CELEBRATING THE MINERVA LEGACY

German Silver is a traditional copper, zinc, and nickel alloy used in watchmaking since the 19th century for its mechanical properties. In the purest watchmaking tradition, Minerva is one of the last manufacturers to use this alloy on the bridges and baseplates of all its movements.

Patented in 1912, this chronograph bridge is distinguished by its instantly recognisable silhouette. Its shape and the angle of the bridge echoes the Swiss Jura Mountains, a horizon overlooked by Minerva’s watchmakers from the Manufacture for over 165 years. 

All Minerva components are hand-decorated in our Haute Horlogerie workshops. The Maison's craftsmen operate hand-guided machines with great skill on components as small as they are complex. Each component is decorated on top and underneath for a perfect and elegant finish from every angle.

Each Minerva Manufacture movement features an arrow on one of the components and on the plate. The arrow, which has become a Minerva emblem over the years, derives from the historical representations of the goddess Minerva, often depicted holding an arrow.

Minerva is among the last manufactures to produce, assemble, and adjust all its hairsprings by hand. Precision hand-setting is particularly demanding, with balancers oscillating at a low frequency of 18,000 semi-oscillations per hour. 

The beginning of an era: Charles Ivan Robert and his brother Hyppolite Robert founded the H. and CE. Robert Watch company in Villeret. Over the years, the modest watchmaking business grew and acquired international renown thanks to prizes won at World's Fairs.

Charles Ivan Robert registered the Minerva name, together with its emblem inspired by the arrow of the goddess Minerva — a symbol of strategy and precision.

Minerva was awarded a bronze medal at the 1889 Paris Exposition – an early recognition of its growing expertise. Charles Ivan continued to refine his specialty in pocket watches, adapting his pendant winders to both cylinder and lever movements while concentrating on the craftsmanship of watch cases.

The first in-house calibre was produced, featuring an 18-line pocket watch with a cylinder escapement. In the following years, a dozen other calibres were made, focusing on chronographs and chronograph counters, signaling a legendary future for the Manufacture. 

In May 1908, production of the 19/09 CH chronograph calibre for pocket watches began. More than a new movement, it marked a decisive step in Minerva’s history, establishing the Manufacture as a timekeeping specialist.

The unmistakable Minerva V-shaped bridge was patented in the spring of 1912 and is now a part of Minerva’s legacy. Its singular shape is a nod to Villeret and its famous Combe-Grède — a geological feature that gives access to one of the highest peaks in the Jura. 

Further solidifying its place in watchmaking history, Minerva was among the first manufactures to make a fluted bezel and an internal countdown rotating bezel, patented in 1927 and dedicated to pilot's watches.

Development of the Pythagorean movement calibre No. 48 began in 1948. Inspired by the “divine proportions”, its bridges were positioned according to the mathematical harmony defined by the golden ratio.

The Manufacture developed and introduced a new M14.58 manual-winding movement, composed of 336 components. It incorporates an annual calendar, a large date, and a worldtime feature complete with day-and-night indication – a mastery of functional integration.