YEMA WATCHES

YEMA is a French watch brand renowned for sports watches specifically for Diving, Car Racing, Aviation and Sailing.

YEMA was the first French watch sent into space. the first French diving watch going under 300m, first French watch on a North Pole pedestrian trek and the official watch of France’s Air Force One pilots and renown transatlantic sailing champions.

Yema’s workshops are based in the town of Morteau at the heart of France’s watch craftsmanship region, in a secluded valley in the Jura Mountains just a few miles away from Switzerland’s La Chaux-de-Fonds. YEMA is run by a third generation watchmakers’ family with a team averaging +30 years of service.

The Yema watch price range is $250 to $1,500.

History

YEMA was founded by Henry Louis Belmont in 1948, a graduate from the National Watchmaking School of Besançon.

In 1963, YEMA introduced Superman, a diving watch with an ingenious safety brake stop (bezel-lock) system and a 300 meters water resistance. Due to its special characteristics, the French Air Force selected this timepiece to equip its pilots.

In 1966, the company launched Yachtingraf, an automatic chronograph designed for the sailing competition. Equipped with the legendary Valjoux movement and waterproof to 200 meters, this timepiece featured the regatta countdown function. In 1966, Yema also unveiled Rallygraf, a chronograph specially designed for racing drivers and professionals.

In 1982, a French Spaceman, Jean-Loup Chrétien, flew from the Baikonour base for a 10-day mission into space. His wristwatch, the Yema Spationaute 1 became the very first French watch in outer space. In 1985, the Discovery shuttle takes off with on board Patrick Baudry and his Yema Spationaute II for the first Franco-American orbital flight mission.

In 1986, Yema created a special tool-watch for Jean-Louis Etienne for his solo North Pole expedition. He was the first man to reach the North Pole alone. In 2001, the brand launched its in-house self-winding mechanical movement, the MBP1000, which is entirely designed, developed and assembled in France. In 2017, Yema created the Spacegraf watch to honour the Proxima Space Mission of France.