When Walter Vogt founded Fortis in 1912, his most brilliant move would come 12 years later when he set up production with John Harwood, the inventor of the automatic wristwatch. Two years later in 1926, Fortis released the first self-winding wristwatch, the patented Harwood Automatic. In 1937 Fortis commemorated their 25th anniversary by manufacturing their first chronographs and in 1954 they took over the world-wide distribution of alarm watches. In 1992 they released a world novelty: the first watch with indication of the 52 calendar weeks. Their watches have joined space flights and air flights alike and the Fortis Official Cosmonauts Chronograph was chosen as the official watch of the Russian-German space mission MIR 97. All cosmonauts and astronauts leaving Russia receive and a watch & set as part of their official space equipment. In 2004, the Flieger Chronograph was awarded the European Aviation Watch of the Year.
Fortis has a history of being ahead of the times and that’s why their watches will keep you ahead on all of your travels, whether they be on the road, in the sky, or galactic.
