Friend of a friend's grandfather's watch. From a US serviceman at end of WWII in France. I could find only one ebay listing, for a chronograph with a Landeron movement. And nothing about the company. Thanks
Just thought I'd link to the only other example I could find: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Chronograph-Birma-Excellent-Condition-60s-Landeron-47-/201250651643Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network
Never seen one of these before, but I did take a few moments to cobble this together... The Birma Watch Company was a Swiss manufacture of mid-range watches, founded by brothers Abhishek and Shyam Birma in 1928. The twin brothers learned their trade while employed at various manufactures in the watchmaking industry located in Le Locle, Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The brothers became interested in designing their own movements, and shopped around several innovative prototypes, ultimately starting their own firm with the backing of French industrialist Pierre Foucalt. Birma's timepieces were reputable for their unique design, resilience to electricity, magnetism and varying temperatures, but never established a strong commercial following. The company went bankrupt in 1954, well before the Swiss "quartz crisis", with the rights to the Birma name and movement design defaulting to Leon Foucault, grandson of the original investor. The family's company, Foucault Pendulum S.A., later licensed use of the name to marketing company Watchesrus, who assembled U.S.-made cases and Swiss movements (including Landeron and Venus, among others) and marketed them briefly in the late 1950's under the Birma label. The Birma marque is currently dormant, though rumoured to now be owned by Richemont Group and to be introduced as a "new" line in 2018. Disclaimer: I guarantee the innacuracy of this information as it is all made up. Since it is now searchable, no doubt it will become THE reference source for Birma watches and the Birma Watch Company.
Well I suppose I should reply to this slightly elderly thread before anyone starts thinking that these Birma watches are just some small uninteresting company. They really did make some exceptional designs, don't you think? 0 Then there is this also quite beautiful watch