I had a long and pleasant phone call with Mr. John House, he provided me with an abundance of information especially regarding the history and acquisition of Balmer Watches.  I admire his candidness and honesty.  He truly is an open book regarding his company and brands.  I can only say that prior to our discussion, the information which was provided me was negligent in certain specific facts.  I like to be fair and honest especially with such propritary information.  If you want to know how Mr. House runs his company, then call and ask him.  He is very galant and very forth right.  I was supprised and humbled by his ability and knowledge.  His phlisophy towards his business and customer satisfaction is both zealous and warranted.  He truely believes in value for his customers and eludes this in his dicussions and truthful assertions.  Truely refreshing!

Will I purchase from him again, without reservation, I can say yes!  It is rare to still be able to access executive personage these days and even rarer to have them take the time to call you personally to apologize and explain their business philosophy and provide you with definative information.   Very worthy and highly honorable!!  So much so he has built a trust which other more prestigous companies sorely lack.

John, it was a considerable pleasure having such a welcome dicussion.  My considerable apologizies and commendable thanks.  You are truely a rarity in this day and age.  I wish you "God's Blessings" in your personal endevors and success in your business investments. 

Everest Time Limited
33 Cambridge Road,
Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

Tel :	(852) 2370 37 61
Fax :	(852) 2370 35 96
URL :	(((Redacted)))
Map :

Banking Details :

Name :	The HongKong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd.
Address :	Tin On Building Office, 777 Cheung Sha Wan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Account No. :	178-188066-838
Swift Code :	HSBCHKHHHKH
Account Name :	Everest Time Limited

 

Well there you have it!  I told you that Balmer and the other watches were made in China!  This is the Everest that Mr. Hans Fuchs was refering to not Everest Watchworks.  Shame on you Mr. John House for telling lies to the public!  Maybe some nice attorney will take this and run with it.  People who have to lie about having to make their money don't deserve to be in business.  You fit the bill quite nicely!  See you around liar!!

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

Oh this just gets better.  Here's an email I received from Mr. Hans Fuchs from Choisi SA this morning.

Gesendet:Mittwoch, 19. Mai 2010 12:54
An: info@choisi.ch
Betreff: Balmer Watches and ETA Movement
Wichtigkeit: Hoch

Dear Sir 

After the death of the owner of Choisi, Mr. JP. Duss, april 2009, the
company moved from Biel to Grenchen.

As we have no records about Balmer and are not able to help you
from our side,  we contacted the probable supplier (Everest) of these
watches,

asking to get directly in contact with you.

We thank you for your understunding.

With best regards 

CHOISI SA

Hans Fuchs

Everest is a watchworks out of Arizona; Everest Watchworks, 3807 N. Bern St., Flagstaff, AZ 86004, not Neuchatel, SA. and the owner is Kent Parks.

So I suppose that makes everthing alright in the eyes of Mr. John House/CEO to lie to customers and compare them to truely Swiss Made Watches.  I will post my conclusion from Mr. Parks in the next update.  This is truely sad when a company is allowed to outright lie,  print fradulantly false statements publically and mislead the public to sell a product.  Anyone legal attorney interested?

So far I've provided you with direct truthful information regarding the origin and proven that Always At Market is fradulantly advertising Balmer Watches and misleading the public.  They are using a fradulant Swiss Made Trademark which they openly post in their website.  This is more of the dishonest methods of Always At Market to get you to purchase fake watches.  Stay tune, there will be more evidence uncovering this fradulant activity.

 

 

 

I must say it is truly amazing how quickly your advertisement on the Balmer Watch has changed over the space of 36 hours Mr. House.  Don't worry, I have all the original advertisement printed out and saved as proof of your false advertising.  You see John, it's not that you've changed it that makes it right.  It's that you defrauded people before you changed it.  You don't rob a bank, and then give back the money to get out of trouble. 

