Yema – A French watch brand…
…that you absolutely should know!
The French watch brand YEMA, based in Morteau, has always been closely associated with the pursuit of excellence. Its founder, Henry Louis Belmont, laid the foundation for this ambition when he graduated top of his class from the National School of Watchmaking in Besançon. Founded in 1948, YEMA has been part of the family-owned company Montres Ambre de Morteau since 2009 and is currently managed by Pascal and Christopher Bôle, the second and third generations of the family.
The history of YEMA is remarkable. Founder Henry Louis Belmont was a pioneer of manufacturing automation in the French watch industry and, from the very beginning, associated the brand with high quality and innovation, despite mass production. As early as the 1960s, the brand was one of France's largest watch exporters, shipping around 400,000 watches annually to more than 55 countries.
For decades, YEMA has made a name for itself as a manufacturer of high-precision timekeeping instruments for the military, professional athletes and explorers, and even today many of the historical models shape YEMA's current collections, making the brand a living heritage of French watchmaking.
In 1953, YEMA launched one of the first diving watches with a water resistance of up to 10 bar. From the 1960s onward, numerous milestones followed: the "Yachtingraf" with its patented countdown timer (1966), the "Superman" with a water resistance of up to 30 bar and a patented bezel locking mechanism (1967), and the "Rallygraf," which racing driver Mario Andretti wore during his victory at Indianapolis in 1969. With the "Flygraf" chronograph and the collaboration with the French Air Force in 1970, YEMA definitively cemented its image as a manufacturer of reliable tool watches.
On June 24, 1982, YEMA made history when the „Spationaute I“ became the first French wristwatch to fly into space with astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien.
The 1980s also brought corporate changes: After being integrated into the Matra Horlogerie Group in 1981, the "North Pole" was developed under Richard Mille, a robust titanium tool watch that proved its worth on Jean-Louis Étienne's North Pole expedition in 1986. In the same year, YEMA became majority-owned by Japan under Hattori-Seiko, until Louis Eric Beckensteiner brought the brand back into French hands in 2004.
Since 2009, YEMA has been part of the family-owned Ambre France. Under Pascal and Christopher Bôle, the company invested in its own caliber. After four years of development, the MBP1000 was launched, a reliable movement that has since been produced 250,000 times.
In 2020, YEMA became an official partner of the French Armed Forces and, together with experts such as Olivier Mory and Patrick Augereau, optimized its caliber. The improved YEMA2000 (three-hand) and YEMA3000 (GMT) movements set new standards. In Morteau, YEMA's home, the brand combines manufacturing expertise with timeless design and attractive prices.
Design, prototyping, and assembly take place on-site, and some of the components are manufactured in-house. The brand remains true to its philosophy of sourcing materials from the region and vertically integrating local production.
Since 2023, YEMA has been producing its own calibers under the name Calibre Manufacture Morteau (CMM), combining Swiss regulating organs with base plates and bridges manufactured in Morteau. The first movement, the CMM.20, was also the first French micro-rotor caliber. This was followed by the tourbillon caliber CMM.30 with a tide complication and the CMM.10, a precise three-hand movement with a 70-hour power reserve. YEMA also offers models with its own standard movements, quartz watches with Seiko movements, and hybrid movements such as the VK64, which combines quartz and mechanical components. Prices range from €349 to €9,990.
Everything about Yema can be found here: yema.com
