ABOUT
The History of Minimax Watches
The story of Minimax begins not with a corporation, but with a family — and a passion for horology that spans more than a century.
Its roots trace back to 1881 in Entralgo, a small parish in the Asturias region of northern Spain, where a young man would grow up to become the unlikely founder of a watchmaking legacy. In 1898, at the request of a family member serving in the Spanish army, he made his way to Cuba. His travels eventually led him to Guatemala City, where commerce thrived under the long influence of Spain's colonial heritage. There, he found work in a watch and jewelry store, becoming an apprentice to a Swiss watchmaker. Under that mentorship, he mastered the craft that would define his family for generations.
Returning to Spain by 1900, he established La Esmeralda — a watch store in La Felguera that remains in operation to this day. His sons grew up working alongside him, and the craft passed naturally from father to son.
During the early 1900s, the Tavannes Swiss Watch Company was producing thousands of blank-dial wristwatches, supplying companies worldwide who branded them under their own names. Among those names was Minimax — distributed by the Suárez family across Spain. The watches were precise, well-built, and quietly respected.
Through the 1920s and 1930s, the family maintained active business ties between Guatemala, Spain, Cuba, and Switzerland. Then in 1940, a devastating fire consumed the Tavannes factory, destroying countless timepieces and historical records. The factory was rebuilt on a smaller scale, but Minimax watches were no longer in production.
By 1948, the family had settled in Guatemala City and established Relojería La Suiza — a watch business from which the Minimax name was revived. High-quality Swiss-made components were imported and each timepiece was personally assembled by a Swiss-certified watchmaker under the Minimax name. Though assembled outside Switzerland, every component originated from Switzerland, and the watches remained fully Swiss-made by the standards of the time. The brand thrived for nearly four decades.
In early 1984, the family's master watchmaker passed away. None of his children continued the trade, and the Minimax name fell dormant once again.
Years later, the search for the brand's history began in earnest. Family members were contacted, archives were reviewed, and inquiries were sent to The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, which confirmed the name's existence dating back to the early 1900s. Tavannes Watch Co. was also contacted — they had no record of the name, as their business model involved mass-producing movements and cases for private-label retailers without documentation of branding. It was during this research that the story of the factory fire was uncovered.
The search for a surviving Minimax timepiece proved equally challenging. Family friends who had once owned one could only offer photographs. Eventually, an original Minimax watch was found online in A Coruña, Spain, through a local resale platform. Spanish export regulations and internet sales restrictions made acquisition difficult — but the watch was secured. The piece, originally assembled by the family's own watchmaker, remains in working condition to this day and still keeps accurate time.
In early 2016, the Minimax brand was formally re-established. New designs were developed, prototypes were built, and by late 2019 the inaugural production run was successfully launched.
Today, Minimax Watches, LLC is headquartered in Houston, Texas — carrying forward more than a century of watchmaking heritage, one timepiece at a time.
Below - A view at the Swiss-made Minimax and its AS 1130 mechanical movement with Incabloc — late 1940s edition.
