Fortis was founded in 1912 by Walter Vogt in Grenchen, Switzerland. Over the past several decades, Fortis has made military watches for the German, Swiss, Greek, Hungarian, Taiwanese, and NATO Forces. Fortis also has the distinction of producing the first watch officially sanctioned for use by the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos), with the brand becoming the exclusive supplier of watches to Russian cosmonauts on manned space missions.

In 1997, for its 85th anniversary, Fortis collaborated with Swiss watchmaker Paul Gerber to manufacture the world’s first mechanical chronograph with integrated alarm function using a Valjoux 7750 base caliber. In 2012, Fortis celebrated its 100th anniversary with the F-43 Pilot Chronograph Alarm GMT Chronometer.