Nestled amidst the rugged beauty of the Jura Mountains, the Vallée de Joux is located in the Swiss Canton of Vaud where it borders France. This mythic valley is renowned for one of the coldest climates in Switzerland and its rich horological heritage.
In 1750, the farmers of the valley were looking to supplement their incomes during those cold winter months and took to making watch components. Eventually, they transformed their rural dwellings into high-quality ateliers for the production of watch parts and the assembly of movements, giving birth to the most complicated watch mechanisms ever produced.
Several prestigious Swiss watch manufacturers call the Vallée de Joux home including Audemars Piguet whose oldest building was constructed in 1868. Founded by Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward-Auguste Piguet, their Royal Oak collection revolutionised watch design with its octagonal bezel and integrated bracelet.
Blancpain was established in 1735 and opened a workshop in Le Brassus in 1891. The Fifty Fathoms, the world’s first modern diving watch, emerged from these workshops. Breguet and Patek Philippe moved to the valley in 1988 and 2010 respectively and Vacheron Constantin merged its site into one large manufacturer in 2013.
The small village of Le Brassus is home to these ateliers, with watchmaking dominating its small urban footprint. To the north of the village and stretching for nearly 10 kilometres, is the Lac de Joux, the largest lake in the valley. Mont Tendre overlooks to valley standing at 1679 metres, one of the highest peaks in the Jura. From its summit, you can see the valley to the north and Lake Geneva to the south. Metropolitan Geneva is less than an hour's drive away over the scenic Col du Marchairuz.
The Col starts at the small village of Bière, shortly after the landscape changes to pine forests as it climbs into the Jura Vaudois Nature Park. Unlike the Alps, the Jura is a rolling landscape of pastures, dotted with pine trees and surrounded by low stone walls. Just before the summit of the Col is the 1.8-kilometre Sapin à Siméon trail, which on a clear day has amazing views of Lake Geneva and the Alps from Mont Blanc eastwards. The trail is named after messenger Siméon Meylan, who rested under a silver fir tree when crossing the pass. The conifer has gone but wood carvings by Paul Monney commemorate the spot.
It’s a short distance from here to the summit and the Hôtel du Marchairuz which was built in 1845 as the Marchairuz Asylum and served as a refuge and rest area. The hotel had major renovations over the years but still resembles the original building. From here a descent takes us into the Vallée de Joux with views over Le Brassus and the lake. Arriving at Le Brassus, the watch manufacturers make their presence felt immediately, with Audemars Piguet being the first. The village switches between industry and residential as it becomes Le Chenit, with all the ateliers having buildings on the road before the lake. The road circles the lake - at the far end is a short stretch of road that leads to Vallorbe, and the border with France.