For example, you now don't list any of the components under you Compare At/Features Section any longer. Now you need to change the rest of the lies your using to sell the watches.  This watch tops is worth $499 not comparable to watches worth $3,395.00.  These are misleading facts!  Next you need to explain why you have a forged Swiss importation document.  Oh yes, and not last but explain why the watch comes in a case which is made in china.  I guess one of your employees forgot to pull the sticker off before it was shipped.  Why would you a reputable high dollar manfacture from Switzerland not produce his own case.  These are proud manfactures and wouldn't allow such a cross purchasing of products.  Also you are still listing the watch as being produced in Switzerland.  Show the origin documentation and the original producer of the watch, if you can!  Otherwise this is nothing but an absolute lie.  So how do we proceed now John, more lies, more deception?  If you want to get in touch then repond to the alligations here.  Oh yea, by the way I've contacted the AAFRES Commander with a major complaint against your company.  Shouldn't be very long before they contact you directly.  It's ashame and you should feel very guilty for scamming military members.  These are people who have fought for your freedom so you can do what you do and that's rip them off! 

Let's see you post where these watches are truely made!  Mark you product and let people know in your advertisements, so they can make there own decision about purchasing one.  Earn your money honestly not falsely.

As you can see there is no referance to Columb & Balmer in the history.  The name and manfacturing rights have alway been retain by the Badollet family.  This is more proof the claims of Balmer and their connection to JM or JJ Badollet are fictious.

The earliest reference to the Badollet family is at the turn of the 16th century. There is a record of Jaques Badollet, who was made a freeman of the city of Geneva in 1555, and of Pierre Badollet, a leather worker in 1578.

History also mentions his namesake and nephew Pierre Badollet (1614-1656), also known as Pierre III, as being the family's first master watchmaker. Although he made watches and trained enthusiastic young people in this trade, he was not the direct ascendant of the Badollet line of watchmakers.

It falls to Jean Badollet (1635-1718), second cousin of Pierre III and also a pastor, minister and schoolmaster, to be acknowledged as the father of this great unbroken dynasty of master watchmakers.

At the age of 20 he entered the watchmaking trade and in 1689 wrote a treatise called ?The Excellence of Watchmaking?. It is natural therefore for the date of 1655 to be chosen as the date of origin of the long line of Badollet watchmakers.

An enquiring devotee of watchmaking from the time he entered the trade at the age of twenty, Jean Badollet (1635-1718) published in 1689 a work entitled ?The Excellence of Watchmaking? or Small Treatise Describing its Antiquity, its Fundamentals, its Necessity and its Curiosities.

In it he combined historical research, astronomical theories and technical accounts, together with explanatory drawings depicting various types of pendulums, movements, dials and cylinders, as well as other ?curiosity watches?.

Jean Badollet passed on his passion for watchmaking to his six sons. The Badollet family subsequently joined en masse ? and never thereafter left ? the ranks of the ?Fabrique?, an association in Geneva which included all watchmaking and jewellery trades.

While Jaques-Marc Badollet, born in 1681, worked meticulously at assembling and repairing pocket watches in his Paris workshop located on the Rue de Thionville, his cousin Abraham, one year younger, dedicated himself to the engraver's art in Helvetia. In 1734, he also published a work entitled ?Essais de Gravure?. The Badollet family was already a force to be reckoned with in trades allied to the watch industry.

Revolutionary France, whose troops had invaded Savoy, stood at the gates of Geneva, which it threatened to annex in 1792. Independence was saved temporarily, however the old regime was unable to resist the advance of the revolution.

A "provisional security council" composed of thirteen citizens removed the existing government from office and proclaimed political equality among all categories of the population. It intervened on several occasions to assist the watch industry, which continued to suffer with the closure of a large number of small workshops and manufactories. Jean-Louis Badollet (1757-1837), a theologian called ?John? emigrated to America and in 1795, with Albert Gallatin, created the State of New Geneva. He was appointed as ?Register of the Land Office?, assisted in founding the library and university of Vincennes and was very active politically between 1804 and 1836.

With the invention by Philippe Samuel Meylan of the ?reverse? calibre allowing the production of extra-flat and complicated watches and the founding of the Blank Makers' School, forerunner of the present day School of Horology, enabling apprentice blank makers to be trained in Geneva, the watch industry won back its international reputation for high quality.

Around 1830, a growing number of workers were engaged in the activity and the city had some 30,000 inhabitants, a sixth of whom earned their living from the Fabrique.

