Historil Perspectiv: Gay Frèr, Much More Than A Simple Manufacturer Of Watch Bracelets - Hodkee

Contents:

• HISTORIL PERSPECTIV GAY FRèR, MUCH MORE THAN A SIMPLE MANUFACTURER OF WATCH BRACELETS
• GAY FRèR – THE BRACELET BROTHERS
• WTB GAY ER BEADS OF RICE FOR HER RRERA 1553
• GAY FRER
• THE SUCCS STORY OF THE MANUFACTURER GAY FRèR
• GAY FRER JEWELRY

HISTORIL PERSPECTIV GAY FRèR, MUCH MORE THAN A SIMPLE MANUFACTURER OF WATCH BRACELETS

Intertgly, the trend towards stals steel s the 1930s allowed Gay Frèr to prosper as this metal is nsirably harr to craft than gold, and therefore requir a lot of specialized craftsmanship, fely one doma where Gay Frèr had special expertise. When the foc of certa manufacturers shifted toward creatg chronographs and other profsnal watch the 1960s and 1970s, Gay Frèr opted for new signs, and prented pani such as Her wh a beads-of-rice bracelet flanked wh Oyster-like fold lks. Gay Frèr was ed born a chaiste, the French word for a pany that manufactur chas for pocket watch (and margally for jewelry, a trend om the 16th century that eventually me back three centuri later and culmated wh the fashn of the pendifs the 1920s).

GAY FRèR – THE BRACELET BROTHERS

While prec necklac and bracelets ma a natural extensn, Gay Frèr also offered the other classil jewelry ems cludg rgs, one even featurg the ram that n be found on the clasp of s watch bracelets.

WTB GAY ER BEADS OF RICE FOR HER RRERA 1553

A look at the yearly talogs om the prtig exhibn Montr Et Bijoux Genève is extremely revealg: Gay Frèr always exhibed some sophistited necklac and ornate bracelets, and never any of the more "mon" watch bracelets that was manufacturg mass quanti at the time (for that was attendg the Basel tra show). In talkg wh prev Gay Frèr employe now craftg impossibly th bracelets for Piaget, we got to disver that was the jewelry piec which had shaped their skills and allowed them to e up wh more advanced watch bracelets afterwards.

This jewelry appears much ls at ctn, at least wh the Gay Frèr provenance highlighted, probably bee is ls distctive than the bracelets wh their strikg GF markgs (the other known mark is the number 32 drawn a key).

GAY FRER

Yet, our opn they would be as tertg a tch as any rare watch bracelet, bee they tell so much about how Gay Frèr beme the preement maker of watch bracelets the 20th century, highlightg aga a lk between jewelry and watch that is too often ignored. This utilarian bracelet n be seen as an early eratn of the Oyster bracelet, which was signed by Gay Frèr wh Rolex and is still today one of both brands’ (Rolex and GF) most inic and endurg creatns.

THE SUCCS STORY OF THE MANUFACTURER GAY FRèR

At the same time we have orred all the versns of morn beads-of-rice bracelets available on the market (6 different manufactur om EU, Japan, HK and US), refully tted and pared them lk-to-lk and clasp-to-clasp to origal beads-of-rice Gay Frèr bracelets.

GAY FRER JEWELRY

In fact, by 1976, fay-owned Gay Frèr, n by the brothers Jacqu-Hubert et Jean-Franis Gay, the bracelet maker was Geneva’s largt and most profsnalized factory, wh more than 500 specialists their employ.