Swiss pioneer of the quartz watch has died

René Le Coultre, a key figure behind the invention of the quartz wristwatch, died on Saturday, three weeks after his 100th birthday.  Le Coultre was the founder of the Electronic Watch Centre (Centre électronique horloger CEH) in the city of Neuchâtel, western Switzerland. Around 20 watch brands were behind the creation of the centre in 1962 with the goal of making a reliable analog quartz wristwatch. In 1966, the first prototype called Beta 1 was developed, setting the scene for mass production of highly accurate quartz-based wristwatches.  Le Coultre was an important figure in the Swiss watchmaking industry. He was the grandson of the co-founder of luxury watch brand Jaeger Le Coultre. He was also director of research and development at Rolex and a member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry.  His death was first announced on Arcinfo. Le Coultre also participated in the founding in 1984 of the Swiss Center for Electronics and Microtechnology (Centre suisse ...