MadridMetropolis-Madrid Details: May 2013

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Coppel Watches Madrid

The old Coppel Clock Shop was sited in number 25 and 27 of Fuencarral Street, (later became number 15 after Gran Via Street was opened).

The 20s. 27 Fuencarral street (further 15 number)

It was a factory and watch shop founded in 1887 by Charles Coppe. A foreigner settled in Spain since 1879 (it seems it had german origin as it was in Geman where he coursed his engineering studies).
Coppel watches quickly became famous in

Spain

, being considered as "the best mounted and most famous of Madrid". Specialized in wall and pocket clocks, owed his prestige to its affordable prices linked to a high quality. The production was under the leadership of a technical director of an important Swiss Clock Marking and also Coppel offered a warrantee collecting from his customers any watch that went wrong, without questioning its deterioration.
He had fifty-five employees, including spanish, german and french.

Its was a nice shop sited in Fuencarral street, in which facade was hunging a fantastic clock described as "wonderful work of mechanics built in their shops". He exhibited in his shop an average of more than four thousand watches that were constantly renewed. Coppel began with his factory at number 25 but such was the demand that he had to expand to number 25 and 27 for storage and exhibition.
In the 20s, Coppel release Press advertisements announcing its Fuencarral 15 shop (before 25-27 and now disappeared), Mayor 6 (after that was Busian Jewellery and Padilla Perfume) and in the 50s, also Gran Via ground floor (Av. José Antonio 55, disappeared). In the 60s refurbishes the local in Fuencarral street with a radical aesthetic change in style. (See HISTORY for ads at the end of this post)
The company remained as a family business through three generations. (grandparents, parents and grandchids), becaming a public limited company on March 12th, 1924.
Afterwards (and apparently by press advertisements) left the manufacturing and commercialized Swiss watch brands. It was spitted into Alfono Coppel in Mayor Street and Carlos Coppel in Fuencarral Street.
The 4th November 1997 it was presented the dissolution keeping the trademark registration.
For many establishments in Madrid, especially in the early twentieth century, Coppel supplied watches to decorate their premises. Some of them still remain. We will go trough this in next posts.

6 Mayor Street Nowadays

15 Fuencarral street nowadays

ABC Museum, Mahou Brewery, Chimneys and other things

Impacting contrast. From the latest to the oldest.

The ABC museum café generates confronted feelings.

Its architectural design with pop art reminiscences from the sixties similar to the space station from the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey", highly contrasts with the old building Comendadoras Convent of Santiago", place where f.e. Velazquez, Quevedo where ordain "Santiago Orden" knights.

View from Museum Coffee shop, windows from the convent

The cofee shop is a white walkway hanging from the Museum entrance courtyard

The museum is located in the building of the former brewery Mahou (1890). The entrance courtyard and inside the building was refurbished.

Outside, remains much of its original industrial aesthetic appearence.

Other part fron the building has been refurbished as apartments.

Entrance to the apartments .

This peculiar mixture of art museum, high tech cafe, nineteenth century brewery and medieval convent generates a unique space.

As a unknown and forgotten sculpture, the neighbourhood is decorated by the old chimney.

Houses and Chimney. On the righ we can see the convent

Church Convent Towers. At the back Montserrat Church Tower

The area is surrounded by tipical taverns. One of them is close to the old factory and is called "The Cangrejero". This tavern has the reputation for many years of having the longest beer coil from Madrid (180 meters and therefore, fresher beer). Also and as a myth maybe (or not) it was said that in the tavern was served the best Mahou beer from Madrid because of having a pipe directly from the brewery.. The tavern founded in 1932 (unfortunately quite refurbished ) was frequented by José Ortega y Gasset as it is nearby the university .

The "Cangrejero"

All the surroundings are worth it to visit.

For more information:
-Museo ABC. Calle Amaniel nº 21.
http://museo.abc.es/
-Tabernas y tapas en Madrid. Carlos Osorio. Ediciones La Libreria
-Guia de Arquitectura de Madrid. Tomo I. Coam.