Page 39 - DIVA1 2026

to me that a cheesemaker could not execute
such a precise mechanism without being ‘in it’.
So, I delved into the history, which goes back
to the 16th and 17th centuries, to the birth
of watchmaking in Switzerland. This is how I
discovered the strong connection between Swiss
watchmaking in the Jura region and cheese! In
fact, cheese has a special meaning in timekeeping.
It is the cheese (or the cheesemakers) that made
Swiss watchmaking!

This is not my conclusion; I refer to some first-
hand accounts from Jean-Claude Biver, one
of the most renowned Swiss watchmaking
executives, the former president of the
watchmaking division of the LVMH Group,
as well as of Hublot and Zenith watches, and
the CEO of TAG Heuer. In recognition of
his contribution to the success of the Swiss
watchmaking industry, he was awarded an
Honorary Doctorate from Business School
Lausanne. Below are some notes based on his
story:

In fact, it was the Huguenots who introduced
watchmaking to Switzerland when they fled France
following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
Prior to this, there had been no watchmaking in
Switzerland. Some reached Geneva, where they
found refuge and started making watches. Under
the city’s strict Calvinist policies and austere
regime at that time (around 1541), they even
became the originators of Geneva’s luxury watch
industry. However, many Huguenots found
refuge in the Swiss Jura and settled there. Many
of these refugees were skilled watchmakers who
knew how to make horlogerie: including clocks
and pocket watches. These watchmakers weren’t
just making watches; they were also establishing
the principles of mechanics, which originated
in watchmaking. They invented clutches for
chronographs and mechanical memory. A
minute repeater in a watch is a memory of time.
By the time it has finished indicating the current
time, another minute has already passed. With
a minute repeater, time runs continuously and,
when you press a button, satellite time begins.
This memory is then used to indicate the time.
During this time, time continues. This memory
of time is the Perpetual Calendar.

The Huguenots needed a workforce. They
understood that they could only find the
workforce they needed in the countryside,

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