O
n April 4, 1960, 70 independent Swiss watchmakers joined forces to form a remarkable new cooperative. Intent on standing their ground against the consolidation of watchmakers into corporations, the Coopérative de Fabricants Suisses d’Horlogerie would launch a shared watch brand three years later, using the name of famous watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz.
The Coopérative grew rapidly, accounting for over 15% of Swiss watchmaking exports in 1968 and boasting a catalog of over 2,000 different models.
Yet this unique experiment, and the famous brand they used, is almost entirely forgotten.
#6 The Forgotten History of Jaquet-Droz, An Experiment in Cooperation. Listen now: