Le Locle / La Chaux-de-Fonds

It was my last weekend in Switzerland before my flight back to Singapore. Decided to take a day trip with my colleague to Le Locle (勒洛克勒) and La Chaux-de-Fonds (拉绍德封) on 25 Sep (Sat). These two French-speaking cities are located in the Jura mountains within the Canton of Neuchâtel.

Military Megastore

Happened to know this Military Megastore through my Swiss colleague, therefore planned it in our itinerary as one of its outlets is located along the route. Military Megastore is similar to Singapore's eMart except in a large warehouse facility with more camping equipment from different brands (photos below).
Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds

Both Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds are best known with long history in Swiss watchmaking. Le Locle is even cited to be the birthplace of watchmaking industry, with roots dating back to the 1600s. Le Locle, as well as La Chaux-de-Fonds, owes its survival to the manufacturing and exports of watches.

In 2009, Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds were jointly awarded as a World Heritage site by UNESCO for their exceptional universal value.

Watch Museum of Le Locle

Le Locle has been home to several Swiss watch manufacturers. During the walk towards to the museum, we saw the Tissot factory at the opposite hill (left photo below).

The Watch Museum of Le Locle can be reached by alighting at Le Locle train station, then walked about 10-minutes uphill from the city centre. This museum is located in a small historic country manor house called 'Château des Monts' (right photo below). The Château des Monts had been in private hands since 1778, until it was purchased by the city of Le Locle in 1954 to be transformed into a museum.
Watch Museum of Le Locle, or Musée d'Horlogerie du Locle in French, is a municipal museum specializing in horology (study of the measurement of time). As this museum is not part of the museums entitled in the Neuchâtel Museum Card, therefore we had to pay CHF 8 per person for its admission.

Times of Time

One of the permanent exhibitions in the museum, it showcased the comprehension and measurement of time; with exhibitions of calendars, and chronologies and non-mechanical time measurements. Among the exhibits, there were Chinese calendars (left photo below) and Islamic calendars (right photo below) derived from the solar and lunar dating systems.

Times of the Watch

Dedicated to the technical evolution of watches from the Renaissance to the present day. It was amazing to see how exquisite the mechanical parts of a watch (photos below).

The Drawing Room

Exhibit of French drawing room of Louis XV to Louis XVI style furniture with several mechanical clocks (left photo below).

The Dining Room

This room, with walnut décor, contrasts with the French-style drawing room (right photo below).

Room Henri Jeanmaire

The Jeanmaire room contains all the clocks of Henri Jeanmaire willed to the Le Locle Watch Museum, as well as a number of pieces of furniture (photos below).

Room Maurice Yves Sandoz

This room exhibits the watches and clocks collected by Maurice Sandoz, which he donated his personal collections to the museum (left photo below).

Room Frédéric Savoye

The Savoy room contains 22 of the 23 Swiss and French clocks bequeathed by Frédéric Savoye (right photo below).

Museum of Natural History

We then took train to La Chaux-de-Fonds station. First museum we saw was this Museum of Natural History (left photo below) once walked out from the station.

The Museum of Natural History, or Musée d'histoire Naturelle in French, is a museum on all classes of vertebrates and invertebrates, and devoted to geology, mineralogy and palaeontology. The vertebrates were exhibited either in skeletons, naturalized animals form, or in alcohol (right photo below). Admission fee to this museum was included in the Neuchâtel Museum Card.
The diorama displays depict the natural environment of these creatures. Following are the preserved specimen we saw during our visit (photos below).

The International Museum of Horology

The International Museum of Horology, or Musée international d'horlogerie in French, is a horological museum owned and operated by the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds (photos below). The museum is just 5-minutes walk from the Museum of Natural History. Admission to this museum was also included in the Neuchâtel Museum Card.
Man and Time

The exhibition area is in a quiet atmosphere with soft lighting and display cases of original watches and mechanical clocks (photos below).
Several of its exquisite collection were on display (photos below).


Miniatures of watchmaking were also on display to educate visitors on this tedious and traditional art (photos below).

Sample watches of various Brands

Towards the end of the exhibition was the display of sample watches from various famous brands (photos below). It must be a delighted experience to ever own one of these watches.

Outdoor exhibits

There were several outdoor displays of sculptures related to Horology, such as the sundial (left photo below) and the chime (right photo below). The chime is not only for aesthetic, but a giant functional sculpture that animates with sound and movement every fifteen minutes.

We then took train back to Neuchâtel after a brief visit to the two cities. With this, it marked the end of my last trip in Switzerland.