A FACTORY AHEAD OF ITS TIME

Universal Genève’s Carouge manufacture reimagined watchmaking with ultra-modern design, seamless efficiency, and a focus on worker wellbeing. Discover how this landmark set a new standard in horology.  

On April 28, 1956, in the presence of numerous dignitaries and prominent figures from Geneva and the watchmaking world, Universal Genève officially inaugurated its new factory in Carouge. Located just across the River Arve from Geneva, away from the city bustle, the striking mid-century-modern manufacture made a bold statement with its three floors of double-height windows, clean lines, and forward-thinking focus on ergonomics. The building’s exterior featured a prominent master clock, controlled by a quartz system, which distributed the exact time throughout the workshops – an emblem of precision at the face of its operations.  

Ironically, this same technology would bring about the Swiss watchmaking industry’s greatest existential crisis. But on that celebratory day, such concerns were still decades away. Raoul Perret, Universal Genève’s charismatic leader from 1932 to 1971, stood at the helm, captivating the glamorous crowd with tales of the brand’s storied past. Leading guests through the state-of-the-art facility, he framed the new manufacture not just as a building, but as a launchpad for Universal Genève’s future. Beyond its beauty – which he described as a reflection of the watches that would be produced there – it was a place for ideas to become reality; where design, engineering and craftsmanship lived side by side. 

The new facility was a necessary move to keep pace with the brand’s ongoing international expansion. Important U.S. and South American markets were growing, which required Universal Genève to ramp up its production capacities. The company also needed larger premises for its extensive after-sales-service offerings to guarantee the maintenance of all its watches. Last but not least, the Gérald Genta-designed Polarouter (to be renamed Polerouter the following year) was already a success and would be one of the first watches produced there.

Press of the day called the Carouge manufacture “a veritable palace of watchmaking technology, sheltered behind ashlar-covered façades.” This resonated with Perret, an architecture enthusiast who once claimed he kept “in constant touch with everything that is published on fashions, interior decoration and architecture.” It was likely he who had chosen to work with modernist architect Paul-André Davoine, who’d previously designed the Zodiac factory in Le Locle.

The expansive façade was 60 percent windows – large, glazed bays with adjustable blinds to ensure optimal lighting for precise work. Meanwhile, the machine park rested on a concrete slab anchored in the ground with pillars to avoid vibrations, creating a stable environment for cutting-edge machinery capable of precision work down to one-thousandth of a millimeter. Many machines had self-correcting systems – “veritable electronic brains” –  and were equipped with dust and debris removers to ensure the highest quality. 

This was also an era when worker conditions were under scrutiny, and Universal’s answer was ergonomic workspaces where benches featured adjustable armrests for optimal operating positions. Music was introduced to the workspace, played four times a day to alleviate fatigue and help workers meet the demanding standards of micromechanical manufacturing. Universal also implemented rigorous quality-control systems, with one-sixth of the staff dedicated to the 250 quality-control steps each watch underwent before leaving the factory.

The Carouge manufacture opened during a decade of transformation for Universal Genève. As manual chronographs – once the company’s hallmark – waned in popularity due to the convenience of automatic, self-winding watches, many consumers began favoring these simpler models. With the automatic chronograph still over a decade away, Universal focused on innovations like the Microtor, the world’s thinnest automatic movement, which by 1958 equipped many of its three-hand models.

In the 1960s, Universal Genève expanded into art and jewelry watches, adopting the slogan “Le Couturier de la Montre” in 1963. Many of these creations were led by Raoul Haas, who directed the design department from the late 1950s onward. Universal Genève maintained its downtown premises on Rue du Rhône, which became a prestigious showroom for launching new models. Later in the decade, electronic watches also began production there. 

The Carouge factory continued to play a vital role in Universal Genève’s operations and was expanded in 1973. However, the brand was hit hard by the quartz crisis, ceasing movement production in 1982 and selling the buildings.

The high standards of the Carouge manufacture continue to draw vintage collectors to Universal Genève watches – this is where the mechanical magic happened for many of the brand’s iconic watches and Le Couturier de la Montre was born.

More than a factory, it brought ideas, design, and craftsmanship under one roof – a rare harmony that still guides Universal Genève today.