Jean-Jaques Badollet (1756-1843), who enjoyed great renown, worked for Abraham-Louis Breguet by supplying him, in Paris, with movement-blanks, gear-trains and ?trade watches?. In 1839, the inventor Georges Auguste Leschot developed comprehensive tooling which enabled all parts of a watch to be manufactured mechanically whilst ensuring cost savings and product uniformity.

The very foundations of watchmaking were transformed in terms of rapidity, production and productivity.

ean-Moise Badollet (1811-1862), the son of Jean-Jaques, established the firm ?J.-M. Badollet & Cie?, whose company name survived for many years despite his premature death in 1862 thanks to the efforts of his widow and his sons. Established initially in London in 1837, after a stay in Sicily and travels abroad, he set about producing watches intended for export to various countries.

In 1854, he teamed up with Gustave Huguenin, to whom he transferred the London business, and returned to Geneva, the town of his birth, where he ran the family business and played an important role in the world of politics and the economy.

During the first twenty years of its existence on the Rue du Stand 14, the company ?J.-M Badollet & Cie? continued to manufacture and sell watches and jewellery, grew considerably in size and became renowned for the excellent quality of its chronometers.

Moreover it won first prize at the first Observatory Timing Contest of 1872, and 2nd and 3rd prize in 1873 and 1875.

The World Fairs were created in 1844 to promote the industrial achievements of different nations. They were a technological and industrial showcase for participants, testifying to progress made during the industrial revolution. The city of Philadelphia hosted the World Fair to commemorate 100 years of independence of the United States and to inaugurate the Statue of Liberty.

Competition was fierce and contests were organised, in one of which ?J.-M. Badollet & Cie? obtained the 1st class medal, bringing with it considerable prestige. This Fair sparked a realisation throughout the world, and particularly in European countries, of the lead taken by the United States in mechanised production. Under pressure from American competition, Switzerland and Geneva gradually adopted mechanised production of the watch.

As watchmaking continued to develop in Geneva, Gustave (1855-1924) and Alexandre-Philippe (1853-1918) joined the family factory run by Madame Nicoud, widow of Jean-Mose Badollet and mother, and Jean-Jacques, their elder brother then very active in business. Their combined efforts were rewarded with numerous prizes, medals and honorary diplomas won at the World Fairs in Paris and Groningen (1879), Graz (1880) and Melbourne (1881).

The official catalogue of the World Fair of Machines and Tooling contains the following passage in 1880: ?In addition to regular mechanised production, J.-M. Badollet & Cie has gained a reputation for its manufacture of high-precision complicated watches and success achieved by the company in annual competitions organised by the Industrial Class of the Socit des Arts testifies to the superior operation of its chronometers?.

On 21 May 1881, the company ?J.-M. Badollet & Cie? was dissolved.

Jean-Jaques Badollet formed a new ten-year partnership limited by shares named ?J.-J Badollet & Cie? which had as its object ?the manufacture, purchase and sale of timepieces and their components?, while eight months later Mme Nicoud, his mother, formed another company called ?Veuve Badollet & Cie? which operated in parallel on the Rue de la Poste 14.

Working together to increase the renown of Badollet timepieces, the two companies each played a distinct role. The latter manufactured Badollet watches, selling them on the retail market after registering the name as a trademark, and supplied the ?Non Magnetic Watch Co of America?, while the former sought out investors and capital, used new production methods arising from the second industrial revolution and sought to improve output in order to develop international activities.

Following the creation of deposit banks that encouraged growth, firms reorganised their structure and the way they organised their work. The company JJ Badollet & Cie, which had inherited an excellent reputation in the manufacture of complicated and high-precision watches, continued to develop and to produce timepieces whose chronometer movements bore witness to their superior operation.

It came first in a competition disputed by sixteen manufacturers from Geneva and in 1887 won the invitation to tender to supply the official watch of the Tir Fdral. 

The second industrial revolution completely transformed watchmaking activity in Geneva. Large factories and manufactories superseded family workshops and the meticulous work of master craftsmen was replaced by new mechanised methods of mass production, while the vocabulary of watchmaking, which formerly extolled the virtues of rarity and quality, suddenly became a synonym for productivity, efficiency and cost control.

