Dispatch: A Visit To The La Joux-Perret Manufacture In La Chaux-de-Fonds

On the eve of Geneva Watch Days, the Manufacture opened its doors for a private visit led by Pascal Béchu, Managing Director of Arnold & Son and Angelus. “La Joux-Perret produces approximately 150,000 movements every year, highlighting the Manufacture’s strength and position as a key player in Swiss watchmaking,” Pascal tells me.” Combined with continued investments in innovation, collaborations, and the expansion of its portfolio, this production capacity reflects the company’s growing influence within the industry.” With over 20 years of industry experience, Pascal recognizes the significance of LJP’s role today, marked by a remarkably high output that underscores its growing importance.

La Joux-Perret movements power some of today’s most interesting watches and have been a part of the Citizen Group’s deck of horological cards since 2012. The La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture has scaled up production, while also being instrumental in elevating the group’s halo sister brands, Arnold & Son and Angelus. 

With its head office at the La Joux-Perret Manufacture, the two brands are connected by shared leadership and a growing sense of appeal—something underscored this year by each earning a GPHG nomination in the emblematic Chronograph and Tourbillon categories.

Employing around 120 people, La Joux-Perret has been on a steady upward trajectory since ETA reduced movement supply to smaller independents. The Manufacture has maintained its identity by focusing on innovation and technical excellence. “Developing calibers like the G100 and L100 exemplifies our commitment to performance, precision, and durability,” Béchu says, as I notice Bremont-engraved rotors spinning on the test rig. “This, along with our Manufacture range, positions the company among Switzerland’s finest, while La Joux-Perret remains distinguished by its technical independence.”

As I was shown, there is also a growing, separate team working on the innovative Solar Quartz movements for LVMH, specifically TAG Heuer and Tiffany & Co. “Swiss solar quartz technology is a natural evolution in luxury watchmaking where sustainability and high performance converge,” Pascal says. “A solar quartz watch can run for up to 15 years without the need for battery replacement, which represents an enormous benefit—particularly in the context of convenience, durability, and long-term reliability”. 

La Joux-Perret is a serious contender working at both (even three) ends of the scale, supplying Citizen Group brands like Frederique Constant, as well as external supply to LVMH (with Solar quartz), while small independents from Furlan Marri to Bremont are increasingly utilising calibers like the ETA 2824 alternative G100 and the Valjoux 7750 alternative L100.

Arnold & Son And Angelus

Sure, accessibly priced ETA alternatives are a significant part of LJP’s output. Still, some of its most fascinating work is for the two high-end names within the Citizen Group: Arnold & Son and Angelus. “Both benefit from shared expertise and in-house movement development and manufacturing,” Pascal tells me. “This dual approach fosters innovation while maintaining their distinct brand identities. It is also inspiring for the team to work on two different yet complementary brands.”

Arnold & Son has leaned into its chronometric heritage with technically inventive calibers. At the same time, Angelus offers a blend of tough sports watches and svelte retro, with the GHPG-nominated pure spirit of the Chronographe Télémètre being a standout for me personally.

“We nurture both brands by designing dedicated pieces and complications that reflect each brand’s DNA and heritage,” Pascal Bechú says as a watchmaker unwraps a bespoke DSTB 42, which stands for ‘Dial-Side True Beat’, destined for warmer climes featuring Eastern Arabic numerals. “Arnold & Son draws on John Arnold’s horological legacy, emphasising symmetry and intricate complications. Angelus, in contrast, explores avant-garde architecture as well as vintage inspiration.”Both brands showcase how La Joux-Perret’s expertise has lifted the brand value of the Manufacture itself, and in reviving two strong names from the annals of horology. Let’s rewind to this year’s Watches & Wonders and have a closer look at the two GPHG nominees.

Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11

The Tourbillon category in the GPHG award list is a milestone for each of the six brands that are officially nominated, and this year is marked by a modernist lean. Of the six watches up for an award, four futurist visions are bookended by the traditional strengths of Urban Jürgensen and Arnold & Son. The Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11 was made to mark John Arnold’s 260-year legacy and is assembled by a skilled small team at the LJP Manufacture.

Within its GPHG category, it manages to balance a deep sense of traditionalism with the purest minimalist dial of the group. The Constant Force Tourbillon 11 features a calm, zen-like dial in clean, asymmetric contrast, complementing one of the best movements I have experienced this year, as I’m a sucker for symmetry. And if you notice similarities with late 19th-century British pocket watch design, your observation rings true. The inspiration stems from the very first tourbillon created by Abraham-Louis Breguet in 1808, which was based on a movement designed by John Arnold.

The symmetrical complexity at the heart of the 41.5mm Constant Force Tourbillon 11 is juxtaposed by the airy expanse of a dial. On a milky white kiln-fired enamel surface nestles two competing points of interest, at 10 o’clock a gold-rimmed concave dial in white opal with crisp roman numerals and stocky, blued arrow hands for the hours and minutes. At a 45-degree angle, at 4 o’clock, a polished and brushed yellow gold bridge hovers above a framed opening, affixing the fascinating constant force mechanism. An anchor, a homage to John Arnold’s marine chronometer No. 11, serves as the de facto true-beat seconds hand, its blue a perfect match to the hands opposite and the exposed screws.

While remaining hidden behind the symmetrical bridgework, the hand-wound A&S5219 caliber deserves a few words, measuring 33mm in diameter by a slim 10.48mm. It operates at a traditional 21,600 vph with dual barrels to ensure a 100-hour power reserve. Between the barrels and the one-minute tourbillon lies the patented constant-force mechanism.  Visible at 4 o’clock on the minimal dial side, it balances out the energy delivered to the escapement by both barrels, making possible an even, predictable precision, one that Arnold and Breguet pursued for years. The retail price at its launch was a sobering yet understandable CHF 129,800.

Angelus Chronographe Télémètre

Another hotly contested category in the GPHG is the Chronograph group, where Angelus fields the Chronographe Télémètre in 18K yellow gold. Angelus was revived from its vintage slumber in 2016 with a modern vibe. For many collectors, it found its footing with the release of the La Fabrique collection, featuring strong releases like the Instrument De Vitesse. The Télémètre monopusher chronograph collection taps into the still-strong desire for time travel with a ‘what if’ approach. 

While also bringing something new to the table. With this chronograph, Angelus leans heavily on the classic 40’s style of monochromatic graphics, with a small, information-packed dial. The case is clean-cut, verging on plain, and fitting for what, in the period, would have been a tool watch—a far cry from what we now see as a rather dressy chronograph.

To keep scale reading clear, the twin registers are pulled in towards the center of the dial, a functional move that lends clarity to a busy dial. At 37mm with a svelte 9.25mm thickness, I still remember its delicate wrist presence at Watches&Wonders ’25 in the surprisingly weighty yellow 18K gold. The lugs feature a 44mm stretch, accompanied by a strong case side sweep and the allure of a monopusher movement. With the steel model retailing for CHF 17,500, you expect the La Joux-Perret Manufacture movement to impress, and it does. 

The caliber A5000 is only 4.2mm thick, and looks strong compared to Valjoux derivatives, with organically shaped bridgework in a two-tone design of steel and yellow gold. With prominent Côtes de Genève finishing and distinct beveling, it is period-perfect and matches well with the dial, which has its brushed and grained finish, vying for your attention under its box sapphire crystal. This yellow gold version, limited to 15 pieces, was retailed at CHF 32,300 on its W&W’25 debut and is now long sold out.