General Info

Otto Frei, immigrated to the United States from Switzerland with his wife, Alice, in 1929. Skilled watchmakers were very much in demand in those days, as they are today, and Otto was an exceptionally skilled watchmaker. Alice was gifted too, as a specialist in hairspring vibrating, a job that requires great patience and dexterity. They had pre-arranged employment in Cincinnati, Ohio, and they stayed there long enough to give birth to their only child, John R Frei, and to realize that they didn't care for the weather. Onward to California they went. First to San Francisco, where they briefly set up a trade watchmakers shop, and then on to Oakland. Our company has been continuously in Oakland since 1930. Otto and Alice worked hard and prospered, and many watchmakers began using Otto as a source for Swiss watch parts, and Otto Frei became the watch material supplier of choice in downtown Oakland. At that time downtown Oakland had a thriving center for jewelers and watchmakers, with 3 large buildings housing the trade. In 1952, John Frei was given his honorable discharge from the army signal corps and came to work full time in the business. A relatively young Otto Frei decided to cut back his workload to 3 days a week so he could spend more time on his passion of fixing up property and trading up in real estate. At that time there were several watch material houses that were well established and mighty competitors in the San Francisco Bay Area. John Frei worked very hard to add new lines and offer new services to grow the business. By the mid sixties, Otto Frei Company had become the leading supply house in the San Francisco Bay Area. The prospect of continual competition from the new to the Bay Area, and well organized Jules Borel Company gave John a great idea. If you can't beat 'em, you can always join them, so in 1967 Otto Frei Company became Otto Frei & Jules Borel Company, with offices in downtown San Francisco and downtown Oakland. We became part of the Borel Group, a loosely organized buying group that carried the Borel name in cities across the U.S. The Borels became good friends and good partners. Around that time, the company began to offer more tools to the jeweler, and casting your own jewelry in your small shop became popular. The jewelry supply part of business began to grow, and precious metals findings were added to our line. In 1970, Borel & Frei opened in downtown Los Angeles. By the late 70's the third generation of Frei's had come on board full time, and the company continued to grow and prosper. In 1995, the Los Angeles Borel & Frei office was closed, and the last partnership between the Frei family and the Borel family was ended. Otto Frei & Jules Borel Company of Oakland became solely owned by the Frei family once again. The 21st century has brought the fourth generation on board, with Otto's great grandsons working in sales and website design as they complete their educations. Over the years we have been known as Otto Frei, Otto Frei & Jules Borel, Frei & Borel Borel & Frei. ( Some common misspellings include Auto Fry, Auto Frei, Auto Frie, Auto Frye, Fry & Borel, Borel & Fry, and Frye & Burel ). Today we are proud to once again be known simply as Otto Frei Main Office & Warehouse Counter hours: Monday-Friday, 8: 30am-12: 30pm & 1: 30pm-5: 00pm