Russell Sheldrake
There was a lot of buzz around Tudor’s new manufacturing centre when it officially opened just before Watches & Wonders last year, and for good reason: it heralded a new era for the brand that has become a favourite with collectors around the world, revealing to media around the world that it is prioritising efficiency, productivity and automation above all else.
It’s split in half, one side is red and the other is grey, but we’ll only talk about the red Tudor side here, not the grey Kenissi side. The new Tudor building is where all Tudor watches are assembled, tested and shipped to retailers around the world, while the Kenissi building is where movement manufacturing takes place and supplies movements to neighboring Tudor, as well as many other brands like TAG Heuer and Chanel.
Many articles and videos were produced at the time of its official opening, but since then some previously unknown facts have emerged about Le Locle’s red building.
It has already been widely reported that construction on the manufacturing center will begin in 2018 and be completed in 2021, but what has not yet been revealed is that the land in question has been owned by Rolex for quite some time – in fact, the same site is home to a smaller Rolex manufacturing center that has been there since the 1970s.
Besides this small, still-functioning Rolex building, the main feature of the property is the Viedo River, which flows right next to it and into a swampy area. Unless you’re a big, immature ogre, building on swampy ground is usually not a good idea, so Tudor had to find a way to literally drain the swamp. To accomplish this, clever gardening was employed, diverting parts of the Viedo River and allowing sections of the swamp to dry out.
While this went a long way to bringing the brand’s plans to fruition, it wasn’t the only measure taken to ensure a solid foundation: a total of 330 30-metre concrete pillars were driven into the ground to ensure the new project would remain solid and not slowly sink into the mud. Combined with a pool-like concrete liner, the entire building is fully protected from the Swiss freshwater that flows just metres away.
Within this watertight container lies a host of fully automated systems, and while there’s still a misconception that all Swiss watches are made by hand by craftsmen trained for decades, Tudor has been incredibly transparent about how much robotics, automation and machinery goes into making their watches.
What does this mean for the average Tudor consumer? Lead times will be significantly shorter when it comes to the latest Tudor products. In fact, when the brand launched new products at Watches & Wonders last year, they were available in their Geneva boutiques the same day. No other brand can offer this level of immediacy, which makes Rolex’s sister company stand out from the crowd, especially when you consider the famous waiting lists attached to their sister brands.
These systems allow the Manufacture to keep certain functions running 24/7, with the 150 humans working there dedicated only to roles that actually add value. One task that runs around the clock is METAS testing, which is monitored and assisted by two fascinating robots: Wall-E 1 and Wall-E 2. These motorized machines are constantly shuttling back and forth to deliver watches to the testing facility, and to collect them later. Able to operate a range of equipment, the two robots are the oil that keeps this department running, ensuring that each Tudor is tested thoroughly and as efficiently as possible.
Next to the two small robots is a nematic tube-like conveyor belt system that runs through the entire building and connects each workstation to another. This allows parts and semi-finished watches to move seamlessly through the factory, passing almost instantly from one highly trained set of workers to another. Each workstation has the exact same layout, and although each staff member is trained to perform every task in the process, they don’t all do the same work at the same time. So the team rotates, so everyone covers each role at some point. If there’s a shortage, it’s easy for someone to jump in and help out.
To support the work of its 150 watchmakers, Tudor followed Rolex’s lead and used the iconic green glass that covers the Rolex building in Geneva. This glass is electro-tinted, ensuring that the light inside remains at an ideal level, ensuring perfect visibility. So, even though Rolex parts are no longer used in Tudor watches, Rolex technology still informs production.
The factory’s total surface area is over 5,500 square meters, although not all of it is currently in use. In true Rolex style, Tudor is building with an eye to the future, leaving large areas of the building empty to be filled if they need to increase production or diversify into new areas. After all, having put in so much effort to build this factory, it’s unlikely they’ll want to embark on a similar project anytime soon, unless they have to.
