User:Jardur

Jardur Import Company established in 1937, the company was an importer of aviation chronographs from Switzerland. Their private watch label was called JARDUR.

History

In the early 1930's, Herman & Samuel Klepper, brothers from New York City, worked for the Hamilton Radio Company. Recognizing aviation was playing a large role in military training; they quit their positions and started the Jardur Import Company, later known as the Jardur Aviation Company (1945). First located at 138th Fifth Avenue, NYC, they changed their address to 874 Broadway, NYC located in The McIntyre building.

After creating their signature Jardur model, The Bezelmeter, the Klepper's began selling their watches in United States Army and Navy Post Exchanges (PX). The Jardur private label was never commissioned for any military branch, however, many aviators and military personnel wound up possessing one of these Swiss made watches.

In 1940, The Jardur Bezelmeter Aviation Chronograph was copywrited on May 4th, catalog number: AA338116

In 1941, The Jardur Bezelmeter Aviation Chronograph was identified as the Official Timepiece of the entire crew of the 1941 Civil Air Mission to the Latin American Republics by the Inter-American Escadrille.

In 1943, during the war, The Klepper family formed a co-partnership with Ernest G. Vetter, the author of “Aeronautics Simplified”, and a Lieutenant with the United States Naval Reserve. The idea for the partnership was to invent a new flight plotting instrument that could be sold under the Jardur Import Company name, catering to the new trend toward general study of celestial navigation.

Also in 1943, with the help of W.W. Smith, chief engineer of the Jardur Import Company, the company distributed a manual called “Field of Action of Aircraft (Including Radius of Action).

In 1944, with the help of senior flight navigator Hugh Thomasson of the American Export Airlines, the Jardur Import Company designed and sold a new navigational plotter and protractor identified as the Astro-Nav. The Astro-Nav was a fast, accurate method for plotting lines of position without the use of dividers, parallel rules or triangles.

In 1945, The Jardur Import Company changed their name to The Jardur Aviation Company.