Swiss watchmaking presented for UNESCO recognition
Switzerland and France have submitted a joint application to be recognised for watchmaking art and mechanics to UNESCO. The organisation will decide whether to add this to the Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage in November 2020. Swiss watch-making know-how spans craftsmanship from Geneva to Schaffhausen along the Jura mountain range that divides Switzerland from France. The manufacture of automatons and music boxes in the St. Croix region is also part of the package. Several craftspeople, companies, schools, museums and associations transmit these techniques in this Franco-Swiss area. Techniques range from the manual and traditional to the innovative. One of the assets of this bid lies in its link with the watch-making town planning of La Chaux-de-Fonds and Le Locle, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2009.