The International Museum of Horology, french: Musée international d'horlogerie, italic=no, is a
horological
Horology (; related to Latin '; ; , interfix ''-o-'', and suffix ''-logy''), . is the study of the measurement of time. Clocks, watches, clockwork, sundials, hourglasses, clepsydras, timers, time recorders, marine chronometers, and atomic clo ...
museum in
La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. It is owned and operated by the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
History
In 1865 the Watchmaking School of La Chaux-de-Fonds had the idea of putting together a collection of old clocks, which was mainly used for didactic purposes. For 35 years, the clocks and watches in the collection were displayed solely for the use of students and teachers, until
Maurice Picard, a watch-making industrialist and
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
of French origin, gave impetus to the idea of creating a museum. The town council was receptive to the idea, and on March 24th 1902, the town authorities signed the foundation deed of the Watchmaking Museum, originally located in the same building as the school. The collection gradually grew and the museum was enlarged three times, in 1907, 1952 and 1967.
It eventually became clear that the premises were no longer suitable for a permanent and functional display of the whole collection. The Committee of the Museum therefore suggested to the Municipality of La Chaux-de-Fonds that a foundation should be set up with the purpose of promoting the construction of a new building. Opened in 1974 under the name of Musée international d'horlogerie, this was characterized by a conception and techniques in the avant-garde of architecture and museography.
Both
Le Locle and its geographical twin town
La Chaux-de-Fonds have now been recognised as an UNESCO
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
, for their horological and related cultural past.
marine chronometer
A marine chronometer is a precision timepiece that is carried on a ship and employed in the determination of the ship's position by celestial navigation. It is used to determine longitude by comparing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), or in the modern ...
by Ferdinand BerthoudLa Chaux-de-Fonds
References
* Baillod Gil, "The beating heart of worldwide horology", in ''watch around'', n.012, automn 2011-winter 2012, pp. 70–73
* Bosshart, Nicole, "International Museum of Horology – La Chaux-de-Fonds", in BUJARD Jacques; TISSOT Laurent (2008), ''The Territory of Neuchâtel and its Horological Heritage''. Chézard-Saint-Martin: Editions de la Chatière, pp. 351–354, .
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{{Authority control
Horological museums in Switzerland
La Chaux-de-Fonds
Museums in the canton of Neuchâtel