César Racine, Le Locle The house César Racine at Le Locle (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 paten.. 6 835, 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. 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 La Chaux-de-Fonds (Swiss invention paten.. 15 833, 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 Le Locle, 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: 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, Le Locle, 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 Le Locle, 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 Le Locle 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 La Chaux-de-Fonds, built for César Racine a superb villa in Le Locle 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 Le Locle. 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.