Tavannes

See Also: Tavannes Watch

Tavannes is a small watchmaking town at the western end of the Vallée de Tavannes. Reconvilier lies just to the east in the valley, while Sonceboz-Sombeval lies to the southwest in the Vallon de Saint-Imier.

The Origins of Watchmaking in Tavannes

Tavannes was too remote to be successful in the etablissage trend of the 19th century, with very few craftsmen and too long a journey to the traders in La Chaux-de-Fonds or Neuchâtel. But a few craftsmen did involve themselves in the trade anyway.

The earliest success in watchmaking was Louis-Adolphe Geiser, who relocated from Langenthal to Tavannes and began assembling watches by 1869. Others involved in the trade at that time included Fréderic Glück, Auguste Mécheleur, Constant Prêtre, and Albertine Voirol, with a few others making various components.

The 1871 edition of Indicateur Davoine shows L.-A. Geiser and with Jean Aebi as fabricators of watches. The two are again listed as the only watchmakers in the town in 1873, though Aebi's listing is expanded with "et remontoirs au pend", suggesting that his was the more modern operation. Aebi is no longer listed in 1875, with L.-A. Geiser as the only "fabr. d'horl." The 1879-1880 edition of Indicateur Davoine continues to show L.-A. Geiser as a watchmaker in Tavannes along with Fritz Glück and Jules Jaccard.

L.-A. Geiser built this factory in Tavannes in 1880; it was acquired by the Tavannes Watch Co around the turn of the century

Geiser built a dedicated watchmaking workshop on the grounds of his home in 1874, but soon outgrew this building. In 1880, Geiser built a large watch factory in Tavannes. It was located at the foot of the hill, near the new railroad line on the western side of town. The famous Tavannes Watch Co, funded by the bourgeoisie of the town, was built on the opposite side of town a decade later.

Geiser's factory was suffering and in August 1888, when a "new disaster" was announced: Geiser suspended payments, with a liability of 400,000 francs against assets of 200,000 francs. It was said that this was related to the failure of the Chodat bank. Tavannes Watch Co purchased the former Geiser factory by 1907, christening it Factory Number 3. It bears the name "Tavannes Watch Co" to this day.

Tavannes Watch Co

An early image of the original Tavannes factory

In the 1880s, with the traditional agricultural production of wood and wheat in the Swiss Jura suffering from Russian and American competition, the leading families of Tavannes sought to continue the diversification of the local economy begun by Geiser. In February 1890 the Bourgeoisie of Tavannes met in general assembly and allocated 55,000 francs to fund the construction of a watchmaking factory near the new railroad line in town. They advertised this factory in local papers, seeking applications from industrialists to rent and operate the facility.

Henri Sandoz answered the call and was selected to operate his business out of the new factory. The Sandoz family moved to Tavannes by March 1892 and Henri quickly began installing his watchmaking equipment in the new building. That month the firm of Henri Sandoz-Sandoz was registered as a watchmaking firm with offices in Tavannes.

Sandoz was backed by two (unrelated) Schwob families of La Chaux-de-Fonds. He likely became acquainted with them as wholesalers of watches, and they may have been early buyers of the complicated pieces he produced in Le Locle. Théodore Schwob (1839-1896), founder of Schwob Frères, was the senior investor, with the Schwob-Weill family selecting the young Edmond Schwob (1864-1900) to represent their interests in the factory. The Schwob families merged their businesses as Schwob Frères in 1919 and consolidated their ownership of the factory in the years following Henri Sandoz' death in 1913.

Worker Housing

• April 6, 1891: Watchmaking housing - The bourgeois assembly decides to build housing for the staff of the watch factory
• January 18, 1906: Cité Tavannes Watch Co - Opinion Henry Sandoz for the construction of ten residential houses
• 1906: Cité Tavannes Watch Co - Construction of 15 rental houses by Tavannes Watch Co
• April 1, 1913: Foyer populaire - Foundation of the Foyer populaire, for the construction of houses for the working class
• April 11, 1913: Foyer populaire - Opinion of the company Foyer populaire for construction of four residential houses with eight dwellings each
• May 15, 1916: Le Foyer - Opinion of the Company Le Foyer populaire for construction of 12 houses
• November 30, 1920: Société immobilière Tavannes SA - Competition of the Société immobilière Tavannes SA for the construction of 12 dwellings
• April 27, 1927: La Birse - Foundation of La Birse, company for the construction of houses for the working class
• July 20, 1935: Soleil d'Or S.A. - Foundation of the company Soleil d'Or S.A. for the construction of rental houses
• May 1, 1944: Société immobilière La Rochette S.A. - Foundation of the Société immobilière La Rochette S.A. for the construction of houses for the working class
• March 9, 1948: Société coopérative de logement Le Coteau - Foundation of the Société coopérative de logement Le Coteau
• June 7, 1948: Montoz Construction Cooperative Society - Foundation of the Montoz Construction Cooperative Society
• July 5, 1952: Société immobilière Sonrougeux S.A. - Fondation de Sonrougeux, real estate company for constructions at moderate prices