Our story
Manufacture Reuge is a renowned Swiss “Maison” specializing in luxury music boxes and singing bird automata. Founded by Charles Reuge in 1865 in Sainte-Croix, on the ‘Balcon du Jura’—a sprawling plateau deep in the Swiss Jura Mountains—it is now the last artisanal manufacturer to preserve this unique combination of art, craft, and savoir-faire, and to continue the grand tradition of mechanical sound.
Established on the premises of the IM’A (Institut de la Mécanique d’Art), still in Sainte-Croix, Reuge stands as a driving force in the realm of mechanical art, a discipline that has been listed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity since 2020.
Invention of the cylinder music movement
Antoine Favre-Salomon, an ingenious watchmaker from Geneva, conceived the idea of embedding a musical mechanism into a pocket watch—the first comb and cylinder movement. This innovation quickly gained popularity, inspiring the development of music boxes as luxury items, which flourished throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
A ‘chalet’ industry emerges
To stay occupied and supplement their income during the long, harsh winters in the Swiss Jura Mountains, farmers would take on piecework for the growing number of watchmaking companies in the region. Sainte-Croix and its environs, in particular, became known for their highly skilled farmer-watchmakers.
Sainte-Croix, the capital of music boxes
The exceptional craftsmanship concentrated in Sainte-Croix quickly drew manufacturers of intricate mechanisms to this small mountain village near the Swiss-French border. As more companies and their suppliers set up shop, Sainte-Croix rapidly emerged as the world’s music box capital.
Foundation of Manufacture Reuge
Charles Reuge, a true pioneer, opens his first workshop to create, sell, and repair musical pocket watches in Sainte-Croix. He soon begins to develop innovative mechanisms by integrating a musical cylinder and miniature comb into watch movements.
A family story
As the reputation grows and the demand increases, Charles’s son, Albert, expands the workshop into a full-fledged factory. Registered as Reuge S.A. in Sainte-Croix, it produces both the musical movements and the various objects containing them, from pocket watches to powder compacts to cigar lighters, as well as music boxes for salons and parlors.
Expansion
Guido Reuge, a key figure in a dynasty by then devoted to luxury mechanical musical pieces for over sixty years, built the landmark Sainte-Croix factory in 1930. By acquiring several competing companies, he also greatly enhanced Reuge’s value, expanding the workforce to over 300 employees.
Diversification
Aware of the need to diversify, Reuge expanded the production of new luxury mechanical pieces. In 1960, the company revitalized the manufacturing and marketing of mechanical singing birds by acquiring the Parisian house of Bontems, followed by Eschle in 1977. The manufacture continued to grow while preserving its pioneering spirit.
A fresh wind
Reuge’s acquisition by independent Swiss watchmaker De Bethune in February 2023 marks a significant turning point for the Manufacture.
Denis Flageollet, master watchmaker and founder of De Bethune, along with Clara Martin, Manufacture Reuge’s new artistic director, are redefining the role of music boxes and musical automata, pushing the boundaries of mechanical art to showcase a savoir-faire that remains unique in the world—and to ensure it endures.