Interview: La Chaux-de-Fonds, a true workers' town

Perched at 1,000 metres above sea level on a Swiss mountain range bordering eastern France, the watch-making city of La Chaux-de-Fonds not only boasts one of the wold's richest watchmaking histories, but also a longstanding legacy of social values and interests.

"It's a town which has been created for and by the watchmaking industry," Jose Esteras, the town's architect conservator, told Xinhua in an interview.

"It is a town of workers, so it's like a great machine in which every part works together towards a goal which is the watchmaking industry," he added.

Together with the smaller town of Le Locle located eight kilometres away, La Chaux-de-Fonds has been part of UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2009, in light of its "unique urban and architectural ensemble, wholly dedicated to watchmaking from the 18th century until the present day."

The region's manufacturing heart was indeed lauded by Karl Marx "a huge factory town" in his seminal Das Kapital.

Though this may conjure up images of endless smoke-spewing chimneys and countless rows of factories noisily churning out their industrial produce, the reality posits an altogether different picture.

The streets are clean and quiet, the air offering the kind purity only found in mountainous regions. It is easy to forget that this place once made 55 percent of the world's timepieces.

"The difference with many other UNESCO sites is that this is a place where people live every day," Esteras explained.

Much as the town has had to contend with a harsh geographical environment since its inception, the industry on which this unique city has been forged has also had to weather numerous challenges.

"We are always very attentive to the evolution of the economy and the industry. We have suffered several crises but it's always like this, the industry has always managed to adapt to the situation," said Esteras.

Though the level of activity is not what it was at the beginning of the 20th century, the town is still a key hub for the production of the world's high-end watches.

Just as economic realities have catalysed key reforms in the industry, requirements for the highly-skilled watchmaking process have also called for an urban planning based on rational organisation.

This task was conceded to Cantonal Engineer Charles-Henri Junod as early as 1834.

The need for natural light, a prerequisite for the technical task of dealing with small components, was at the centre of Junod's plan.

The urban layout was therefore developed on the imperatives created by the industry. Tall buildings were erected on the slopes of the town's valley, following the simple concept of street, building and garden.

Facing the sun with wide spaces separating adjacent buildings, this enabled the town's many workshops to take advantage of the sunlight.

Spacious streets were also created, facilitating the transit of goods from one workshop to another and snow-clearance.

On top of this pragmatic rationale, the town has also been influenced by the population's appetite for culture and humanist values.

A theatre was constructed before the town could even boast a hospital or running water.

"There is a cultural side which has really been impregnated in people's lives since the beginning," Esteras noted.

"Every country could learn a lot about this kind of philosophy and culture," the official concluded.

Though the future is tainted by uncertainty amid turbulent times for the Swiss watchmaking industry, one gets the feeling that this town will endure many more winters to come. Enditem