Gustav Becker
Gustav Eduard Becker ( born 2 May 1819 in oil which Silesia, † September 14, 1885 in Berchtesgaden ) was a German watchmaker and founder of the watch brand Gustav Becker.
Life and watchmaking performance
Becker learned the craft of watchmaking in Silesia and expanded his knowledge on trips to watchmakers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The trips enabled him to hone his craft and to develop into an excellent master watchmaker. During his time in Vienna, from 1800 to 1850 the leading center in the watchmaker's craft grew in him the desire to found a watch factory.
After he returned to Silesia in 1845 and had married, he settled early 1847 in Freiburg in Schlesien down. On April 1, 1847 Becker where he opened a watch shop. He employed a small number of employees, including some school boys he taught incidentally in the basics of watchmaking. For larger purchases machinery or he lacked capital. First he made in small numbers pendulum clocks on the Viennese model and 1850, he was able to move his business to larger premises. With the support of the authorities and under the condition 80 boys from poor families in the watchmaker's craft to teach, he received the much-needed equipment.
The breakthrough Gustav Becker, as his watches were presented at the Silesian industrial exhibition in 1852 for the first time to a wider audience and a Gold Medal (French: Medaille d' Or) won. He gained attention and thus confidence in the quality of its watches. The cross shape of this medal was coined later on the base plates and adjacent to the Gustav Becker trademark anchor.
In 1854 was followed by large-scale orders for the Royal Mail and the Telegraph Office of Silesia. By the Duke of Ratibor him a generous loan was granted, with which he could build a carpentry shop for watch case near the train station. This results in a vast factory site developed. The simple pendulum clocks initially prepared in 1860 differed from more resource intensive designed watches with ornate and carved housings and high-quality works. Production increased in subsequent years to rapidly, in 1875, exceeded the 300,000 mark for the production made watches. Becker could win prizes worldwide, such as in London, Paris, Sydney, Melbourne, Berlin and Amsterdam in exhibitions.
From 1880 Becker clocks were strong competition from the Black Forest. There simple and inexpensive watches were made with spring factory in large quantities. Sales of expensive clocks fell dramatically and forced Becker to offer also cheaper spring watches with plainer boxes.
Gustav Becker died on September 14, 1885 in Berchtesgaden on a trip through Bavaria. He was buried on 17 September 1885 great sympathy in the Silesian city of Freiburg.
Further development of the company
The company was out after his death and joined with other entrepreneurs in 1899 under the name United Freiburg watch factories corporation formerly Gustav Becker. In 1926, it merged with the Hamburg-American watch factory to a community of interest. The two companies merged in 1930 with the Junghans AG under the name watch companies Gebrüder Junghans AG.
The Second World War finally ended the production of watches by Gustav Becker.