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Bienne Design Swatch

From Swatch Intern to Chief Design Officer at On: Interview with Thilo Alex Brunner

When I first came across On shoes, over a decade ago, I was living in Senegal and visiting the Silicon Valley for work. I was immediately struck by the unique futuristic yet comforting looks. I certainly did not expect that, half a dozen pairs later, I would be living in the town where the man behind the iconic Cloud design was born and raised. Even less that I’d be sitting with him, at the now megabrand’s headquarters, talking about watches, shoes and our favorite city, Bienne.

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Bienne Industry

At the Heart of Your Watch and the Watch Industry: L. Klein SA

There’s a striking contrast between the cold, hard metals stocked by the thousands across infinite rows of the L. Klein SA’s high-ceiling warehouse and the warm welcome, cozy atmosphere and gentle tone of the Schiess family, running the firm since 1973. Facing the Jura hills, a few hundred meters away from where Rolex produces all its movements, the team of 20 plays a fundamental role in the Swiss watch ecosystem. Established 77 years ago, the firm not only imports and distributes over 50 types of steel and other metals across 4,000 offerings. It also harmoniously enables the deep, diverse and highly specialized industrial web of watch suppliers and brands across the entire watch valley. As such, there is a strong sense of responsibility here. Not just to do business, but also to keep alive the wonderful, complex and immensely diverse value chain behind every Swiss watch. 

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Art Bienne Independents

A Watch Fan’s Holiday Film: Chasing Microns

I already have enough impostor syndrome as a “tech industry” worker trying to blog about watchmaking, I’m not going to start to pretend like I’m now also a film critic. That said, the 25 minute production I’m going to tell you about showcases enough topics close to my heart that I wanted to make sure to recommend it. And, if you’re reading this blog, a lot of those topics are probably of interest to you too! 

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Bienne Omega

The Aqua Terra Worldtimer Summer Blue is Elected Bienne Watch of the Year

I don’t know if anyone paid attention, but there was one small change in the criteria for watches eligible to be nominated between the first election last year and this year. In 2022, I stated that watches launched in previous years with only a cosmetic tweak in the election year, such as dial color, could not be nominated. After all, I was thinking, it’s the same watch, just with a different dress. So what changed in 2023? Well, after some feedback and further consideration, it felt unfair to discriminate against pure aesthetics. They require a lot of worthy work too!

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Bienne Independents Rolex

2023 Bienne Watch of the Year: the 4 Finalists

Maybe it’s because I used to want to go into politics (before I got a taste of it), but I get really excited about this election. I love looking at the votes coming in, hour after hour, and predicting who will be the winner. I already know I’ll spend most of my weekend monitoring the results, as the vote goes live on Instagram for 24 hours, starting at 2 pm sharp Bienne time on Saturday.

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Bienne

Branding Bienne: Interview with the City’s Vice-Chancellor Julien Steiner

As the city’s Vice-Chancellor, Julien Steiner has among his prerogatives Bienne’s image as a place to live. Considering how radically the perception of Bienne has evolved over the years, and the role of watchmaking in the city’s reputation, there was a lot to discuss for this interview. 

Before we begin, I want to call out that Julien Steiner played a very important role in the development of this blog. Over 2 years ago, when I had just started, I was unsure if there would be any interest in such a project from a guy like me who had just moved to the city. One day, someone reached out on Instagram with a question. I did not have the answer, so I contacted the city administration. They eventually put me in touch with Julien Steiner. He not only encouraged me but promoted the blog on the city website. That is when my imposter syndrome (mostly) vanished, and I truly started investing time and energy in creating content on a regular basis.

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Explore Bienne

Places

A selection of the best local watchmaking sites you can visit.

Itineraries

Themed itineraries for those who love one brand in particular or watches in general.