India’s growing appetite for luxury goods and services has seen it emerge as one of the fastest growing markets for heirloom Swiss watches. Ask Indian watch collectors or luxury travellers and they might point you to Bucherer on Rue du Rhone in Geneva. Bucherer is a destination for fine Swiss watches and home to one of the largest collections of Rolex watches in the world. Geneva has long been associated with Switzerland’s iconic timepieces. It’s where you’re likely to see Swiss bankers and global diplomats sport bespoke watch brands that have ‘stood the test of time’. But Geneva is not quite the heart of the Swiss watch industry.
The Times Are Changing
I still remember my first visit to La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland when the Apple Watch had just begun to dominate global watch sales and threatened the pre-eminence of the Swiss watch industry. I got my first glimpse of this historic city from Espacité tower, the tallest building in La Chaux-de-Fonds with a bird’s eye view of the city’s grid-street plan. A few weeks ago, I was back at this vantage point at a time when the Swiss watch industry is certainly feeling more upbeat than the late 2010s.
The Spiritual Heart Of The Watch Industry
You may not find too many of La Chaux de-Fonds’ residents showing off their luxury watches. But this town along with Le Locle is the spiritual heart of the Swiss watch industry. It’s an industrial town where the industry began to emerge around the 17th century – a pocket watch was documented as early as 1664. La Chaux-de-Fonds quickly took the leading position in watchmaking in the Alpine region. In 2009 La Chauxde-Fonds and Le Locle were added to the UNESCO world heritage list. The recognition from UNESCO came largely for the region’s emergence as a watch production hub from humble beginnings as a cottage industry.
Watchmaking And Urban Planning
Dubbed as Switzerland’s ‘Watch Valley’, the 200 km stretch between Geneva and Basel along the Jura Arc emerged as the centre of the country’s world-renowned horology traditions. The twin cities of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle are its very heart. These mono-industrial towns demonstrate a fascinating symbiosis between the watch industry and urban planning. After a massive fire destroyed most of La Chaux-de Fonds in 1794, the entire town was built from scratch with a grid-street plan and an emphasis on natural light. Some of these units continue to function to this day. La Chaux-de-Fonds is still the watchmaking capital of the world; it’s where you will find workshops and corporate offices of brands like Omega, Rolex and Patek Phillipe.
The Upstart
Not far from La Chaux-de-Fonds is Delemont, home to Victorinox’s Watch Competence Centre. A lot of my conversation with the teams at Victorinox centred around the resurgence of the conventional wrist watch. It’s no surprise that this optimism coincides with smartwatch sales reporting their first annual decline in sales numbers (global smartwatch shipments fell 7% YoY in 2024 according to Research firm Counterpoint). It was at the company’s Watch Competence Centre in Delemont that we saw the rigorous standards that go into crafting a classic Swiss timepiece.
The World’s Largest Clock Museum
the Musée International D’horlogerie (International Museum of Horology) in La Chaux-De-Fonds with Over 4,500 Collection Pieces Is Probably the World’s Largest Clock Museum with Over 2,700 Watches and 700 Wall Clocks. The Museum Houses Rare Exhibits Like Giovanni De’dondi’s Astrarium, a 14th Century Mechanism That Depicts the Movement of the Sun, Moon and Planets. a Tradition of Time The Patek Philipe Museum in Geneva Also Offers Tremendous Insights on How This Region Benefitted from the Flight of Talented Watch Makers, Goldsmiths and Enamellists from France During the Reformation. the Museum Captures the Evolution of Timepieces at a Time When Most People Really Didn’t Care About the Precise Time. from Rare Chronographs to Ornamental Timepieces Crafted Specially for the Chinese Nobility in the 19th Century, This Museum Is a Treasure Trove for Watch Lovers.
Become a Watchmaker for a Day
If You’d Like a ‘Hands-On’ Experience, Head to the Les Apprentis Du Temps Workshop at Le Locle. This Engaging Experience Offers You a Unique Opportunity to Assemble Your Own Mechanical Watch. You Can Take Your Seat at a Workbench and Wear a Watchmaker’s Coat as You Experience the Challenges and Meticulous Standards the Swiss Watch Industry Demands. The Workshop Offers Insights on the Operations of Watchmaking Using Various Components Like the Dial, Case and Hands.
Meet the Scribe
You Can Explore Watch Valley from Geneva or Basel Thanks to the Swiss Travel System and the Flexibility of the Swiss Pass That Also Gives You Free Access to Over 500 Museums Across Switzerland. We’d Also Recommend Neuchâtel’s Art and History Museum’s Prize Exhibits, Including the World Famous ‘Three Automata’ Crafted by Watchmaker Pierre Jacquet-Droz and His Son Henri Louis Jacquet-Droz in the 18th Century.
Watch Tours
Make a stop at the Art and History museum, one of the many charming buildings in the Esplanade located along the endless Neuchâtel Lake. The benches along the lake are a perfect spot to spend a relaxed afternoon. The Omega Watch museum at Biel is less than an hour away from Neuchatel. It’s the oldest watch museum dedicated to a single brand with over 4,000 watches that take you on a voyage through time. If you want to dig deeper into Swiss horology, sign up for a whole-day tour. Swiss Watch tours organises customised tours including factory visits. A trip through Switzerland’s Watch Valley and the streets of La Chaux de-Fonds is almost like a journey through time. It brings the fascinating story of a tiny Swiss village that eventually became the centre of the world’s watchmaking industry. The industry’s 300-year-old tradition has been threatened by the quartz watch and more recently by smartwatches. However, the clever shift from accuracy to luxury and exquisite craftsmanship has ensured that the Swiss watch is ready for the next century. Because there’s a clear distinction between a Swiss watch and a device that is worn just to know about the time.
