16TH C.
The Vallée de Joux, where it all began.
In the mid-sixteenth century, thousands of refugees, the majority French, crossed the Alps into Switzerland. Forced to leave most of their belongings behind, they did, however, possess one very valuable skill: the art of watchmaking.
Their knowledge and expertise soon spread across Switzerland as they set up home in a small valley known as the Vallée de Joux. There, the watchmakers crossed paths with jewelers, who would become their invaluable partners. These jewelers, unable to exercise their trade due to its bad reputation, eagerly joined forces with the watchmakers to produce one of the most fascinating creations of all time: mechanical watches. Works of true craftsmanship pairing precise mechanisms with delicate ornamentation.
18TH C.
Chevalier, a lineage of master watchmakers.
The years passed and by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, watches had not only become the country's hallmark but had also attained the status of an art. The discipline attracted another Frenchman to the region by the name of Jean-Baptiste Chevalier.
Belonging to one of the most famous watchmaker dynasties of Blois, the master watchmaker moved to the valley and had a son, Joseph Chevalier. The latter, moved by the atmosphere of the place and the creations of his own father, quickly became a talented and brilliant watchmaker. With relentless hard work, a thirst for new ideas and painstaking rigor, he entered the world of the cabinotiers, the elite of the Watchmakers Corporation of Geneva.
Joseph Chevalier, present through the ages up to modern times.
Until the year before his death in 1818, Joseph Chevalier continued to create sublime timepieces with refined movement.
201 years have since passed. 201 years in which their essence lingers intact in the Vallée de Joux. The brand has now been relaunched to revive the expertise of the master watchmaker and create 100% Swiss made timepieces of the finest quality.