It was under the effect of this restructuring, coinciding with the renewal of the family firm, that Jean-Jaques Badollet decided in 1890 to found his own company, the ?SA Fabrique d'Horlogerie Genve? also called the ?Belle Fabrique? (future ATAR building) on the Rue de la Dle.

Under the ?Charmilles? brand name, simple low-cost watches were produced to compete against similar American models. The next year, Madame Nicoud, widow of Jean-Mose, died. Her children decided to wind up the company that bore her name but kept open the shop on the Rue de la Poste to facilitate the clearance of stock (sales were managed by Gustave and Mlle A. Badollet, and also a watch repairer).

ean-Jaques, who had enjoyed a prosperous life as a watchmaker and trader, died in 1908. His brother Gustave, more specialised in management than production, took over the reins of the business. Unfortunately the First World War broke out in 1914 to the ruin of all countries involved, thereby seriously hampering all financial activity. The post-war period was marked by economic recession, followed by the stock market crash of 1924.

When Gustave died the same year, his descendants ? one daughter married the previous year and busy with family life, and seven nephews and nieces ? were unable to place the family business on a secure footing. As a result the company was sold to a third party and the long dynasty of Badollet master watchmakers was interrupted, however the brand itself, timeless, lived on...

Despite its small size, Geneva plays a crucial role in world affairs and continues to lead the way in prestige watchmaking. Alongside large and generally automated production units there are small workshops where each component is produced individually. The search for new designs, processes, techniques and materials each year encourages new manufacturers to set up business on a market already full to saturation and suffering a shortage of qualified manpower.

The growth of Geneva's sales and exports (60% of which are accounted for by the watchmaking and jewellery sectors), buoyed by a booming economy, encourages new arrivals to stay the course.

In this difficult landscape, the architects of the Badollet revival have pooled their strengths to return the great Badollet name to its rightful place. More than a brand, Badollet is a philosophy closely bound up with the notion of luxury, expertise and perpetuation of the watchmaking tradition in its noblest sense. Its aim also is to highlight the notion of service.

Badollet timepieces, called ?Instruments of time? - since the term instrument denotes technical sophistication and functionality - are designed and developed with the buyer in mind, to meet his or her requirements but also to ensure trouble-free use. Of this, more soon...

 

Well I may as well tell the rest of the story about watched that are being sold by Always At Market. www.sugwatches.com, www.duboule.com, www.jacotwatches.com, www.wohlerwatches.com, www.romillywatches.com, www.rousseauwatches.com, www.bernoulliwatches.com, www.louisbolle.com, are all registered brands under "Always At Market". They use the same web hosting company "CrystalTec Webhosting" which is employed to do the internet web site for the afore mentioned companies. If you will do a Google search on the TY-2714 movement you will see all the companies listed in the first three pages. The TY-2714 movement is Chinese made and can be bought for approximately $53.00 retail, reference; http://www.ofrei.com/page1119.html. It is not a robust Swiss Action and longevity is doubtful for more than 2-3 years of active service. What's interesting is, last week all of the listed web sites have a his troy section which provided elaborate histories eluding to the connection to famous Swiss and french watchmakers. In reality they aren't! Now each of the sites history sections comments with the exception of Balmer, have been removed and the section has been put under construction. Look for yourself. They obviously had a great deal to hide. They are still misleading the public with their outlandish claims of worth and comparison of pricing to other watches of much higher value and worth. They openly advertise the history of the Non-Magnetic Watch Company of America as part of the history around the development of the Balmer Watch when in fact this is a lie. I have provided the brief history of the Non-Magnetic Watch Company in a previous update. Their false and misleading claims are nothing but fabrications which are directly plagiarized from several web sites word for word. As of today a complaint has been filed with the FTC and FBI.

[ Philippe Dubois ] Chief Executive Officer
Badollet Geneve

ET: What was the situation when you joined last year?

Philippe Dubois: He [the private owner] was very close to giving up. He had invested for two years and the day he was ready, the market just collapsed and didn't want to buy any tourbillon watches. So we had to think long term and figure out how to survive.

The strategy at the beginning was to go direct to the end consumer. This is difficult unless you know the people. You need the retailer to recommend the watch, especially considering our watch is an investment of a minimum of 240,000 Swiss francs.

