chronometers with equations of time to timepieces with numerous complications.
As demand for status items grew among the middle class after the end of World War II, Solvil et Titus expanded its production capacity and market reach, ultimately establishing a presence in Asia by the 1970s. The brand’s profile reached a new height in the late 1980’s when it started celebrating timepieces as a treasure-trove of emotional and touching stories through a series of unforgettable TV commercials featuring superstars like Anita Mui, Dave Wang Chieh, Chow Yun Fat and Andy Lau as well as world-renowned footballer Ryan Giggs. Taglines from the classic “天長地久” (“Love lost is perhaps the love that remains with you for all time”) to today’s “Time Is Love” continue to resonate with audiences as Solvil et Titus endures as an icon of romance among the style-conscious millennial generation.
Solvil et Titus timepieces are all designed and crafted to express individual identity, regardless of taste or lifestyle, and convey the deepest love, no matter the moment or occasion.