Monumental Clock

What better way to welcome visitors to a watchmaking city than with a monumental clock? Standing three metres high on the station square in La Chaux-de-Fonds, this work symbolises the close relationship between the city, its region and watchmaking.

Its story began in 2018. During the Biennale du patrimoine horloger, Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis pointed out that no visible clock welcomed travellers on their arrival in the Watchmaking Metropolis. The remark sparked an idea, and Tissot, the watch manufacturer founded in Le Locle in 1853, decided to take up the challenge in collaboration with the Pôle Arts Appliqués in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

A competition was subsequently organised for students specialising in watch object design. Among the projects submitted, Loïc Chatton’s design was selected for production. Inspired by historical forms, his work represents a watch case broken down into its individual components, paying tribute to the region’s watchmaking history and its expertise in the creation of watch cases.

Donated by Tissot to the City of La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Monumental Clock was inaugurated on 10 December 2022. Thanks to its impressive dimensions and strategic location right next to the railway station, it now provides travellers with a striking symbol of watchmaking as soon as they arrive in the city.

A first encounter with time before setting off to discover La Chaux-de-Fonds, its heritage and its watchmaking urban planning, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.