If you go to Geneva, you will probably notice the many watch brands displayed in the streets. And for good reason: the watch industry has, over the centuries, shaped the history of the city!
So how did Geneva become the capital of luxury watches? Discover the history of Geneva watchmaking!
How to measure time?
What is time? The question is difficult because for each of us, the perception of time will be different. Some moments can pass very quickly, others much more slowly… So much so that in each era, man had to find ways to measure time.
As early as 4000 BC, the Chaldeans (in Egypt) invented the gnomon: a system similar to the sundial, which by the shadow cast by the sun made it possible to define the different times of the day.
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Around 1400 BC, the clepsydra made its appearance in Karnak. This instrument made it possible to define the duration of an event according to the flow of water from one container to another. Much later, in the 9th century, monks invented the graduated candle to fix the duration of a prayer.
All these inventions were very ingenious but also very imprecise. It was not until the 13th century that the first mechanical clocks made their appearance, but it would take two more centuries for us to be able to miniaturize clocks in order to make them transportable.
Did you know ?
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The first wristwatch was created in 1810 by Breguet for Caroline Bonaparte, sister of Napoleon I and Queen of Naples. The wristwatch was then considered an exclusively feminine jewel, men preferring the pocket watch.
But the arrival of the First World War favored the development of the wristwatch among men. It was indeed much more practical to have a watch on the wrist in the trenches. Since then, the watch is the main male jewel.
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The revolution in the precision of time measurement will come in the 20th century: in 1958, the atomic clock arrives, capable of giving the time with an accuracy of 1 second for 3000 years! Then in 1969, the invention of the quartz movement democratized precise and inexpensive watches.
The development of the watch industry in Geneva
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In the 16th century, the theologian Jean Calvin fled France, settled in Switzerland and helped the council of Geneva to reform the laws. A reform of 1541 notably prohibited ostentatious luxury such as jewellery, leaving the many Genevan jewelers in a difficult situation.
To continue to exercise their profession, the latter then turned to watchmaking. Considered a scientific instrument, clocks escaped Calvin’s reform and goldsmiths were thus able to produce richly decorated timepieces. Paradoxically, it is therefore Calvin who is at the origin of luxury watches in Switzerland!
A few years later, another event favored the development of watchmaking: the wars of religion that took place in France pushed the Huguenots to immigrate to Switzerland in 1572 and 1685. Geneva and the Jura basin then saw influx of skilled labor that brings its know-how in watchmaking and medicine, contributing to the development of goldsmithing. Thus, in 1601, the very first corporation of watchmakers in the world was created in Geneva.
In the 18th century, the watchmaking activity was so important in the Jura Arc that many peasants supplemented their income by carrying out small jobs during the winter to shape watchmaking elements. At the end of the 19th century, almost 4 out of 10 employees worked for the watch industry!
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More recently, it is the strategic location of Geneva that has favored its development: located at the crossroads of France, Italy and Germany, Geneva is ideally located for trade. Moreover, the presence of numerous international organizations such as the WTO or the UN attracts an audience from all over the world, which contributes to the development of the watch market.
Discover watchmaking by visiting Geneva
To better discover this history, you can visit the Patek Philippe museum which presents five centuries of watchmaking history with some 2500 watches.
Musée Patek Philippe Rue des Vieux-Grenadiers 7 patek.com
And to understand how a watch works, go to Logged in Watches who organizes workshops with a watchmaker. You will learn how to disassemble and then reassemble the mechanism of a watch and you will also be able to make your own watch by customizing the hands, the dial, the case, the bracelet and the mechanism: enough to have a unique watch that you will not find on other brands. other wrists! The courses, lasting from 3 hours to 1 day, are given in the company of a master watchmaker.
Initium Watches Grand Rue 17 https://initium.swiss/fr/ateliers
Photo d’en-tête © Initium Watches
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