The Singer sewing machines produced in the factory of Bonnières Sur Seine (France)

I’ve been working for a while now on a searchable database of Singer sewing machine serial numbers. You type in a number, and it tells you the available informtion, such as when and where the machine was made, which model it is, and in most cases even manuals and other useful info.

As part of this work, I recently dove into the history of Singer machines made in Monza, in Italy. That project quickly showed me how difficult it can be to track factory-specific production when official records are incomplete or lost.

While gathering material for such a research, I came across the wonderful research Julia had already done on the Singer factory at Bonnières-sur-Seine, in France. She kindly shared her work with me so I could add it to the database and expand on it. I’m very grateful for her efforts, which form now the backbone of what we know about Bonnières production.

Like Monza, Bonnières is a bit of a puzzle, since the original records are now lost. Which models were built there, and in what years? To make things easier for fellow collectors and researchers, I’ve gathered all the Bonnières serial numbers we have so far into one place.

If you own a machine that you believe was made in Bonnières, or have any additional details, photos, or clues, please share them in the comments. Every piece of information helps us build a clearer picture of this factory’s history.

Serial numbers of Singer sewing machines produced in Bonnières Sur Seine can be identified by their prefix letter.
They start with SA, SB, SC, and so on, until SN, followed by six digits.

Model numbers, instead, bear the location code B.

Here are the decal sets recorded in the factory of Bonnières Sur Seine, with their periods of use and the classes (models) they were applied to.

It’s a cross-reference of known Singer decal sets with the serial numbers in our own database. This may be helpful to date machines when serial records are incomplete.

Machines produced here carried a “B” after the model number (such as the 15B or 191B) and serial numbers beginning with two letters SA, SB, SC, and so on, followed by six digits. These markings remain the clearest way to identify a Bonnières-made Singer today.

Through the 1950s and 1960s, Bonnières was an important part of Singer’s global network. But by the late 1960s, traditional family sewing machines were phased out, and the factory began winding down. In 1971 the plant passed under Singer France SA, continuing production on a smaller scale. Ultimately, facing global competition and rising costs, the site closed in 1985.

Today, most of the factory complex has been repurposed as a business park, with only one original building preserved in its early form.

After machining, the parts were smoothed, polished, and cleaned before entering the enameling department. Here, the heads were coated, dipped and sprayed with multiple layers of enamel, then decorated with decals and finished with a clear varnish. The machines were left to cure for four weeks to ensure a lasting shine.

Assembly brought everything together: the heads were fitted with hundreds of precisely engineered parts, then tested for function and adjusted by skilled workers. Each machine was run through sewing trials, including embroidery and darning, before being oiled, polished, and packed for shipping. Berget notes that a finished Singer machine contained no fewer than 204 individual parts.

The Bonnières plant also had large woodworking shops where cabinets and cases were made from timber that had been carefully seasoned, both outdoors and in kilns. And alongside the sewing machines, the factory produced Singer’s own electric motors, held to the same strict standards of quality and endurance.

Even though the Singer factory in Bonnières-sur-Seine closed in the late 1970s, the site continues to draw attention as an important part of local and industrial heritage.

In 2010, during the Journées du Patrimoine, Odile Berget visited the old plant and described what survives.

Most of the factory buildings have since been repurposed as a business park, but one structure remains as it was: the steam engine hall. The massive Farcot steam engine, dating from 1906 (before Singer acquired the site), has been restored by a group of volunteers. Although its boiler is no longer in service, the machinery can still run on compressed air. Visitors are struck by its sheer scale, from the gigantic flywheels to the marble-backed electrical control panels that once powered the plant.

A former employee has also set up part of his personal collection of sewing machines there, and there are hopes that a small museum dedicated to Bonnières’ industrial past may eventually open.

• About the Singer factory of Bonnières sur Seine by SingerSewingInfo
• (FR) About the history of the factory
• French factory tour in the 1950s, in French and English
• Tour of the factory in 2010, in French and English
• The restored powerplant, in French and English
• (FR) The discussion forum that was the starting point of this research