Built at the western end of Lake Geneva, Geneva presents itself as a true “global city,” given its dual economic and political role. However, the second most populous municipality in Switzerland is also the cradle of luxury watchmaking, which emerged in the mid-16th century and has never left the Jura Arc region. Follow us into the heart of this city where Time itself seems to have taken up residence.

A “Global City” and Timeless

With its 200,000 inhabitants, its privileged geographical location (on the shores of Lake Geneva and a few kilometers from France), and its famous water jet reaching a height of 140 meters, Geneva serves as an ideal city. It is also known for offering one of the best qualities of life in the world – a quality that is worth its weight in gold, as Geneva is also renowned for its high cost of living.

But more than just a Swiss city, Geneva is a “global city,” in the sense that it plays a political and economic role of international importance: the second largest financial center in Switzerland after Zurich, the city of Geneva hosts the largest number of international organizations (European headquarters of the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, WTO, WHO, CERN, and over 250 NGOs). A logical position, all things considered, for a city that has been – and still remains – the center of the world in another key domain: luxury watchmaking.

The Place of Watchmaking in Geneva

One must go back to the mid-16th century to witness the birth of the Genevan watchmaking industry. At that time, the municipality benefited from the influx of French and Italian Protestants, fleeing religious persecutions, who brought new dynamism, particularly in the fields of silk, gilding, and watchmaking.

John Calvin, who favorably welcomed these Huguenot refugees, was indirectly at the origin of the expansion of watchmaking in the city. Anxious to extend his desire for austerity to all, he forbade the wearing of decorative objects as jewelry, seeing them only as superfluous accessories of seduction. It was this decision that pushed goldsmiths, forced into unemployment, to retrain in watchmaking: they then adorned watch cases with precious stones, creating objects that escaped Calvinist wrath. This professional exodus marked the birth of luxury watchmaking in the city.

From Geneva, Swiss watchmaking developed throughout the entire Jura Arc region up to Schaffhausen, over the course of the following century. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685, nearly ninety years after the act of tolerance granted by Henry IV, accelerated the arrival in the region of Huguenots fleeing France. Among them, artisans found workers who displayed all the qualities essential for clockmaking – patience and meticulousness, integrity and perseverance, virtues favored by the expansion of the Reformation. Watchmaking in Geneva naturally benefited from this convergence of talents.

A City that Lives to the Rhythm of Watchmaking

However, watchmaking in Geneva is not merely a vague heritage explored only in history books. No, this field is very much alive, and this international city, a “global city,” has a heart that continues to beat to the rhythm of a (Swiss) watch. The best symbol of this is undoubtedly the Flower Clock, a decorative dial entirely composed of flowers, visible in the English Garden since its creation in 1955 by the city’s Parks and Promenades Department: a vibrant expression of Geneva’s past, as well as its inhabitants’ very current appreciation for fine craftsmanship.

Other landmarks confirm the watchmaking dimension of the metropolis: its Museum of Watchmaking and Enameling, which exhibits watch models manufactured in Switzerland and throughout Europe. Its Patek Philippe Museum, founded by the company’s president, Philippe Stern, in 1989, after the success of presenting some 500 models from the house on the occasion of its 150th anniversary. Or even the Cité du Temps (City of Time), a portion of an 1840 building acquired by Swatch Group in 2005 to create a permanent exhibition space, both for the brand and for other global watchmaking creations.

In addition to the major Swiss watchmaking brands headquartered in Geneva (Alpina, Baume & Mercier, Chopard, Patek Philippe, Piaget, the Richemont Group, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin – quite a list!), the city boasts a huge number of luxury watch boutiques, particularly along Rue du Rhône – the local Champs-Élysées. As well as two schools dedicated to this art: the Geneva Watchmaking School, a public institution founded in 1824. And the CFH (Center for Watchmaking Training), which is located precisely in Plan-les-Ouates, in the immediate vicinity of Geneva.

Finally, the city also hosts the Salon of Fine Watchmaking each year. A very private event that, for nearly thirty years, has brought together professionals from the sector in what was, is, and will remain, the central pivot of luxury watchmaking.