The early history of the West End Watch Co. is rather difficult to piece together, so don't be surprised if this page is subject to change! In compiling the following history I have drawn on Kathleen Pritchard's "Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775 - 1975", Karl Kochmann's "Clock and Watch Trademark Index of European Origin" and the judgment of the Mumbai High Court in the case of The West End Watch Co. vs The Berna Watch Co. on 22 November, 1910.
In 1864, Alcide Constant Droz and Henry Perret of St. Imier in the Swiss Canton of Berne founded the watchmaking company Droz and Perret. This company subsequently went through many changes of name and registration, and registered many trade marks.
In 1883 the company changed its registered name to Alcide Droz & Fils (Alcide Droz and Sons). Two of the sons were the brothers Louis, the elder, and Constant. The firm was restringsd as makers of watches, specialising in waterproof (imperméable) watches. They registered a trademark of a flying eagle carrying a watch in its beak, surrounded by the words "Imperméable Brevete Dans Tous Pays" (Waterproof Patented in All Countries). On 16 October 1885 they registered a trademark of an eagle carrying a watch in its beak with above it the name "West End Watch".
In 1884 a watch business was started in Bombay by Alcide Droz & Fils and Arnold Charpie. Some reports say that Charpie was the Indian representative of Droz, but I haven't found anything to substantiate this. The firm was evidently a joint venture between Charpie and Alcide Droz & Fils, with the intention of mainly, but not exclusively, importing watches manufactured at the St Imier factory.
In 1887 Alcide Droz & Fils underwent another change of name, becoming Droz & Cie (Droz and Co.). Also in 1887, Arnold Charpie retired from the Bombay firm, and it became wholly owned by Droz & Cie. And also in the same year of 1887, the Bombay firm was renamed the West End Watch Co. And finally, also in 1887, Alcide Droz & Fils patented a trademark of a bear and flag with the word Berna, and also registered "West End Watch Co." on a movement. I think these events, all taking place in the same year, were all connected. The name of the Bombay company before the retirement of Arnold Charpie is not known, but it was evidently not The West End Watch Co. It appears likely that when Charpie retired in 1887 and Droz & Cie took over completely, they took the opportunity to rebrand the company The West End Watch Company, using the trademark name that they had already registered in 1885.
There is a story that after the creation of the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property, Arnold Charpie decided to add a Helvetia figure, as appeared on Swiss coins, as a trademark, but that this caused a problem because Muslims reject representations of the human form. The story goes that Charpie ordered replacement dials bearing the name West End Watch Company. It is said that this was because he always stayed in and enjoyed the West End on his visits to London. However, as the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property was not created until 1893, some six years after Charpie had retired and eight years after Alcide Droz & Fils had registered the West End Watch trademark, this part of the story at least must be apocryphal.
The West End Watch Co. remained a wholly owned subsidiary of Droz & Cie until 1891, when Jacques-Arnold Amstutz became a partner. In 1893, The West End Watch Cie. was listed as a brand of Droz & Amstutz, St Imier; a branch of a Bombay firm of the same name. In 1895 the Indian branch was named West End Watch Co., Droz & Amstutz, and in 1898 this was changed to West End Watch Co., Droz, Amstutz & Cie.
It seems that at some stage in the early 1890s the two Droz brothers separated their business interests. Constant Droz joined up with Jacques-Arnold Amstutz in India, forming a company called Droz and Amstutz, and Louis Droz remained at the factory in St Imier with the company Droz & Cie.
In 1904 Droz & Cie, the exclusive owners of the St. Imier Factory, got into financial difficulties and converted their manufacturing business into a Joint Stock Company under the name of the Fabrique d'Horlogerie Berna. The West End Watch Co. supported the flotation by taking up a large number of shares in the new Company. At the same time, Droz & Cie sold their interest in the West End Watch Co. to Jacques-Arnold Amstutz and Constant Droz.
By virtue of their large shareholding in the new company, Constant Droz and Jacques-Arnold Amstutz were able to insist on a monopoly of all the products the joint stock company Fabrique d'Horlogerie Berna sent to India for a period of ten years. But by 1907 the joint stock company Berna was itself in trouble, and in December went into liquidation. It seems that at least part of the reason for this was a lack of orders from The West End Watch Co., who had complained about the watches supplied by Berna and began importing watches largely from other manufacturers, while they ceased giving orders to the St. Imier factory.