Our history

Metalor’s history begins in 1852 with the establishment, in Le Locle, Switzerland, of Martin de Pury & Cie. The company smelts and rolls gold which is then used to manufacture watch cases.

The company, which employs five people, is bought by Banque du Locle in 1864. At the time of the transaction, it owns an inventory of 40 kg of gold and 200 kg of silver.

The business is well-established within the region and serves many local watchmakers. In 1896 a new apprentice, Charles Pfister, begins his career in the banking field. Before moving, in 1899, into metal assaying to become a sworn assayer in 1909 and, ultimately, director of the company.

In 1934 the company becomes the first Swiss refinery to be included on the London Good Delivery List (later managed by the London Bullion Market Association LBMA). Henceforth, ingots can be freely traded on international markets, and Le Locle becomes the center of the Swiss gold industry until the beginning of the Second World War. This subsidiary of SBS is renamed Métaux Précieux SA in 1936.

A scientific research division is set up in 1938. Other notable events include the purchase of a first electronic microscope and advanced metallographic control instruments, as well as the first vacuum furnace.

In 1939 the company enters a new market for precious metal dental alloys. Sold under the ‘MP’ brand, they are an immediate success. As business expands, subsidiaries open in Geneva and Zurich.

With the closing of the borders due to the war, the silver business develops significantly, first with silver nitrate, obtained with a higher purity, and in 1943 with the construction of a production line for the manufacturing of fine silver rivets.

The company begins its international expansion in France, first in 1960 when it obtains a stake in CMP Paris, then in 1963 with the opening of a production site for silver electrical contacts in Courville. At the same time, it continues to develop its activity in Neuchâtel, with the addition of a Research & Development center (1962) and extension of the metallurgical plant (1965).

In 1987 a brand-new factory is built in Marin (five kilometers from Neuchâtel), in the archaeologically rich area of La Tène. Artefacts uncovered during construction work show that gold was processed on the same site already during the Iron Age, more than 2,000 years ago. A laboratory building is added to the Neuchâtel site in 1992. All activities – including the headquarters – are moved to Marin in 2016, to a site whose name, Latenor, illustrates this important historic heritage.

Worldwide expansion continues through acquisitions in the United States of refining (1989) and silver powder (1997) companies.

The latest phase in Metalor’s history is a recent one. In 2016 the group is acquired by Tanaka Kikinzoku, a family-owned Japanese company. Established in 1885, Tanaka employs 3,500 people and is also a world leader in precious metals refining and manufacturing. Like Metalor, Tanaka Kikinzoku is one of the five Referees at the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and the London Platinum and Palladium Market (LPPM).

Also in 2016, Metalor transfers its headquarters to Marin, next to the group’s main refinery in Switzerland.