Fred Lip; Helped Produce First Electronic Wristwatch

Fred Lip, 95, who pioneered the electronic watch and helped develop quartz watches. Born into a family of watchmakers as Frederic Lipmann, he changed his name after his family’s Lip line of timepieces became popular. He studied at a watchmaking academy and later in the U.S. learned how to mass-produce watches. When Lip took over the family business after World War II, he installed the first assembly line for watches in France. In the 1950s, Lip and a team of engineers and technicians produced the first electronic wristwatch. In the 1970s, he dedicated himself to perfecting quartz watch technology but quickly lost sales to Japanese and Swiss competitors. Lip went bankrupt in 1976, but the brand name was purchased by another manufacturer, who still sells Lip watches. On Saturday in Besancon, France.