Enjoy Watches

Brand history & owner guide

Relojes Centenario / Fábrica de Relojes Centenario, S.A. de C.V.

Relojes Centenario makes monumental clocks in Zacatlán, Mexico. Its history separates Alberto Olvera Hernández’s first clock in 1912 from the business’s 1918 founding. 123

This profile covers the maker’s identity, history and documented work. A complete model catalogue is being researched separately.

At a glance

Subject
Confirmed Horological Business 12
First documented date
1912-08 — First clock according to family history 2
Documented work
Alberto Olvera’s first monumental clock 2
Documented work
Chignahuapan clock commission 2

First clock versus business foundation

Alberto Olvera Hernández founded the clockmaking enterprise; the family dates his first clock to August 1912 and a first business commission in Chignahuapan to 1918. The official site uses 1918 as its tradition date; this is not a verified date of incorporation of the later S.A. de C.V. 231

Factory and family

Relojes Centenario is a Zacatlán monumental-clock business; Mexico’s cultural directory identifies its museum operator as Fábrica de Relojes Centenario, S.A. de C.V. The museum/factory address in the government directory is Nigromante 3, Centro, Zacatlán, Puebla.

The 2017 factory visit interviewed José Luis Olvera Cárdenas as a grandson and member of the family business. 12

Manufacture, public installations and repair

The factory visit describes clock fabrication, installation, musical functions and adaptation from mechanical to electrical and digital systems. Centenario also repaired imported French, German and English monumental clocks; those restorations are not Centenario original manufacture.

The family’s double-faced floral clock in central Zacatlán was donated in 1986, according to the factory report. The 2017 report identifies Centenario installations outside Mexico, including Chicago, Honduras and Argentina. 2

Museum and recent evidence

The Alberto Olvera Hernández horology museum opened on 13 November 1993, within the factory setting. A local news report dated 13 March 2026 reports José Luis Olvera Cárdenas’s death. 14

Key dates

  1. 1912-08

    First clock according to family history

    Alberto Olvera Hernández founded the clockmaking enterprise; the family dates his first clock to August 1912 and a first business commission in Chignahuapan to 1918. 2

  2. 1918

    First business commission and stated origin

    Alberto Olvera Hernández founded the clockmaking enterprise; the family dates his first clock to August 1912 and a first business commission in Chignahuapan to 1918. 231

  3. 1986

    Zacatlán floral clock donation

    The family’s double-faced floral clock in central Zacatlán was donated in 1986, according to the factory report. 2

  4. 1993-11-13

    Museum opens

    The Alberto Olvera Hernández horology museum opened on 13 November 1993, within the factory setting. 1

  5. 2026-03-13

    José Luis death reported

    A local news report dated 13 March 2026 reports José Luis Olvera Cárdenas’s death. 4

Ownership and continuity

Relojes Centenario is a Zacatlán monumental-clock business; Mexico’s cultural directory identifies its museum operator as Fábrica de Relojes Centenario, S.A. de C.V. 12

Watchmakers and designers linked to Relojes Centenario / Fábrica de Relojes Centenario, S.A. de C.V.

These people have a sourced relationship to this brand in the Enjoy Watches register. The label beside each name states the relationship recorded; it should not be read as a broader employment or ownership claim.

Identification and service

For an individual watch, record the complete reference, serial, dial, case, and movement markings and compare them with dated primary documentation.

A brand history cannot authenticate, appraise, or establish the provenance of a particular watch.

Evidence and limits

How the claims are supported
  1. verified fact

    Relojes Centenario is a Zacatlán monumental-clock business; Mexico’s cultural directory identifies its museum operator as Fábrica de Relojes Centenario, S.A. de C.V.

  2. source stated claim

    Alberto Olvera Hernández founded the clockmaking enterprise; the family dates his first clock to August 1912 and a first business commission in Chignahuapan to 1918.

  3. reasonable inference

    The official site uses 1918 as its tradition date; this is not a verified date of incorporation of the later S.A. de C.V.

  4. verified fact

    The museum/factory address in the government directory is Nigromante 3, Centro, Zacatlán, Puebla.

  5. verified fact

    The 2017 factory visit interviewed José Luis Olvera Cárdenas as a grandson and member of the family business.

  6. verified fact

    The Alberto Olvera Hernández horology museum opened on 13 November 1993, within the factory setting.

  7. verified fact

    The factory visit describes clock fabrication, installation, musical functions and adaptation from mechanical to electrical and digital systems.

  8. verified fact

    Centenario also repaired imported French, German and English monumental clocks; those restorations are not Centenario original manufacture.

  9. source stated claim

    The family’s double-faced floral clock in central Zacatlán was donated in 1986, according to the factory report.

  10. verified fact

    The 2017 report identifies Centenario installations outside Mexico, including Chicago, Honduras and Argentina.

  11. verified fact

    A local news report dated 13 March 2026 reports José Luis Olvera Cárdenas’s death.

  12. reasonable inference

    Classify as confirmed_horological_business: a clock manufacturer and restorer with an associated museum, not a wristwatch brand or merely an institution.

Known limits

  • When was the S.A. de C.V. incorporated, and who controls it now?
  • No inspected charter or current shareholder filing; the 1918 tradition date and a 2026 family death are not substitutes.
  • Which mechanisms, castings, motors and control electronics are made or sourced in each current product type?
  • The reported visit is descriptive; the current catalogue could not be retrieved.
  • What comparative evidence supports the oldest/first factory and unique-clock claims?
  • Marketing and family accounts are not a regional census of clockmakers.
  • This identity dossier is not a complete catalogue of every watch or reference.

Direct sources

  1. Museo de Relojería Alberto Olvera HernándezSistema de Información Cultural, Secretaría de Cultura, México · government museum directory · accessed September 15, 2026

    Locator: Relevant passage identified in the supplied research record. External source.

  2. Visita a la primera fábrica de relojes monumentales de América LatinaInfobae · reported factory visit and family interview · accessed September 15, 2026

    Locator: Relevant passage identified in the supplied research record. External source.

  3. Relojes Centenario — Auténtica tradición desde 1918Relojes Centenario · official business website · accessed September 15, 2026

    Locator: Relevant passage identified in the supplied research record. First-party source; its statements remain attributed.

  4. Muere José Luis Olvera Cárdenas, referente de Relojes CentenarioParalelo 19 · local news report · accessed September 15, 2026

    Locator: Relevant passage identified in the supplied research record. External source.

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