Each family became specialized in making certain parts, usually either the mechanics or the ornate boxes themselves, and together the community completed the products, which were taken to Geneva in the summer for sale.

When clocks, which were invented in Europe, moved from cathedrals to homes to carriages, growing ever smaller, the farmers' aptitude at small and precise manufacturing set the stage for the birth of the wristwatch, which was very much facilitated by the austere geography. Families banding together and forming partnerships is what led to the common practice of watch firms with two names, like Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin, and today, there are third- and fourth-generation watchmakers in the factories of the valley's many famous brands.

The entire process of watchmaking is utterly fascinating, and Switzerland is virtually the only place to see such work being done. A watch trip to Geneva and the Jura is like a wine tour of the Napa Valley - that is, if all the best wines on earth were made in Napa.

Among watch connoisseurs, the term fine watch has a specific meaning, almost always referring to mechanical timepieces (powered by a spring). When wound, the spring oscillates and a series of gears transforms that energy into a smooth rotation of the hands, calibrated to keep accurate time. Every additional function, such as a stopwatch, date display, dual time zones, or an alarm, requires its own complete movement (another series of tiny gears). Each such function is called a complication, for literal reasons, and the most prized watches combine dozens of complications, such as moon-phase indicators and melodic chimes. Most fine watches are handmade, either in part or in whole. To understand the concept behind mechanical watches is interesting; to see it executed in miniature is breathtaking.