The "Borel Fils & Cie" watch company was established by watch maker Jules Borel in 1856 in Neuchatel, Switzerland. In 1859, along with his brother-in-law, Paul Courvoisier, Borel established the "Borel-Courvoisier" watch company. They won several awards in the late 19th century including first place in the 1866 Neuchatel observatory timing accuracy competition.

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In 1898, Jules' son, Ernest Borel, took over the company, and he formally changed the name to "Ernest Borel & Cie" the following year. Ernest Borel was the leader of the company until 1936, when his son, Jean-Louis Borel, succeeded as the manager of the company. Jean-Louis Borel managed Ernest Borel up to 1975, when it was bought by the firm Aubry Frère S. A. The company was sold to a Hong Kong based company in 1989.

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(Sources: 1, 2)