Horological Meandering

Rolex SA, ETA SA, etc.? I'm sure someone will know the answer to this question. I have often wondered to myself what the initials stand for, but searches bring too many results and I have never read any watch related material with the definition.

Thanks, EJ

SA is French for Société Anonyme.  There is obviously a more complete explanation as to the legal aspects but I think this should answer your question.

Bill

in Spanish it is Sociedad Anonima, it means owned by stock holders (which we don´t always know the name...). The Capital is divided in stocks.

for Germany it means Saxony (Like in "A. Lange & Söhne, Glashütte i/SA")

;-)

Edwin

This said, could someone confirm that SA (for société anonyme as quoted by Bill) corresponds to Ltd (limited) in the UK and Corp. or Inc. for US based companies ? When located in the German speaking part of Switzerland or even Germany, SA is switched to AG (Aktiengesellschaft).
Cheers, Mark

SA literally translates to anonymous company being a company made up of share holders. Each country that has this type of legal entity has it own rules as to the formation and regulation such as minimum of shareholders , number of directors, minimum paid in capital etc. But in general terms it’s a limited liability company . Again, this answer really quite superficial without a better understanding of the question beyond what SA stands for. Here is another 1 or 2 of the 20 or so equivalent translation Italy: Società per Azioni - S.p.A. UK: Public limited company - Plc

Apart of indicating the way of incorporation of the Company, are part of the name of the Company.
To translate from English into Spanish, French, etc., is like trying to translate a name:
Is Paul the same as Pablo?

That said, it's a normal practice to translate LTD. into S.A., even though it's not correct for a "purist" to do so.

Just means "Stock Company"; a Limited Liability Corporation in Germany is, I believe, a "GmbH"--something like Gesellschaft mit beschraenkte Hafnung--Business with limited liability.