Industrial watchmaking at the heart of housing

Beginning in the late 19^th century, these two towns in the mountains of the canton of Neuchâtel never stopped implementing a bold kind of urbanism that subtly blended residential and industrial structures. The integration of industrial activity inside the home ended up producing an urban phenomenon so remarkable, it was enough to file a request for inclusion on the roster of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites. The registration was finally validated on 27 June 2009 after years of processing.

24, rue de la Serre. The factory was built by architect Henri Grishaber in 1920 for the "Paul Ditisheim" firm. The company was founded in 1892 and became famous for its precision watches and marine chronometers. To enhance the lighting of the workshops, the six-metre industrial extension added perpendicularly to the factory on 25, rue du Parc.

Two Neuchâtel towns on high ground

It is common knowledge that Le Locle was the first to develop this particular style in the Neuchâtel mountains.

However, La Chaux-de-Fonds is undoubtedly the most prominent example.

85-87, rue du Doubs. Residential building flanked by a large workshop built in 1887. A good example of the kind of industrial-residential co-existence common in the town.

The little town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, built around and on the hill of its ”Grand Temple”, burned to the ground in 1794. Before rebuilding the town, though, its denizen drew up a plan that would make the new town as  comfortable as possible and would provide the local watch industry with excellent support. Three main factors were taken into consideration. The first two were the wind and sun. The third one was transportation, at the time mostly in carriages and carts. which was difficult due to heavy snows for at least four months out of the year. .

71-73, rue Alexis-Marie-Piaget. A genuine industrial complex built in 1890 at number 6a, boulevard du Château (the street's former name). It was the headquarters of Veuve Charles-Léon Schmid & Cie, which collaborated with the company Willes Frères, the successors of G.-F. Roskopf, to exploit the Roskopf patents permitting the manufacturing of inexpensive watches.

More than mere lighting

Developers and architects examined the valley where the town was to be built and observed that the winds blew from either the west or the east, that is, they followed the course of the valley. In order to retain the heat in the buildings, they decided to build blocks of four or five semi-detached houses with six apartments each. As a result, there was only one west and east façade on the shortest side of the building for every six houses.

Léon Breitling, a German immigrant from Saint-Imier, established his watchmaking company on ruelle Montbrillant in 1892. Hence the company's official name, Léon G. Breitling S.A., Montbrillant WatchManufactory. He specialised both in sports stopwatches, with or without flyback function, and chronographs. The factory building is flanked by two villas. The design was prepared with care and in harmony with the refinement of the brand’s products.

The next step was to analyse the lighting and the hours of sunlight. The developers in charge of the houses facing south measured the height to which the sun rose on the shortest day of the year, December 21.

The aim was to build houses in which every apartment would benefit from sunlight all year round. They realised that if they wanted to build three-story houses with two apartments per story, some space was needed between them on the south side. The street–garden–house concept was born. In other words, blocks of houses were to be built from the lowest point of avenue Léopold-Robert, which ran through the valley. Behind them was to be a northbound street, and in back of that a garden measuring approximately fifteen metres in width all along the next house, and so forth. Each apartment benefited from the highest possible amount of sunlight throughout the year. This was obviously a positive factor that contributed to the development of technical activities related to watchmaking, especially in the areas of mechanics and industrial production. However, when walking around the area, one cannot help noticing the large windows facing north on some of the industrial buildings. The watchmakers worked in those rooms, because it gave them the consistent level of lighting they required for their tasks.

116, rue du Nord. Built by architect Louis Reutter in 1901, this multipurpose building was occupied by Mosimann & Cie between 1908 and 1952. It was named Fabriques de Montres Mildia in 1926, specialising in the production of a range of wristwatches.

