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.

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

In 1880, Geiser built the first 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. The Geiser factory was acquired by Tavannes Watch Co following Geiser's bankruptcy and became "factory number 3" for the company. The building remains standing to this day, decorated with the name "Tavannes Watch Co".

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.

The bourgeoisie of Tavannes voted in 1890 to build a new factory and solicit for a watchmaker to begin manufacturing there. They selected Henri Sandoz of Le Locle, who was backed by Schwob Frères and Schwob & Co of La Chaux-de-Fonds. The Tavannes Watch Co was a tremendous success, rising to be the fourth-largest producer of watches in Switzerland by 1905 with over 1,000 workers daily. 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.