During one of the last years at Basel, we met the folks from Yema at a nearby hotel. They showed us fantastic and faithful reissues from the brand’s heyday of the 1960s and ’70s. Since then, a lot has changed as there’s now the Yema Manufacture Morteau where three calibers are produced. Let’s look at what happens in this idyllic French town.

I’ve been surprised by Yema’s ascendancy in the small, affordable independent category. Like clockwork, the company releases new models every few months. Best of all, there’s been a nice blend of pure reissues and new designs. What I didn’t see coming was the Yema Manufacture Morteau. After all, the most revered vintage pieces used third-party movements. However, in an era when watch brands are trying to separate themselves and reduce dependency on others, perhaps the move is sensible.

Yema Manufacture unleaded brass movement pieces

The Yema Manufacture

The Yema Manufacture opened in 2022 in a new building in Morteau, France. Since then, the small brand has begun producing three internally designed calibers. Olivier Mory is the marque’s master watchmaker who also devised these movements. The CMM.10 is a three-hand automatic caliber, the CMM.20 is a micro-rotor movement, and the CMM.30 is a low-volume hand-winding tourbillon. The last one debuted in 2023 in a special Yachtingraf to celebrate Yema’s 75th anniversary.

Yema Manufacture CNC machines

What happens in Morteau?

With rampant wild claims about what is in-house and what is not, Yema is very clear about what it does on-site. Specifically, 80% of the production happens in-house, as does the final assembly. The remaining 20% is comprised of the balance wheel and mainspring. These components are sourced from Switzerland across the border from the Yema Manufacture.

watchmaker working at Yema Manufacture

The steps

Like most metalworking shops, Yema is proud of its machinery. The Yema Manufacture has three CNC machines, including a pair of five-axis models and a three-axis model. These are the heart of production and are responsible for roughly 600 components per month. The team uses unleaded brass for the mainplates and bridges. A series of cutting steps occur before sandblasting and galvanic plating. The machines allow Yema to focus on continuous improvement via cycle time reduction.

man checking movement components at Yema Manufacture

Inspection

Naturally, the calibers produced at the Yema Manufacture go through a thorough inspection. In addition to human eyes, a Micro-View magnifies up to 819 times to expose any defects. The result is that Yema achieves near-COSC accuracy with its calibers.

Yema Skin Diver Slim CMM.20

Availability of Yema Manufacture models

Today, Yema has a dedicated page for its Manufacture models. Five pieces are available with the CMM.20 micro-rotor movement, including the Skin Diver Slim Limited Edition. Six CMM.10-powered dive watches are for sale, and finally, there are still a few remaining CMM.30 Tourbillon models in stock. For an in-house tourbillon, these represent fantastic value!

CMM.10 movements at Yema Manufacture

We look forward to seeing what the Yema Manufacture creates next. For now, let’s enjoy the current models and the releases that will undoubtedly come with the three existing in-house calibers.

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