{"id":59744,"date":"2026-05-04T11:58:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/59744\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T11:58:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:58:28","slug":"inside-tudors-new-le-locle-manufacture-where-born-to-dare-comes-to-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/59744\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside TUDOR’s New Le Locle Manufacture: Where “Born To Dare” Comes to Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Ben<\/a><\/p>\n

Readtime: 8 min<\/p>\n

Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more.<\/a> For more information on how we test products, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

TUDOR built its first dedicated manufacturing facility in Le Locle, Switzerland. The 5,500-square-meter hub employs 150 specialists for highly efficient watch assembly. Watchmakers work in autonomous four-person cells rather than static assembly lines. The brand maintains no backstock, with every assembled watch already allocated. A dedicated METAS testing room ensures strict precision and anti-magnetic standards. The connected Kenissi facility uses RFID tags to track movement production.<\/p>\n

By day three of Watches and Wonders 2026<\/a>, the artificial lights and endless carpet of the convention centre had done their damage to my system. It could have been the severe sleep schedule, the endless glasses of Veuve Champagne<\/a>, or the ominous-looking bowl of cured Mackerel that I had for lunch on Tuesday, too. So when the chance came to jump on a bus heading north to the Jura Mountains with a handful of die-hard TUDOR collectors, I didn\u2019t hesitate.<\/p>\n

Our destination was the Canton of Neuch\u00e2tel in the Jura Mountains, specifically the town of Le Locle, to get a firsthand look at TUDOR\u2019s<\/a> first fully dedicated industrial facility in its nearly 100-year history.<\/p>\n

Le Locle is a quiet town of about 10,000 people, but its horological footprint is highly regarded. The region, including the neighbouring town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site for nearly two decades. It pivoted from agriculture to watchmaking back in the 1800s, and the dedication to the craft runs so deep that, after historical fires destroyed much of the town, it was rebuilt with parallel streets that combined workshops and residential housing purely to maximise watchmaking efficiency.<\/p>\n

TUDOR\u2019s parent group already owned undeveloped industrial land right next to a heritage Rolex facility inaugurated 50 years ago, making it the logical site for this new manufacture. Construction began in 2018 with the goal of moving assembly out of Geneva and closer to their suppliers in the Jura Mountains. With three years of work, the 5,500-square-meter, five-level facility was completed in 2021. Layered entirely in TUDOR red, it\u2019s a serious structure that puts 150 specialists under one roof and bridges the gap between highly automated manufacturing and traditional bench watchmaking. Most importantly, it leaves you with an understanding of how and why TUDOR\u2019s watches<\/a> are accessible yet offer such high levels of precision.<\/p>\n

DetailLocationLe Locle, Switzerland (Jura Mountains)Facility Size5,500 square meters (completed 2021)Workforce150 specialists under one roofAssembly StyleAutonomous four-person cross-trained cellsMovement PartnerKenissi (physically connected facility)Key CertificationMETAS Master Chronometer (on-site testing)<\/p>\n

Scroll horizontally to view full table<\/p>\n

\"Inside1\/13TUDOR Manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland | Image: TUDOR The Assembly Floor <\/p>\n

Our first stop was the TUDOR assembly line. Here, the watchmakers assemble the watches by hand in an environment designed to mitigate dust ingress thanks to an HVAC system that maintains a continuous flow of positive air pressure from the ceiling to the floor.<\/p>\n

The main takeaway for me here was that, unlike many legacy manufacturers, TUDOR doesn\u2019t maintain a vault full of assembled backstock. <\/p>\n

Every watch from the line is already allocated and destined for a client\u2019s wrist shortly after completion. This requires a flexible floor, which the brand achieves by organising its watchmakers into autonomous cells rather than a long, static assembly line. Having spent some time in car manufacturing at Lamborghini<\/a>, it shares more than a few things in common here regarding how parts are picked and sent down the assembly line, minus the giant, vaulted robot we couldn\u2019t photograph.<\/p>\n