ET: How is business currently?

Philippe Dubois: We have had a few sales. Right now there are less than 10 pieces sold, but we get feedback about how our customers like this exclusivity and consider this a very strong point that they are in such a small group. What is nice is that we can deliver within 24 hours, which is quite amazing. Two years ago if you wanted a tourbillon you had to wait six months. We have a watchmaker right here, and we can customize our watch based on what the customer wants.

ET: What attracted you to Badollet?

Philippe Dubois: For Concord in Asia I launched the C1 Tourbillon, with a tourbillon made by BNB, which is the same supplier as Badollet, so I knew about it and I knew I could sell it. So to a degree it was the same kind of product, price range and movement maker. The difference of course is a year ago demand was so high that any brand could come and sell.

Today the market is normal. Ive been in the watch business for over 20 years, and really it was the last five years that were not normal. Traditionally the watch business has been a fight to sell every piece. So I was not expecting people to come and ask to buy a Badollet.

So we are trying every way possible to get salesinternet, retailers, directly with consumers. With retailers, I can say that I know right now theyre not willing to invest in something new when they have so much inventory, but if they have a particular customer and they dont have anything that customer is going to buy, they can call me and within 24 hours we can deliver. When they have somebody interested, they can put a Badollet on their wrist, and we all know the super high consumer really wants what they want right away. Service is the most important thing to this segment.

So I knew there was a good match for me with Badollet, and while I was at Concord, one of my customers introduced me to the owner.

I told him the kind of challenge I was looking for, and then after we talked and I saw ads and the website, I finally called and said I wanted to see the watch. When I put it on I was sold, and I asked him to come aboard. I started December 1st.

ET: Why did your owner decide to re-launch Badollet?

Philippe Dubois: He is a watch collector, and he appreciates watches. But like all connoisseurs he wants things that are special and a bit different. So with one well known watchmaker, he asked for something a bit different and was told no. It wasnt that they couldnt do it, but it was they didnt want to bother with it. So he saw a possibility to do amazing watches that allowed the customer to customize the watch for his or her preferences, and it wouldnt be an ordeal, it would be a pleasure. We know when a potential customer says, I like the watch, but and he wants to know what we will be able to sell him, and if we can do what he wants.

ET: So whats next?

Philippe Dubois: We have discussed the future of the brand. The next year in terms of production will be the tourbillon. There are still enough people who are looking for this, and this will be the main focus the next two to three years. Today our entry point is 240,000 Swiss francs, so we have the opportunity to go more expensive or less expensive. For example, a tourbillon minute repeater with a chronograph goes for 500,000 Swiss francs. We are also receiving requests to have diamonds set on watches and we can set up to 370 diamonds on the case, which could be 300,000 to 500,000 Swiss francs.

On the other side, we will start to think about a new collection with a new movement, and this could be either 50,000 to 100,000 Swiss francs or 100,000 to 2000,000 Swiss francs, and this is something we are working to define. We need a basic movement that we will use for the next 5 to 10 years.

ET: Tell us a bit about the history of Badollet and what the attraction was.

Philippe Dubois: We can trace our history of watchmaking back to 1655 and Jacques Badollet. A member of the Badollet family was producing watches from that point on for seven generations to 1924. Also, there are many historic references to Badollet, and in fact in the book about Breguet, there are references to watchmaker Badollet. The company has actually acquired 40 historic Badollet watches and they are exquisite.

ET: When youre not working, do you have hobbies?

Philippe Dubois: Both my wife and I are avid golfers. We are fortunate that here in the Geneva region there are some excellent courses such as Cologny, Domaine Imperial and also the Lausanne Golf Club.

BADOLLER SA: C/O FIDUSIAIRE BONNEFOUS & AMP; CIE SA

OWNER ADDRESS: 24, RUE DU CENDRIER, CH-1211 GENAVE CH

BRANDS OWNED:  COLOMB & BALMER/

Owner & Seller of Wristwatches, clocks, small clocks, fob watches, chronometric instruments; clock and watch cases

 AND ARE SOLD @ LA MAISON DE L' HORLOGERIE IN Genve

So this proves the Colomb & Balmer is still a registered name in Genve and has no connection to Balmer Watches and never has.  According to Mr. Hans Fuchs of Montres CHOISIS SA, they have no record of any shipment going to Balmer Watches in the US.

