The Nathan-Rupp Collection was formed through the acquisitions of Carl Nathan-Rupp (1891-1980) and Lina Nathan-Rupp (1898-1982). Carl was born in Mainz (Germany) and worked at the J. Dreyfus & Co. bank in Berlin. He later moved to the Frankfurt headquarters and in 1920 moved to Basel (Switzerland), where he would establish his collection. Although he was passionate about watches, Carl also acquired other pieces with his wife, Lina. They both donated the collection to the Historisches Museum Basel in the 1980s.