A day away from Palexpo is always welcome during Watches and Wonders. The road to Le Locle leads to Tudor’s first manufacture dedicated entirely to the brand. It also provides an opportunity to reflect on a history that began in 1926, when Hans Wilsdorf registered the Tudor name.
By the late 1940s and early 1950s, the brand was producing waterproof Oyster models and the Oyster Prince, which paired waterproofness with automatic winding at a more accessible price point.
Those early watches helped establish a reputation for reliability that was cemented during the British North Greenland Expedition of 1952-1954. Thirty Tudor Oyster Prince watches accompanied members of the British Royal Navy through some of the harshest conditions on earth. More than seven decades later, robustness remains one of the brand’s defining themes.
A Manufacture of Its Own
That history gives added significance to a visit to Le Locle, where Tudor now operates the first Manufacture dedicated entirely to the brand. Completed between 2018 and 2021 and operational since 2022, the all-red facility represents a significant milestone for a company that historically shared infrastructure with Rolex. Stretching 150 metres long and 30 metres high, the building contains more than 5 500 square metres of production space within a 10 642-square-metre site, large enough to accommodate three identical structures in the future.
The scale becomes apparent before visitors even reach the production floors. Beneath the manufacture lies a hidden world of engineering. The building rests on 330 concrete pillars drilled 30 metres into the ground, while sophisticated environmental systems maintain stable temperature and humidity throughout the year. The roof is covered with 442 solar panels, and smart electrochromic windows automatically adjust their tint in response to changing sunlight conditions. Tudor views quality as something that starts long before a watchmaker touches a movement.
Inside the Manufacture
After slipping on protective coats and overshoes, visitors enter production areas where temperature, humidity, and air quality are carefully controlled. It could feel sterile, but it doesn’t. Natural light fills the workshops, and a quiet, measured rhythm to the operation reflects the precision of the work underway.
Then there are the robots.
Small autonomous vehicles move silently through the facility, transporting components between departments. They navigate independently, adjusting their routes around people and delivering parts precisely where they are needed. It was the first time I’d seen anything like this, and I wasn’t the only one to be completely distracted by the novelty.
Yet for all the technology, Tudor is keen to emphasise the human side of the operation. The move from Geneva to Le Locle allowed the company to build a largely local workforce. Around 150 people were recruited during the transition, many from the surrounding Jura region. According to management, the average age of its managers is just 27, reflecting a deliberate effort to develop young talent alongside experienced watchmakers.
One of the most memorable features of the Manufacture is not a machine at all, but an enormous floor-to-ceiling mural that spans the building’s full height. You can admire the detail up close as you climb the stairway connecting the five levels.
Inspired by traditional Swiss Poya folk art, which historically depicted the seasonal movement of cattle from mountain pastures, the artwork tells Tudor’s story through a series of visual references and hidden details.
There’s a depiction of the legendary Tudor Submariner reference 7923 from 1955, the only manual-wound diving watch ever produced by Tudor and one of the most sought-after vintage models among collectors. A wedge of Swiss cheese appears beneath the six o’clock marker. Tudor’s signature snowflake design is woven throughout the artwork, while a Swiss chalet incorporates watchmaking details ranging from bezel motifs to movement components.
Elsewhere, the exact coordinates of Tudor’s Geneva headquarters are displayed alongside local landmarks, and a surfer riding a wave near the Jet d’Eau references the brand’s longstanding association with surfing culture. Even the United States Navy divers who wore Tudor Submariners during recovery missions for the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo space programmes feature.
Precision Put to the Test
Another intriguing stop on the tour is the on-site METAS laboratory.
Unlike traditional chronometer certification, which tests movements separately, Master Chronometer certification evaluates the fully assembled watch, meeting more exacting standards for precision, resistance to magnetic fields, waterproofness, and power reserve. Its standards are incredibly high, starting with precision.
To achieve Master Chronometer certification, a watch must maintain an accuracy of between 0 and +5 seconds per day. That is a tighter standard than both COSC certification (-4/+6 seconds per day) and Tudor’s own internal standard of -2/+4 seconds per day for Manufacture Calibre models. The certification also verifies performance in magnetic fields up to 15 000 gauss, confirms the stated water resistance and power reserve, and tests the fully assembled watch rather than just the movement. Before a watch can enter the Master Chronometer programme, it must meet Swiss Made requirements, and its movement must first receive COSC certification.
Tudor houses a dedicated METAS facility within the Manufacture itself, allowing independent inspectors to conduct ongoing testing and verification. The process can take significantly longer than assembly, underlining just how much emphasis is placed on performance after a watch has been built.
The Bigger Picture
If Tudor represents the public face of the operation, neighbouring Kenissi reveals another side of the story.
Established in 2010 following Tudor’s decision to develop its own manufacture calibres, Kenissi occupies the grey building next door, connected to Tudor by an underground passage. Today, it is one of the most significant movement producers in contemporary Swiss watchmaking, supplying high-performance mechanical movements to Tudor as well as brands including Breitling, Norqain, Fortis, TAG Heuer, Bell & Ross, and Chanel.
Here, too, automation and craftsmanship coexist. Highly automated systems manage logistics, testing and parts handling, while trained technicians oversee assembly and quality control. The philosophy is not about replacing people with machines but allowing each to focus on what it does best.
By late afternoon, the journey back to Geneva feels different.
A day at Tudor and Kenissi provides context impossible to gain from a launch presentation or a display stand. The watches unveiled at Watches and Wonders are the product of an ecosystem that stretches across the Jura Mountains: specialist suppliers, movement makers, watchmakers, engineers, quality-control experts, and countless others working behind the scenes.
What stayed with me was not a particular watch, but the people and systems behind it. The mural, the robots, the underground logistics network, and the young workforce all offered a glimpse into how Tudor is building its future while remaining connected to the values that shaped the brand nearly a century ago.
