Lebois & Co Avantgarde Date

I start to get used to the tsunami of new watch brands powered by crowdfunding sites such as Kickstarter. From time to time, we get to stumble on established brands that would use these platforms to test out a product lineup before going into production. This time, let me present you another facet of the possibilities offered by crowdfunding, the resurrection of an 80 years old watch brand, Lebois & Co.

Tom van Wijlick and his partner Eveline came across a picture of a vintage Lebois & Co Chronograph that captured their imagination and they started researching the history of the brand. This lead to the re-registration of the Lebois & Co name and the re-launch of this forgotten watch brand. Tom declared:

“Exactly 80 years after the original company was founded, Lebois & Co will be resurrected to live, and Eveline and I are very excited to be the ones to do this. We consider ourselves privilege to be a part of and to continue the tradition started back then (1934) by the Dodane family.”

Their first model, presented on Kickstarter, the limited edition Avantgarde Date is a relying heavily on the aesthetics of the former Lebois & Co collection. It is a modern 40mm stainless steel piece, using the Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic calibre.

A bit of history

A vintage Lebois & Co Chronograph from the 1930’s

Lebois & Co was founded in 1934 by French watch manufacturer Raymond Dodane. He belonged to the third generation of the famous Dodane family, who are best known for their watches using the family name on the dial. The company was sold to an Italian import company in 1947. The watches were still being produced in the Dodane factory and by some Swiss manufacturers, and sold (mainly to Italy).

In 1972 Lebois & Co ceased production and the brand disappeared from the watch industry landscape for a long time. Despite the disappearance of Lebois & Co the brand is still known today and popular with watch collectors all over the world. In 2012 a beautiful 1945 Lebois & Co Chronograph sold for over $ 6,000 at Christie’s Important Watches auction.

The project, with less than a week to go, has almost reached its goal. You still have the chance to be part of this rebirth and get your hands on a historic piece at a discounted price (€975, instead of €1,695), with the delivery being estimated for September 2015. To have all the details go to http://kck.st/16Y35b0.