Ebauches was founded in 1926 by three major Swiss watch component manufacturers: A. Schild SA (ASSA) in Granges, Fabrique d'horlogerie de Fontainemelon (FHF), and A. Michel SA (AMSA) in Granges. The company opposed the export of movement templates (chablons) to prevent the production of watches abroad under the Swiss label.[1]
In 1931, Ebauches joined ASUAG, completing the Swiss watch cartel. Despite being part of the same holding company, the various subsidiaries, led by family dynasties, continued to compete fiercely with one another.[1]
By 1968–1969, Ebauches had grown to include twenty-three subsidiaries in Switzerland, three abroad, and employed 10,000 people. The subsidiary Ebauches Electroniques Marin (EEM) was founded in 1970, shortly before the collapse of the watch cartel, which had neglected the growing market for electronic watches.[1]
In 1974, Ebauches dominated 25% of the global market for mechanical movements.[1]
Beginning in 1978, a significant wave of mergers took place among the holding's companies. In 1982, ETA SA took over operational management of Ebauches. In 1983, Asuag-Ebauches merged with SSIH to form Asuag-SSIH, which became the Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie in 1985, then the Swatch Group in 1998.[1]