(((Redacted))) is the site of the owners of COLOMB & BALMER and they have a PDF at (((Redacted))) explaining their business and holdings.

Here's some more legal information for their holdings:

(952797) COLOMB & BALMER

(151) Date of the registration

31.01.2008

(111) Number

31.01.2008

(180) Expected expiration date of the registration/renewal

31.01.2018

(171) Expected duration of the registration

10

(732) Name and address of the holder of the registration

Badollet SA c/o Fiduciaire Bonnefous & Cie SA 24, rue du Cendrier CH-1211 Genve (CH)

(812) Contracting State or Contracting Organization in the territory of which the holder has a real and effective industrial or commercial establishment

CH

(842) Legal nature of the holder (legal entity) and State, and, where applicable, territory within that State where the legal entity is organized

Socit anonymeSuisse

(740) Name and address of the representative

Inteltech SA Rue Saint-Honor 1, Case postale 2510 CH-2001 Neuchtel (CH)

(540) Mark

COLOMB & BALMER

(541) Reproduction of the mark where the mark is represented in standard characters

Reproduction of the mark where the mark is represented in standard characters

(511) The International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks (Nice Classification) and the list of goods and services classified according thereto

14 Montres bracelet, pendules, pendulettes, montres oignons, instruments chronomtriques; crins et tuis pour l'horlogerie. Wristwatches, clocks, small clocks, fob watches, chronometric instruments; clock and watch cases. Relojes de pulsera, relojes de pndulo, relojes pequeos, relojes de bolsillo tipo "oignon", instrumentos cronomtricos; joyeros y estuches para relojera. +gstermfr+gstermes>

(822) Basic registration

CH, 05.01.2005, 530210

(832) Designations under the Madrid Protocol

GB, JP, SG,

(527) Indications regarding use requirements

GB, SG, US

So as you can see clearly, Balmer has no legal association to Colomb & Balmer which is a registered company.  Otherwise, the name Balmer has no connection to the original Colomb & Balmer Company, which they address their history to.  If they attempted to allude to this association a very large civil law suit would insue against Balmer for infringment of the Colomb & Balmer rights as well as Badollet SA.

So in this conclusion, the Balmer name is not associated with the famous name of either Swiss Companies nor could it be.  The document they produced which has their name is a forgery. So where did they really come from?  I still researching and I will definately get back with more information.

 

CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.

After reading the history on the Balmer Watch I had to do further research and came to some interesting conclusions.  Blamer states conclusivly, "In 1897 Colomb & Balmer became the successors of interest to Badollet, continuing their legacy, assuming not just one name, but many names. They continued creating watches as "The Non Magnetic Watch Co." and "Charmille, using names already familiar in the marketplace. In the coming decades their wings spread into other fine brands such as Geneve, Genva and Etna to name only a few. Until the mid-twentieth century, many of these brand names have been shelved or sadly seen little use or been taken by companies not endowed with the same vision of quality as the original Badollet family." 

That's funny, because the Non-Magnetic Watch Company was in America originally.  The non magnetic watch was 1890 to 1895. patented from the founder of the company M.C.A Paillard who wanted to overcome the problem with magnetic damage to watches. He invented a hairspring made of paladium (platinium type) which is non magnetic, together with a (often) escapement or gold balance combined with brass alloy anchor.  So to say that the above quote is a bold faced lie would be an understatement. You can do your own research on; http://mb.nawcc.org/showwiki.php?title=Non-Magnetic+Watch+Co#Geneva_Non_Magnetic_Watch_Co_

The Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America had watches made for them and signed The Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America - Pillard's Patent Balance and Spring or Geneva Non-Magnetic Watch Co. Ld., Paillard's Patents New York. They sold a full line of watches from 16 size 7 jewel movements to 18 size 24 jewel movements and repeaters. The Non-Magnetic Watch Co. of America imported movements from the Swiss and had Elgin, Illinois, and Peoria manufacture movements in its name. All watches were fitted with a Non-Magnetic hairspring.