Once the parts have been picked, teams of four watchmakers work at identical, ergonomically optimised benches. Here, the cells handle three specific steps in chronological order: dial fitting, hand fitting, and casing. Watchmakers are cross-trained so any single cell on the floor can assemble any reference from the Black Bay, Pelagos, Glamour, or 1926 collections.<\/p>\n

\"Inside1\/14TUDOR Manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland | Image: TUDOR Testing and Certification <\/p>\n

Once watches are assembled by the watchmaker, every watch passes TUDOR Performance Control, which dictates that fully assembled watches equipped with a Manufacture Calibre run at an accuracy of (-2\/+4) seconds per day, while those with third-party calibres must hit (-4\/+6). <\/p>\n

This was the most impressive element of the tour for me. While the watches don\u2019t appear to be as \u201chandmade\u201d as those from other brands (in the sense that the metal isn\u2019t turned in the same building as the watches are assembled), this is the only way that TUDOR can sell such a high-quality watch to the consumer at such an affordable price. If they were making these watches the way they were decades ago, they would cost $20,000 or more.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear the brand is focused on accuracy, doubling down with METAS Master Chronometer certification for this year. Securing this certification requires the movement to be Swiss Made and COSC certified, after which METAS (Federal Institute of Metrology) demands an incredibly strict set of parameters:<\/p>\n

Precision: The watch must run within a 5-second variance per day (0\/+5). Anti-Magnetism: Timekeeping must remain accurate even when exposed to 15,000 gauss. Waterproofness: Hyperbaric water tanks are used to verify that the case meets ISO standards. Power Reserve: The brand\u2019s claimed autonomy is thoroughly verified.<\/p>\n

So important is this process to TUDOR that the brand has a room dedicated to housing a representative from the Swiss government\u2019s national metrology institute in the same room they test the watches.<\/p>\n

\"InsideTUDOR Manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland | Image: TUDOR The Kenissi Integration <\/p>\n

Our tour concluded in the Kenissi facility, which is physically and visually connected to TUDOR. Like I mentioned, this is TUDOR\u2019s movement production arm, established in 2010 to build industrial capacity for high-performance calibres, and it debuted its first movement at Baselworld in 2015. <\/p>\n

While it supplies TUDOR, it has also quietly become an industry powerhouse, forming alliances with Chanel and supplying calibres to Breitling, Norqain, Fortis, TAG Heuer, Bell & Ross, and Ultramarine.<\/p>\n

Walking into the Kenissi production room, it mirrors the TUDOR assembly line, but with a slight Silicon Valley tech-hub feel. You can tell they\u2019re not too fussed about the beauty of the manufacturing process, looking for efficiencies at every stage to create the best movement they can afford to make. One example is the RFID-TAG system that the brand uses to manage the sheer volume and complexity of production.<\/p>\n

Every mainplate is mounted to a specific insert that is embedded with an RFID tag. These tags route the calibres down the line, ensuring total traceability. The system collects assembly data, allowing engineers to analyse and tweak the production.<\/p>\n

Once a movement completes its journey and passes a fully automated test cycle on the line, it\u2019s boxed up and sent out to the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC) before returning to TUDOR for assembly.<\/p>\n

\"InsideTUDOR Manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland | Image: TUDOR Our Main Takeaway <\/p>\n

Riding the bus back down the mountains, it was obvious that this facility is a statement of intent. <\/p>\n

When Hans Wilsdorf founded Montres TUDOR SA in 1946 the goal was to deliver the reliability of a Rolex at a more accessible price. Taking total control of their movement production and building a highly modernised assembly floor proves they\u2019re actively engineering that idea for the next century of watchmaking.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true that there are more beautiful manufacturers to visit, but I walked away from this with an appreciation for the sheer amount of watch you\u2019re getting for the price.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Readtime: 8 min Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59745,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[17,29748],"class_list":{"0":"post-59744","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-switzerland","8":"tag-switzerland","9":"tag-tudor"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/116516192504342410","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59744"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59744\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}