Vetta, Wyler, and Wyler Vetta - A story of Italian marketing and Swiss ingenuity.

Very few watch makers in the first half of the 20th century could match the marketing and innovation successes of Vetta / Wyler Vetta, however, these success stories are relatively unknown, even amongst the most well-versed vintage watch collectors.  

It would not be possible to tell the story of one without the other, as Vetta, Wyler, and Wyler Vetta have been so intricately linked throughout their histories. In 1906, Innocente Binda opened a watch repair and sales shop in Besozzo on Lake Maggiore, with a focus on sourcing the best parts and movements from a variety of Switzerland’s top manufacturers. Binda relocated the business to Milan in 1927 to tap into the larger market and become one of the premier sources for high quality watch parts in Italy.

While Binda was working on solidifying his place in Italy’s watch market, brothers Alfred and Paul Wyler founded the Wyler watch company in Basel, Swizterland in 1924. The pair immediately set out to address one of the more complex issues at the time, shock resistant watch movements. A solution was found in 1927, with the creation of Wyler’s patented ‘Incaflex’ movement, which used a balance wheel that was capable of flexing under stress.

(Incaflex Movement Ad/Spec Photo Here) 

The only way to properly test and market this mechanism at the time, was of course, to throw it from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower. In 1931, a Wyler watch with Incaflex movement was thrown from a height of 53 metres to an impartial lawyer waiting below! Following impact, it was officially confirmed; the watch worked! The Incaflex technology would be used by all Wyler-branded watches into the 1970s – a true testament to its effectiveness and quality.

(Eiffel Tower Test Photo/Ad Here)

The innovations for Wyler did not end here, with groundbreaking attempts at a first automatic watch patented in 1931 and the introduction of pioneering waterproof case technology in 1932. 

(First automatic watch and waterproof case ads / spec photo here)

With Binda always on the look-out for the highest quality components, it wasn’t long before he noticed Wyler’s ingenuity. In 1932 it was agreed that Binda would be the sole distributor of Wyler watches in Italy, and so begun this everlasting relationship built on innovation and marketing genius.

In the months following his agreement with Wyler, Binda established a new and totally separate brand in 1933, Vetta. These watches utilised Vetta-signed modified ETA or AS movements and were typically put together using a combination of parts sourced from Switzerland. But why would Binda go through this effort just after agreeing to distribute Wyler watches in Italy? Well, this is where his marketing talents really started to shine.

Fascism and nationalist pride were on the rise in the 1930s, and so the introduction of a foreign-named brand like Wyler into Italy would have most likely flopped commercially. To give the brand more Italian appeal, the newly established ‘Vetta’ was added to the name to create Wyler Vetta. These watches were exactly the same as any other Wyler release internationally, however, only in Italy was the ‘Vetta’ suffix added. 

(Example photos of Wyler vs Wyler Vetta – Same Watches)

With this, Binda had created two distinct brands that could be distributed throughout Italy with varying model options and price points. Vetta, with its strong Italian name, continued to offer watches made from a variety of components sourced from Switzerland, and were typically marketed as the attainable everyday watch. While Wyler Vetta, taking advantage of its new Italian name, was marketed as a higher-end watch with the latest Incaflex technology and quality components, like stainless steel waterproof cases.

(Examples of early Vetta ads versus Wyler Vetta ads)

To further develop Italian pride for the brand, Binda facilitated Wyler Vetta’s official sponsorship of Italy’s World Cup winning teams in 1934 and 1938. Of course, being Binda, he took this a step further by having players wear these watches during matches to demonstrate the durability of an Incaflex movement. Wyler Vettas adorned the wrists of Italian footballing greats, including Giuseppe Meazza and Gianpiero Combi. 

(Ads and announcements – Wyler Vetta sponsors Italy)

Binda extended this sponsorship into motorsport, backing the 1948 Mille Miglia with Wyler Vetta as an ‘official’ timekeeper. Not to exclude his other marque, a strong relationship was also developed with Scuderia Ferrari in the 1950s to gift Vetta chronographs to its drivers, with a dedication from Enzo himself. 

(Wyler Vetta Mille Miglia ads and examples of Ferrari gifted Vettas)

The golden age of cinema and television in the 1950s and 60s provided Binda with another avenue to market the Vetta and Wyler Vetta product, as several of Italy’s most prominent actors would wear these watches on-screen, including Gino Cervi, Isa Miranda and Marcello Mastroianni. Television advertising was also prominent, using Rai TV’s advertising show ‘Carosello’ to create Wyler Vetta dedicated sketches.

(Images of watches being worn by actors)

In addition to these ingenious marketing projects on home soil, Binda did assist Wyler with global expansion, particularly with the establishment of the Wyler Watch Corporation in New York in 1939. Wyler’s expansion into these markets was accompanied by further Incaflex durability tests, namely, another throw from the Eiffel Tower in 1956 and an additional throw from the Seattle Space Needle in 1962.

(US Wyler marketing examples, as well as test images)

Of course, the references and quality of watches released by Vetta and Wyler Vetta needed to match this significant marketing effort. Indeed, throughout the brands’ golden years from the 1940s to the quartz crisis in the mid-1970s, Vetta and Wyler Vetta released several high quality and still very desirable watches. As you will see, there is a uniqueness and ‘Italian’ flair to these watches, that in my opinion, helps distinguish them from the more traditional vintage offerings. 

(Photos of various references from the 1940s to 1970s. Captions under each photo could briefly describe the watch, rather than more bodies of text?)