News Combining the activities of watchmaking, haute horlogerie and watch decoration, a new Patek Philippe production centre was opened in Le Brassus at the end of last year.
The official inauguration of the new building took place on 9 December in the presence of Philippe Stern, the Honorary President of Patek Philippe, General Manager Claude Peny, local authorities and the press. The guided tour of the sparkling-new premises was followed by official speeches and an aperitif.
Carried out in record time, building and renovation work began in March 2010 and ended at the beginning of September. The company moved into the premises in the autumn. The building contains three workshops previously located in Le Sentier and currently employs 25 people, a figure which could double in years to come. The watchmaking workshop, manned by twelve watchmakers, specializes in the setting of Patek Philippe perpetual calendar modules; the Haute Horlogerie workshop, employing five watchmakers, is responsible for the assembly, finishing, casing-up and acoustic regulation of self-winding minute repeaters; lastly, International Customer Service, with eight watchmakers, takes charge of the maintenance and repair of complicated watches.
Previously owned by La Pierrette, the entirely renovated building offers a floor space of 1,221 m2, including 1,150 m2 for production, and is composed of two parts: a detached house (70 m2 floor space) and an industrial building (270 m2). The house, on four levels, has a basement housing various technical rooms (heating, electricity, water and drainage, etc), a ground floor and a first floor devoted to offices, and an attic converted into accommodation for the concierge service. The industrial building for its part extends over three levels: a mezzanine containing a 40 m2 engineering workshop, a ground floor housing the activities of the International Customer Service and Watchmaking divisions (adjustment of parts, cleaning, assembly and casing-up) and a floor devoted to the activities of the Haute Horlogerie division (assembly, filing, chamfering and polishing of components and casing-up of movements), as well as a small cafeteria with terrace.
The Geneva based watch manufacturer chose to strengthen its presence in the Joux Valley to gain access to a qualified workforce and move closer to specialist schools and colleges, thereby helping to promote and consolidate watchmaking expertise.
January 11, 2011
