The Territory of Neuchâtel and its Horological Heritage

For three centuries, society, urbanism, culture, the economy, and the collective imagination have been influenced by the numerous activities in the canton of Neuchâtel that are all related to one common goal - the production of horological objects. Yet the region's history cannot be reduced to the production of material objects, no matter how complex they may be. It is marked by aspirations that are just as fundamental, and that over the years have imbued the territory with a coherence that can be seen in many areas of life. In linking its destinity with horological production for over two hundred years, however, the territory of Neuchâtel was not magically transformed into an Eldorado. The phases of horological growth were not all of the same importance or intensity. Good times always followed bad times; technological progress often brought in its wake periods of creative lethargy; excessive confidence sometimes eclipsed subtlety; however, the overall picture shows that these endeavours have been part of a journey that became inseparable from its host territority. This book invites us to reconsider horological history by studying the traces left by the individuals, places and objects involved in horological activity.