The 4th edition of the Swiss Watchmaking Festival (FHS) is set to become a long-standing event in La Chaux-de-Fonds. This highly cultural festival brings together artisans, specialised schools, creators, institutions and watch brands. The 2026 edition will echo the MIH Museum.
A Shaniah Asha Gibson’s selection / @TRP, Writing & Common Sens PR Cabinet
Pictures ©Grégory Maillot, point-of-views.ch
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For the first time since its launch, this unmissable public event is joining forces with a major cultural institution, the International Watchmaking Museum (MIH). “I am delighted that the Swiss Watchmaking Festival is setting up shop in the heart of La Chaux- de-Fonds,” says Régis Huguenin, director and curator of the MIH.
Hora’s Odyssey: from gesture to object
As a unique showcase for the transmission and excellence of watchmaking expertise, the Swiss Watchmaking Festival will add a three-day experiential and educational link between the more than century-old “Maison du Peuple” and the recently turned 50-year-old “MIH,” guardian of 500 years of watchmaking history through the world’s most universal collection of timepieces.
The guiding theme of this year’s edition, “Hora’s Odyssey,” invites visitors on an immersive journey into the heart of the arts and crafts. Visitors will meet the people behind the creations, from master craftsmen to designers, on an experiential journey combining heritage, innovation, and creativity. A true connection between history, expertise, and modernity..
“Thanks to the mysterious ‘Hora’s Odyssey’ itinerary, a link will be made between the festival’s epicentre at the Maison du Peuple and the International Watchmaking Museum, the spearhead and living memory of watchmaking culture, nestled in a completely renovated ‘Museum Park’. The whole city will be celebrating,” adds the MIH curator.
The Epitome of Watchmaking Expertise
The FHS Association is delighted to be part of a vibrant ecosystem such as the watchmaking metropolis: “Moving to La Chaux-de-Fonds means immersing oneself in a region where precision, craftsmanship, and industrial watchmaking heritage are a way of life.” It is true that in the heart of the Jura Mountains and the canton of Neuchâtel, renowned manufacturers, discreet workshops, and training centers coexist in a dense and complementary watchmaking network.
“The Festival Suisse de l’Horlogerie thereby pursues its mission of being the essential rallying point for watchmaking and the arts and crafts, celebrating a living expertise shared between several communities and generations,” adds the Festival Suisse de l’Horlogerie Association.
A programme dedicated to excellence
– Crafts & Traditions: live demonstrations of engraving, enameling, gem setting, guilloché work, chamfering, and other disciplines.
– Watchmaking & Fine Watchmaking – Jewelry & Fine Jewelry: Completed artworks displayed by renowned brands and independent creators.
– Lectures & interactive workshops: for collectors, art lovers, and curious enthusiasts, all invited to become part of the experience
Friday, December 4, 2026, will be devoted to schools throughout Switzerland for an immersive and educational day at the heart of the Swiss Watchmaking Festival. Students from all cantons will be able to take part in a fun and interactive journey, “Hora’s Odyssey,” which will allow them to discover Swiss watchmaking in all its facets: history, techniques, crafts, and innovations.
Un événement annuel culturel où le patrimoine prend vie. Le FHS pas qu’un rendez-vous sur trois jours. C’est une rencontre entre A yearly cultural celebration where heritage comes to life. The FHS is not just a three-day event. It is a gathering of generations, a bridge between tradition and creativity. Each exhibitor, each artisan, each demonstration tells a story, sometimes threatened, always precious. Open to enthusiasts, amateurs, and the curious, the Swiss Watchmaking Festival is an institution ocering a space where tradition and excellence come together and interact. Watchmaking, a Swiss heritage industry through and through and an undeniable economic asset, is a huge field of expressiveness where family and technical stories, creation, and culture all come together.
Fields: Fine Watchmaking, Horology, Jewelry, Artistic Crafts, Schools and Education, Other Institutions…
La Chaux-de-Fonds, Watchmaking Metropolis
Alessandro Arcieri, Head of the Economic Department, said: “In La Chaux-de-Fonds, the watchmaking capital and a city steeped in tradition, the Swiss Watchmaking Festival is here to stay, embodying the creativity, tradition, and excellence that make up our rich watchmaking heritage.”
Located in the Swiss Jura at an altitude of around 1,000 meters, La Chaux-de-Fonds is often mentioned as one of the highest cities in Europe. The “manufacturing city”, birthplace of the great architect Le Corbusier, has been listed twice by UNESCO, primarily for its unique horological urban layout in a checkerboard pattern, but also for its key position in the Jura region in terms of expertise in watchmaking and mechanical art (automata, music boxes). In 2027, it will be the first “Swiss Cultural Capital.”
