César Racine The house César Racine at LeLocle (Neuchâtel Mountains) is created in the 1880's by César Racine (1851-1931); it is located at 2, avenue du Nouveau Collège. This house is famous for its simplified Grande Sonnerie watches that it produces with minute-repeater on two or three gongs, then called Carillon or chimes. These watches can automatically strike every fifteen minutes, the hours and quarters elapsed (position "Sonnerie" or "Chime" / "Silence"), and strikes on request, hours, quarters and minutes elapsed. The watches are made according to the Swiss invention patent No. 6835, for a "Système de répétition à minutes et à quarts grande sonnerie" (minute-repeater and quarter-repeater with Grande Sonnerie system), dated June 29, 1893. Over the years, César Racine improve his invention and is the holder of several new patents: - No. 16112, for a "Mécanisme de déclenchement automatique de la fusée dans les montres à grande sonnerie", dated February 8, 1898. - No. 18543, for a "Perfectionnement au mécanisme des pièces d'horlogerie à grande sonnerie", dated February 6, 1899. - No. 41031, for a "Mécanisme de transmission et de déclenchement pour pièces d'horlogerie à grande sonnerie", dated July 24, 1907. He then becomes interested in other parts of watchmaking and obtains the following patents: - No. 46868, for a "Mécanisme de compteur pour chronographes", dated May 5, 1909. - No. 66903, for a "Pièce d'horlogerie avec mécanisme de remontage à bascule et barillet moteur unique actionnant deux rouages", dated August 22, 1913. - No. 77131, for a "Mouvement de montre-réveil", dated September 29, 1917. In addition to its simplified Grande Sonnerie - built between 16''' and 20''' -, the company also produces watches with horological complications, ranging from 12''' to 20''', which can be fitted with various mechanisms: chronograph, minute recorder, split-seconds, simple or perpetual calendar and automata. Since 1898, the house built its repeater-watches with the "Frein-régulateur pour mécanismes d'horlogerie" (drag-regulator for horological mechanisms) of Ditisheim & Cie of LaChaux-de-Fonds (Swiss invention patent No. 15833, dated January 7, 1898) César Racine is rewarded for his inventions and know-how with a Gold medal at the Swiss National Exhibition of Geneva in 1896 and a Grand Prix (Gold medal) at the World Exhibition of Paris in 1900. From a commercial point of view, it seems that the house César Racine has produced a lot of simplified Grande Sonnerie watches for the Fabrique Zénith of the Billodes in LeLocle, founded by Georges Favre-Jacot (1843-1917), which only marketed them on various markets, but also sells its watches to other retailers as evidenced by an anecdote reported by Alfred Chapuis (1880-1958), historian of the Neuchâtel horology: "En 1902, la maison Vrard à Tientsin désirant faire un cadeau à l'un de ses meilleurs clients chinois de cette ville, avait commandé spécialement une montre savonnette à grande sonnerie chez M. César Racine, au Locle, et avait fait peindre par l'intermédiaire de MM. Tardy et fils le portrait du chinois d'un côté, et de l'autre son monogramme émaillé également (ce travail fut exécuté par John Graff)." In 1902, the Vrard house in Tientsin, wishing to give a present to one of its best Chinese clients in this city, had especially ordered a gold hunting-case clock-watch to Mr. César Racine, with the portrait of the Chinese painted on enamel, on one side, and, on the other, his enamelled monogram; this work was executed by John Graff, through M. Tardy & Fils, from Geneva. (Chapuis, 1919, p. 187, note 1). We know this kind of piece also sold in China by Hope Brothers & Co. of Shanghai; but also, in Switzerland, by Henri Blanc in Geneva, and in Italy, by Haussmann & Co. in Rome. H. W. Bernstein & Co. of Bombay, India, sells several simplified Grande Sonnerie, in sumptuous enamel and gemstone cases, probably the work of J. Ferrero, from LeLocle, or Tardy & Fils, from Geneva. For this same Indian market, the César Racine house also created around 1900 - 1920, watches in which are accumulated numerous horological complications in addition to the simplified Grande Sonnerie, in more or less richly decorated cases. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, various LeLocle watchmakers specialised in the production of Grande Complication for this market (Henri Grandjean & Cie, Edouard JeanRichard, Gideon & Cie, etc.), for retailers like P Orr & Sons in Madras, C. Marcks & Co. Ltd. in Bombay and Poona, etc. In 1895, Albert Theile (1855-1925), architect of LaChaux-de-Fonds, built for César Racine a superb villa in LeLocle with watchmaking workshops, at 8, rue du Collège. In 1908, César Racine is a member of the Committee, which pays homage to Jules Grossmann (1829-1907), the late Director of the School of Horology of LeLocle. His son, César (II) Racine (born in 1889) registered the mark "César Racine" in the Neuchâtel Register of Commerce, on February 4, 1913. The house also owns the brand "Radixa", under which it sells simple watches, much cheaper. In the 1920's, César Racine began producing movements for wristwatches. The house is still mentioned in 1929 but does not seem to recover from the Great Depression (1929) and goes bankrupt on January 24, 1931.