Let’s Talk History of Türler-signed Watches

The Türler signature sometimes appears on vintage watch dials of the 20th century — but where did it come from? And why is it cool?

Double-signed watches are a hot ticket item in the watch world. We’ve seen examples with big names like Tiffany & Co and Cartier, like John Mayer’s legendary double-stamped Patek Philippe and numerous co-branded Rolexes, but the name Türler often comes up and seems to be lesser known than its more famous counterparts.

The 20th century brought wristwatches to the masses. At a time when you couldn’t just hop over to a mall and find a particular watch brand’s boutique, jewellers and retailers were responsible for bringing watchmakers’ products from around the world to discerning customers. These retailers would stamp their names on watch dials to leave their mark — one such retailer is Türler.

Founded in 1883 in Bielle, Switzerland by brothers César Alexander and Jean Henri Türler, they opened their first store in 1907. Throughout the following decades, Türler would expand and open stores around Europe, eventually offering watches to powerful clients like Sir Winston Churchill. 

By mid-century, they sold co-branded watches from a vast number of top-tier maisions including Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre (JLC), Blancpain, International Watch Co. (IWC), Universal Geneve and Omega. These stamps appeared on watches all the way from the early 1910s to the mid-1970s, and their mark adds a hint of “look closer” (to use Mayer’s famous phrase) charm to some already stunning vintage watches.

While many of the Vacheron and JLC models were quite rare and have launched upwards in price, luckily some examples of Omega double-signed models can still be had at a relative bargain. It’s these little details that get watch nerds like us at DVW excited — so yes, we’ve got some in the shop. Add a little double-stamped class to your life!