Yema

Yema is an independent French watchmaker based in Morteau, a town located near the border between France and Switzerland in one of the historic centers of European watchmaking. The brand was founded in 1948 by watchmaker Henry Louis Belmont and quickly established itself as one of France’s most prominent watch manufacturers. Over the decades, Yema has built a strong international presence, producing a wide variety of watches including motorsport-inspired chronographs, yacht timers, and professional dive watches.

Over the decades, Yema has achieved several notable milestones that have shaped its legacy in watchmaking. In 1953, the brand was among the early manufacturers capable of producing dive watches resistant to depths of 100 meters, which was considered a significant technical achievement at the time. In 1966, Yema introduced the Yachtingraf, a regatta chronograph that later gained further recognition when the brand became the official supplier to the French Sailing Team in 1968, presenting a Yachtingraf to renowned yachtsman Éric Tabarly.

Yema also holds a unique place in European space history. On June 24, 1982, French astronaut Jean‑Loup Chrétien wore the Yema Spationaute I during his mission launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. This marked the first Western European watch to travel into space, and the model would later see further iterations developed in collaboration with the French space agency CNES for subsequent missions.

Today, Yema continues to be one of the leading names in French watchmaking, serving a global community of watch enthusiasts and collectors.