Espace horloger - Vallée de Joux

The Joux Valley – Cradle of high-end mechanical watchmaking for more than two centuries, it is home to some of the most prestigious brands and irreplaceable suppliers. A wealth of expertise has accumulated in the Valley in world-renowned manufactories as well as artisans’ small workshops, through skills passed on from father to son, in the architecture of the buildings, sometimes even written on their facades.

In 1917, the company Zénith had two factories built, one in Les Charbonnières, the other in Le Sentier. Their purpose was to allow the manufacturer to benefit from the techniques and specializations of the Joux Valley. Ten years later, the manufactory changed hands and became the property of Jacques David LeCoultre. The latter renamed the factory “L’Essor”, which in French means rapid development or expansion: an apt name in view of what it was to become.

Under the leadership of a group of impassioned teachers from the Technical College, the Museum of Watchmaking was established, the first of its kind in the canton of Vaud.

Setting its sights high but deservedly so, the Museum threw light on the sophisticated technologies of watchmaking and the richness and diversity of complicated movements: minute-repeater, grand strike, split-seconds chronograph, perpetual calendar, tourbillion, moon phase.