The World Capitals of the Watch Industry

6 May 2022

The towns of Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds in the canton of Neuchâtel were built for the watch industry and watchmakers.

Their history of craftsmanship and industry is reflected in architecture and town planning. Nowhere else has the watch industry left such clear and well-preserved traces in urban development?

Le Locle is the oldest municipality in the Jura Mountains of the canton of Neuchâtel and is considered the cradle of the watch industry.

The first watch factory was founded in 1705 by Daniel Jean-Richard (1665-1741). Since then, the watch industry has been booming in the region (and Switzerland).

Picture: Espace de l’urbanisme horloger

The city of La Chaux-de-Fonds was also built for the watch industry. The village burned down almost entirely in 1794. The reconstruction was wholly dedicated to the watch industry, the work, the workshops, warehouses and (comfortable) homes for the workers.  In the second half of the 19th century, the town developed rapidly. In 1857 the city got one of the first railway lines in Switzerland.

The watch metropolises La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle have a watch museum with an impressive collection of the most beautiful watches from the last centuries.

The watch industry is still crucial to the region, and the Fin de Siècle around 1900 can be seen everywhere in architecture and beautiful public and private buildings.

(Source: Musée d’horlogerie du Locle, www.mhl-monts.ch; Musée international d’horlogerie – La Chaux-de-Fonds).