Inside the Tudor manufacture

This new state of the art facility, bringing together the traditional know-how of watchmakers with the best in production management technologies and automated testing systems, was completed in 2021 after three years of construction. All decked out in TUDOR red, the manufacture spans over five levels totaling 5,500 square meters and is physically and visually connected to the neighboring Kenissi Manufacture, the TUDOR movement production facility.

HISTORY

The TUDOR Manufacture is now a fixture in the bucolic town of Le Locle, located in the Jura Mountains on the northwesternmost border with France in the Canton of Neuchâtel. While the town plays host to a relatively small population of 10,000, the importance of Le Locle in the watchmaking industry cannot be understated. Initially an important agricultural region, the area became one of the main hubs of watchmaking in Switzerland as early as the 17th century. The construction of the TUDOR Manufacture started in 2018, with the objective of moving the assembly operations of Montres TUDOR SA from Geneva closer to its affiliates and suppliers in the Jura mountains. The Group owned undeveloped industrial land in Le Locle next to a Rolex facility inaugurated in 1970, making it the perfect site for the TUDOR Manufacture. The signature TUDOR red building was fully completed in 2021 and officially inaugurated in March of 2023 during Switzerland’s premier watchmaking tradeshow, Watches and Wonders.

BREAKING DOWN THE MANUFACTURE

The manufacture is home to a team of 150, all working hard in numerous functions to produce the most reliable and robust watches possible. A core tenet of TUDOR is to ensure that its watches offer the ultimate in value to the consumer. To do this, it has perfected a unique blend of automated production technology with the technical know-how of highly skilled watchmakers.

Kenissi - TUDOR’s movement production arm

Many of TUDOR’s watches feature a Manufacture Calibre, which is developed and assembled at Kenissi, TUDOR’s movement production arm. In fact, the buildings are conjoined. Everything from research and development to final assembly takes place here for TUDOR’s Manufacture Calibres. In addition to TUDOR’s own demands, Kenissi was created in 2010 to develop its industrial production capacity for high performance mechanical movements. The first client of Kenissi besides TUDOR itself was Breitling, and as its business developed, Kenissi formed an industrial alliance with Chanel in 2018. Today, the clients of Kenissi also include, Norqain, Fortis, TAG Heuer, Bell & Ross and Ultramarine. The Kenissi production line exemplifies TUDOR’s commitment to leveraging the power of combining the most advanced tech with the expertise of human hand.

Assembly

The first technological advantage a watchmaker has is a constant positive pressure environment throughout the workshop. In order to mitigate the opportunity for dust ingress into watches and machinery, the TUDOR Manufacture’s HVAC system, located in the basement, plays a crucial role. The system creates a continuous flow of air from the ceiling to the floor so that dust is kept from floating around the workshop. To deliver value to the end user, TUDOR doesn’t maintain a stock of assembled watches. Every watch produced is destined to shortly be on a client’s wrist. This means every watch is closely tracked and data can be used to improve efficiency. It also means that the workshop needs to be very flexible, agile and versatile. TUDOR achieves this through autonomous cells of four watchmakers that are trained in every discipline of the process. This is meant to provide a homogenous and ergonomic work environment, optimizing operations and efficiency. The team members of a cell always work together.

Testing

All TUDOR watches are tested at the TUDOR Manufacture. Every model passes the TUDOR Performance Control, meaning the watch, fully assembled, meets (-2/+4) seconds precision per day if it is equipped with a Manufacture Calibre. In addition, all watches are tested for waterproofness in hyperbaric water tanks. Even just a virtual walk through the TUDOR Manufacture creates a feeling of being transported into the future. You realize the scale of what is hidden behind each of the brand's creations – decades of experience and expertise, the human hand that remains irreplaceable, cutting-edge technology and uncompromising precision at every stage of production. And now you see every TUDOR watch with different eyes.