Saint-Imier, The watchmaking city

The history of Saint-Imier begins around the year 600, with the arrival of Imier, a hermit coming from Ajoie. A true transformation took place in the 1700's with the appearance of the watchmaking industry. The town became a birthplace of watchmaking in the region and saw the appearance of several factories: Leonidas in 1842, TAG-Heuer in 1860, Longines in 1866, and Breitling in 1884. Although Saint-Imier has few vestiges of its distant past, due to three major fires that devastated the town in 1839, 1843 and 1856, there are still a few buildings that existed before that time. The guided tour of Saint-Imier allows the visitor to understand the basics of watchmaking in the Bernese Jura.