Watch Museum in Swiss Industry Hub Robbed of Valuables

A brazen robbery has targeted the historic Watchmaking Museum in Le Locle, Switzerland, a town renowned as a cradle of the Swiss watch industry. In the early hours of Saturday, four masked individuals forced their way into the Château des Monts museum, making off with an estimated tens of thousands of euros worth of timepieces.

The thieves operated with speed and precision, spending only about five minutes inside the exhibition halls. They broke through glass display cases to seize approximately a dozen items before fleeing the scene. The cantonal police in Neuchâtel are investigating the incident, with the perpetrators reportedly escaping in a dark-colored vehicle that crossed the nearby border into France.

Le Locle, along with neighboring La Chaux-de-Fonds, holds significant cultural and historical importance, recognized by UNESCO for its unique urban planning dedicated to the watchmaking industry since the 18th century. The museum, which has been closed since Sunday to facilitate the investigation, is expected to reopen to the public on Wednesday, August 12.