Vallée de Joux
The Vallée de Joux is an alpine cleft about ninety minutes north of Geneva by car, snowed-in for half the year and historically too high to farm through the winter. The farming families who held its land worked watches in the off-season, and by the late 18th century the valley had become one of the densest concentrations of horological skill in Europe. Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Blancpain all keep their manufactures here; the Vallée's suppliers — escapements, hairsprings, finishing — fan out from the same handful of villages (Le Sentier, Le Brassus, Le Lieu) and feed much of the haute-horlogerie trade beyond.
3 pins in Vallée de Joux. Hover or focus a pin for the brand name; click through for the brand’s catalog page.
Brands in Vallée de Joux
Founded by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet in Le Brassus; the Vallée de Joux winter isolation made watchmaking the off-season livelihood for the local farming families.
Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret in the Bernese Jura; the modern brand operates its haute-horlogerie manufacture in Le Brassus, alongside Breguet under the Swatch Group.
Antoine LeCoultre opened his workshop in Le Sentier; the manufacture there has produced more than 1,200 distinct calibres and supplies movements to much of the Vallée and beyond.