The History of Watchmaking in the Jura Mountain Arc

High demand for high-end watches meant that prices started skyrocketing and there was basically just not enough supply. To protect their industry, watchmakers in Geneva started to form guilds to restrict supply. Adjacent to Geneva following historic trade routes was the Jura Mountain Arc. There were lots of underemployed farmers living in these mountains. And so a lot of these farmers were recruited into home production of watch components.