Hems of historical architecture

The American-style design of the city, with long avenues, was conceived with winter travelling in mind. The developers chose a grid plan, meaning that each avenue running from east to west was intersected, every 250 metres, by a perpendicular street running from north to south. This is the story of how La Chaux-de-Fonds was given a new life. Throughout the 19^th century and during the first 50 years of the 20^th, the town underwent considerable development. The many outstanding buildings that are part of this unparalleled architectural and technical heritage tell the story. Indeed, this heritage is unique. For instance, a theatre was built before a hospital. For the record, this theatre à l’italienne is nowadays considered a national monument.

119-121-123, rue du Nord. A superb architectural ensemble built between 1890 and 1900. It consists of a factory enclosed by two elegant buildings exuding affluence.Favre & Perret occupied this space until the 1990s. The company specialised in gold cases and had one of the last traditional gold smelters in its basement.

When walking down the streets of the ”watchmaking metropolis” – which is what La-Chaux-de-Fonds was called back in its first Golden Age – the visitor can discover absolute wonders of the era of art nouveau and art deco movements. Numerous houses feature pretty stained-glass windows and balconies decorated with art-nouveau ironwork that are true masterpieces.

The watchmakers of that time, many of whom came from Jewish families, were genuine art buffs. Many were the founders of well-known brands. La Chaux-de-Fonds, some say, was one of the rare places in the world to boast some of the most complete impressionist collections on the planet.

134-138, rue Numa-Droz. Superb Art-Nouveau architectural ensemble built by architect Léon Boillot in 1904. The building’s meticulous design reveals the extent to which watchmaking brands felt the need for representation. In 1891, Henri-Frédéric Sandoz founded a watchmaking company in Tavannes, later named Tavannes Watch Co. Its commercial department wasmoved to La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1905 while its production department remained in Tavannes. Thanks to the capital of two commercial enterprises in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Tavannes quickly became one of the top companies in the region.An advertisement from 1913 boasts that Tavannes Watch Co. employed 1,000 workers and produced 2,500 watches per day. Thecompany’s activity started to decline slowly in 1950. In 1966, it was sold to Ebauches SA. Today,the building is occupied by Girard-Perregaux. 

A sight worth seeing

The town has expanded meanwhile and the watchmaking industries usually build to the west of the valley, just before the incline that leads to Le Locle. The street-garden-house design is no longer applied. However, every brand deciding to settle in either town makes sure that one or more of their buildings comply with the architectural spirit of the time as well as the style of this valley, which has been fully devoted to the high technology of measuring time and its passage.

Guided tours are available for those interested in discovering this town’s urban heritage.

146, rue Numa-Droz. Well-kept, industrial building designed by architect Léon Boillot in 1912 for Albert Didisheim & Frères. The company was founded in Saint-Imier in 1850. In 1893, it registered the Marvin Watch trademark, inspired by the name of an important American client.

The building at 137, rue du Parc, was designed by architect Louis Bobbia for Graizely & Cie in 1906. The company, originally from La Ferrière, filed the patent for the Hebdomas, a watch with a visible balance and an eight-day power reserve. Its collaboration with Otto Schild resulted in the company becoming one of the largest factories in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the early 1900s. In 1918, it produced more than 1,000 watches per day and employed 1,000 workers. The building’s architecture combines rationality and self-promotion. It reveals the need for quality light and for projecting a good image, two concerns of leading brands in the early 20th century.

109, avenue Léopold-Robert. Factory built in 1906 based on a project by architect Eugène Schaltenbrand, whose design is promotional in style but of high quality. The building was commissioned by the company R. Picard. Foundedin 1837, it became Les Fils R. Picard, Fabrique Invicta around 1900. The company occupied the building until around 1980 and specialised in manufacturing and “sale of simple and complicated watches to all countries in the world.”

73-73a avenue Léopold-Robert. Nicknamed the “Eagle Building,” this residential construction with an urban feel to it stands cheek-by-jowl with a major factory. The architect, Léon Boillot, built it in 1906. It was conceived as a space for the operations of Eberhard and Co., a watchmaking company founded in 1887 and renowned for its chronographs.

The street-garden-residence concept can still be seen in some streets at the heart of La Chaux-de-Fonds, as shown here between rue Jardinière and rue de la Paix.