Many renowned watchmakers have set up in the Vallée de Joux because of the inhabitants' dexterity.
The knowledge of the Combiers (the inhabitants of the Vallée de Joux) and their mastery of state-of-the-art watchmaking techniques, called "complications", have attracted the biggest brands in the industry, such as Audemars Piguet, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Breguet and Blancpain. Today, around twenty watchmakers have set up in the region.
Audemars Piguet was founded by Jules Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet in Le Brassus in 1875.
The first workshop of the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre was created in 1833 by its founder Antoine LeCoultre.
Breguet, one of the oldest watch brands still in operation, was late settling in the Vallée de Joux. The manufacture is a pioneer in the field of "complications", the most famous of which is the tourbillon.
Like Breguet, Blancpain came to the Vallée de Joux in the second half of the 20th century.
