Luxury goods

The presence in Franche-Comté of an industrial fabric specialising in processing metals and materials as well as expertise in surface treatment has brought the most prestigious luxury goods manufacturers in search of the skills and technical and creative resources they need to produce the objects in their collections. 

Franche-Comté is rich in the expertise sought by the largest luxury goods manufacturers. 
Watchmaking, eyewear, tableware, leather goods, perfumes, writing instruments, jewellery, high fashion, accessories, decoration, furnishings...luxury goods are produced in Franche-Comté by more than two hundred firms. 

Watchmaking has played an important role in Franche-Comté since the eighteenth century, particularly in the Jura Mountains near Switzerland. The industry gradually spread throughout the region. The watchmaking industry started in Besançon with the arrival of Laurent Mégevand, who founded the Fabrique Nationale d’Horlogerie in the city. The industry grew over time from a small workshop into large firms. In response to the needs of businesses, the Ecole d’Horlogerie de Besançon trained watchmakers reputed for the quality of their work and their dedication. The Besançon Astronomical Observatory is the only institution in France that can officially certify watches produced by the workshops as chronometers.

At the time, Besançon, the capital of Franche-Comté, produced 90% of French watches. During this period, the Leroy workshops were founded and the “Leroy 01", the most sophisticated watch in the world, was produced. (It remains on exhibit in Besançon’s Time Museum.) The quartz revolution in the second half of the twentieth century however completely changed the world of timepieces and firms began to diversify...

In the first decade of the current century, Festina chose to locate its product support division in Franche-Comté’s watchmaking capital, Besançon, which is also home to the European service centre of Audemars Piguet and Breitling’s product support division for France and Northern Europe.
“Besançon, heart and soul of French watchmaking” - see clip
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Lunetiers du Jura is the Jura eyewear manufacturers’ trade organisation representing some forty companies with similar technical skills and shared business interests and that are recognised for their talent in designing and manufacturing innovative products. The entire sector works in close collaboration with French and European designers.  Cradle of a profession dating back more than two centuries, the Jura today counts some sixty firms in the sector which employs nearly 2,300 people.

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Leather goods from Franche-Comté

Franche-Comté was the first home of Louis Vuitton. Born in Moulin de Chabouilla in the Jura in 1821, he spent his childhood and early teens in the region before leaving to try his luck in Paris, where he would go on to become a reference in luxury leather goods. Créations Perrin, which has been located in Franche-Comté for nearly twenty years, specialises in leather watchbands. Sought after by the most prestigious names in Swiss watchmaking, it successfully unites tradition and innovation.

“Créations Perrin: manufacturing leather watchbands” - see the clip

Cristel has revisited the kitchen utensil by inventing the concept of the removable handle, and giving it high-end status. Its collections are sold around the world, further enhancing the image of the French art of living.

PSP is the reference for pepper and spice mills and is found in the kitchens of the greatest chefs and on the tables of the most esteemed restaurants in the world. From factory-produced to mouth-blown glass, La Rochère’s inspired products range from eighteenth-century reproductions to creations by young designers. It relies on conviviality, gourmandise and curiosity to respond to the expectations of modern ways of life.