has multiple issues . please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages this article relies too much on references to primary sources . please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources . july 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message this article is an orphan as no other articles link to it . please introduce links to this page from related articles ; try the find link tool for suggestions . september 2012 this article needs additional citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . june 2013 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message l ep e 1839 is a swiss luxury brand specialized in manufacturing mechanical clocks based in del mont in the canton du jura . l ep e industry clockmaker founded 1839 founder auguste l ep e headquarters del mont switzerland parent swiza s.a. website http www.lepee1839.ch contents 1 l ep e history 1.1 1839 creation 1.2 1850 the escapement 1.3 1857 expertise and patents 1.4 1877 1889 record breaking annual production 1.5 1889 1902 gold medals 1.6 early 20th century diversification 1.7 1994 the giant regulator 1.8 2008 acquisition of the manufacture by swiza sa 1.9 2009 the creation of a new modern collection 1.10 2014 2 the collection 3 references 4 external links l ep e history edit auguste l ep e 1839 creation edit at the age of 41 auguste l ep e 1798 1875 joined forces with pierre henri paur from geneva to found the l ep e manufacture in saint suzanne in the doubs department of france . at the time the manufacture produced horological products and music boxes . 1850 the escapement edit keen to enrich its savoir faire the l ep e manufacture started producing platform escapements for prestigious alarm clocks and carriage clocks from 1850 . this was a key turning point in the company s development . 1857 expertise and patents edit just seven years after launching this new line of business l ep e submitted its first patents to the authorities to establish and protect its expertise . the manufacture won recognition throughout the clock making world for its high quality platform escapements several of which presented highly specific systems that were very useful at the time placing the company at the forefront of the horological scene . some of these patents such as those protecting the anti knocking system the auto starting mechanism and the constant force escapement made a lasting impression on their era . 1877 1889 record breaking annual production edit the manufacture s reputation defined it as both the leader and a reference in escapements . the company s annual production of platform escapements gradually increased over two decades culminating at 200 000 platform escapements in 1889 nothing short of exceptional for the time 1889 1902 gold medals edit this growing success was rewarded with various gold medals at the world fairs held in paris in 1889 and 1900 in vienna in 1892 in hanoi in 1902 and in america and the united kingdom . early 20th century diversification edit during these first few decades the l ep e manufacture decided to diversify by producing other mechanical movements for both clockmaking precision instruments for example and associated industries . 1975 luxury watchmaking 1975 marked a major turning point for the manufacture . new company directors reoriented production to focus on the design and creation of luxury clocks and carriage clocks . 1976 aeronautics in 1976 the manufacture participated in a major aeronautical project the concorde by fitting the first commercial flights of this supersonic airplane with wall clocks . 1994 the giant regulator edit l ep e unveiled the largest clock in the world at that time known as the giant regulator earning it a place in the guinness book of records . this one off creation measures 2.20 m tall and weighs 1.2 tons . its mechanical movement alone weighs 120 kg . this modern day masterpiece required more than 2 800 hours of work and was unveiled at the louvre in paris before touring europe the middle east and the us . 2008 acquisition of the manufacture by swiza sa edit swiza sa which already owned swiza 1904 and matthew norman bought the l ep e brand . l ep e and swiza thus combined their expertise to form the only swiss manufacture specializing in quartz clocks and high end mechanics . 2009 the creation of a new modern collection edit l ep e 1839 developed a collection of desk clocks including a range of classic carriage clocks contemporary models le duel and minimalist models la tour . the l ep e creations feature complications such as retrograde seconds power reserve indicators in the form of animated logos perpetual calendars tourbillons chiming mechanisms and more all designed and produced in house . 2014 edit l ep e 1839 unveils the starfleet machine and the two hands to mark its 175th anniversary followed by the melchior robot created in partnership with mb & f in 2015 . the collection edit creative art this collection is created with the horological lab mb & f sherman a mechanical robot that gives time inspired by the us tank arachnophobia gives time with two hands and eight legs melchior celebration of the 10th anniversary of mb & f starfleet machine a design inspired by star trek contemporary timepiece two hands unique piece created with vincent calabrese with a tourbillon duet created with reuge the music box manufacture le duel 40 day movement based on the animation of l ep e s logo le duel perpetuel tourbillon includes a tourbillon a in line perpetual calendar a double retrograde seconds and power reserve indicators le duel perpetuel la tour et la tour noire inspired by the bauhaus art movement carriage clocks traditional clock also known as pendule d officier in french anglaise corniche ovale ovale tourbillon ovale g ante references edit robb report a blog to watch hodinkee the watches tv external links edit l ep e website matthew norman website swiza website retrieved from https en.wikipedia.org w index.php title l % 27ep e clocks & oldid 744120472 categories clockmakershidden categories articles lacking reliable references from july 2012all articles lacking reliable referencesorphaned articles from september 2012all orphaned articlesarticles needing additional references from june 2013all articles needing additional referencesuse dmy dates from july 2011 navigation menu personal tools not logged intalkcontributionscreate accountlog in namespaces article talk variants views read edit view history more search navigation main pagecontentsfeatured contentcurrent eventsrandom articledonate to wikipediawikipedia store interaction helpabout wikipediacommunity portalrecent changescontact page tools what links hererelated changesupload filespecial pagespermanent linkpage informationwikidata itemcite this page 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