Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret

Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret (1830-1892) was a pioneering watchmaker and businessman who brought complicated watchmaking to Saint-Imier in the 1860s. His three sons each founded great watchmaking houses there (Excelsior Park, Moeris, and Léonidas) and the Jeanneret family became one of the most important in the town's history.

The Origin of the Jeanneret Family

The Jeanneret dit Grosjean family emerged in the village of Fenin in the Val-de-Ruz in the 16th century. This valley lies between Neuchâtel and La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Swiss Jura, and the family appears to have been clustered on the Southern side in the villages of Engollon, Fenin, and Valangin. They later migrated to the Northern side of the valley and the towns of Dombresson and Villiers before crossing the mountains to Le Locle, Reprises, and Saint-Imier.

The earliest direct ancestor is Philippe Henri Jeanneret (1804-1845), who was born in nearby Engollon. Just 14 years old, he married Marianne Besson in Le Locle on August 7, 1828. Four of their five sons and one daughter were born in Le Locle, which was actively engaged in watchmaking in the first half of the 19th century. But Philippe Henri Jeanneret died at the age of 40, leaving his wife to support the children. It is likely that all were involved in various trades, including watchmaking apprenticeships.

Two of the sons of Philippe Henri and Marianne Jeanneret were Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret and Ulysse Jeanneret. Both initially moved to Dombresson back in the Val-de-Ruz before going their own way as adults: Ulysse settled in Villiers in the Val-de-Ruz while Jules-Frédéric moved to Reprises near La Chaux-de-Fonds and ultimately to Saint-Imier. Their only sister, Marie Elise Jeanneret, married Clement Frédéric Guillaume "Fritz" Thalmann on December 15, 1855 in Dombresson, around the same time Jules-Frédéric married Cécile Sandoz there. Thalmann was already engaged in the manufacture of stopwatches and chronographs in Saint-Imier and likely brought his brother-in-law to the town.

Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret and Saint-Imier

Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret was born in 1830 in Valangin but moved to Le Locle as a young child. His mother Marianne Besson was from the town and four of her children with his father Philippe Henri Jeanneret were born there. It is likely that most of these children were apprenticed to local watchmakers after the death of their father in 1845.

Like his brother Ulysse and sister Marie Elise, Jules-Frédéric moved to Dombresson as an adult. He married Cécile Sandoz there, around the same time that his sister married Saint-Imier watchmaker Fritz Thalmann. The family soon included two daughters and six sons, all of whom became watchmakers. The children are listed as being from Le Locle so it is likely that the family returned there when they were born.

Jeanneret established a watchmaking workshop at his farm in the area of Reprises between La Chaux-de-Fonds and Saint-Imier by 1865. This is a rural area and the location, listed as Reprises 7, still exists as a small farm. It is likely that this was a home-based workshop where the Jeanneret family finished watches assembled by others in the area. The small company soon failed and was listed for liquidation in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1868.

Jules-Frédéric's sister Marie Elise had married Saint-Imier watchmaker Fritz Thalmann, and it is likely that Thalmann encouraged him to relocate his business to this growing town of watchmakers. Jeanneret and Thalmann would remain closely connected, with both using the Colombe brand and Thalmann distributing his watches. The eldest Jeanneret son, Albert, would marry one of Thalmann's daughters, as would his business partner Fritz Moeri and clockmaker Ernest Künzli.

Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret entered a partnership in Saint-Imier with François Fallet (sometimes named as Edouard) called Jeanneret et Fallet by 1869. This workshop was listed at Rue de la Malatte until 1873 when it is shown as Rue de Tramelan, with the number 34A soon added. Historic maps show that these are likely the same roads, renamed and re-numbered at this time. This would be the home of the Jeanneret watchmaking family for decades, and the small workshop at the corner of Rue de la Serre and Route de Tramelan still exists as Serre 14 today. Jeanneret et Fallet produced stop watches and chronographs, a specialty of the family. Fallet left the partnership around 1880 and starting in 1881 it is simply listed as Jeanneret et Fils.

Jeanneret et Fils was an etablisseur of high-quality anchor watches as well as stop watches, some with minute counters. The firm received a diploma in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1881 and Zürich in 1883 and won a silver medal at the Antwerp exhibition in 1885. The Jeanneret family had registered the Pigeon brand by this time and focused on selling in England and the British Empire.

The sons of Jules Jeanneret left their father's firm in 1886. Albert and his brother formed Alb. Jeanneret & Frères, occupying the new Usine à Vapeur du Parc (later called Usine du Parc and namesake of Excelsior Park), registered on April 22, 1886. With his sons gone from the business, Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret re-formed his company as Jules Fc Jeanneret on July 21, 1886. Although technically separate, the companies remained closely associated for many years.

Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret died in 1892 but his widow continued to operate the firm as Vve. Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret. It continued to produce complicated watches, including chronographs, rattrapante watches, and clocks, now also for the American market. In 1895 the firm's address is shown as Rue de Tramelan 18, which is likely a new wing on the side of the former building, which was renumbered that year as 14A.

In 1892, Jeanneret licensed 1890 patent CH359 from Alfred Lugrin of l'Orient for the smooth and precise engagement of a chronograph with a minutes counter. Lugrin would go on to found Lémania, a competitor for Leonidas and Excelsior Park, the later Jeanneret family firms.

Samuel Jeanneret

Cécile died in 1899 and the firm was taken over by Ulysse Jeanneret's sons, Samuel (1866-1939) and Paul Jeanneret (?-1902?) as S. & P. Jeanneret. The company added a 13 ligne chronograph movement by 1901, and this would eventually be used in one of the first wristwatch chronographs. The company was called simply Samuel Jeanneret in 1902 after Paul's death and specifically offered a 19 ligne bracelet chronograph by 1913.

The firm of Samuel Jeanneret, direct successor to the 1866 firm established by Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret, was deleted from the register of Swiss companies on October 1, 1940 just one year after the death of Samuel Jeanneret in December of 1939. His obituary notes that he was a "pioneer of alpinism" and was active in the Club Alpin Suisse Groupe Chasseral.