Yema
- Founded
- 1948
- Based in
- Morteau, France
- In our catalog
- 3 watches from $550 to $1,005
Yema is one of the few French watch brands with real history, and one of the few watch brands anywhere at its price that now makes its own movements. Its Superman dive watch was a hit in the 1960s, it went to space with France's first astronaut, and after decades of ups and downs it's back with a clear identity.
History
Henry-Louis Belmont founded Yema in Besançon, the capital of French watchmaking, in 1948. In 1963 it launched the Superman, a dive watch with a patented system to lock the bezel so it couldn't be knocked out of position. Yema also made racing chronographs and pilot's watches, and in 1982 astronaut Jean-Loup Chrétien wore a Yema on the Franco-Soviet Soyuz T-6 mission.
The brand passed through several owners, including Seiko's parent company, which owned it from the late 1980s into the 2000s. It's now independent and based in Morteau, where in recent years it has developed its own movements, including a micro-rotor caliber.
Signature models
- Superman Heritage: The modern Superman, with the bezel lock and the vintage-style dial.
- Flygraf Pilot M1: A pilot's watch drawn from Yema's aviation designs of the 1960s and 1970s.
- Urban Traveller: An everyday watch with a cleaner, more modern look.
What it's known for
French heritage and in-house movements at low prices. The Superman's bezel lock is a genuinely useful feature, and Yema's own movements set it apart from most brands in its range.
Price and positioning
Yema watches mostly cost $550 to $1,000. Baltic (also French), Lorier and Squale are the obvious alternatives, and Yema has more history and more of its own movement-making than any of them.
Yema watches in our library
- Yema Flygraf Pilot M1 ($550)
- Yema Urban Traveller ($695)
- Yema Superman Heritage ($1,005)