10 September 2008 – 11 January 2009

Ten Swiss watchmaking schools - Masterpieces of expertise

Founded in the middle of the 19th century, these specialised professional training institutions have the goal of turning out versatile watchmakers capable of satisfying the needs of local manufacturers. The schools are disseminated over the area from Geneva to Porrentruy, by way of Bienne, Solothurn, Saint-Imier, Neuchâtel, Fleurier, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Le Locle and the Vallée de Joux. While bearing witness to the transformations that have occurred and the work undertaken on their respective premises, the schools’ watches also tell the tale of adapting training methods to industrial demands as well as narrating the advent of technological advances and changes in society with regard to work and craftsmanship. They provide a special contribution to the history of Swiss watch manufacturing as seen under a different angle.
Exhibition presented by the Musée de l’Horlogerie et de l’Émaillerie at the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire,
with the collaboration of the Swiss watchmaking schools and private collectors.
A comprehensive and illustrated historical publication will be available in the role of a catalogue.

Address

Musée d'art et d'histoire
Rue Charles-Galland 2
1206 Genève
phone +41 22 418 22 00
http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/mahg

Opening Hours

Daily 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., closed on Monday.

Description of the Museum

Erected between 1903 and 1910 and designed as an encyclopedic museum, it covers the whole of western culture, from its origins to the present days.

The three sectors of the museum comprise Archaeology (prehistoric, Egyptian, Greek, Etruscan, Roman); Fine Arts (some 400 paintings from the Renaissance to modern times, and sculptures by artists such as Houdon, Pradier, Rodin, Arp, Giacometti, Tinguely, etc.); Applied Arts (objects from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, such as furniture, textiles, pewterware, arms and armor).

Within 10 days
starting exhibitions
ending exhibitions