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Watchmaker Flag (Neuchâtel canton, Switzerland)

(source)

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This flag from 1898 is of the "Federation of sharpeners, dismantlers, refitters and bolt makers in the watch industry" (Fédération des ouvriers repasseurs, démonteurs, remonteurs et faiseurs d'échappements de l'industrie horlogère), Neuchâtel canton. This federation was still a professional fraternity, not a trade union. It was not until 1915 that the watchmakers organized themselves into a trade union at national level, the Swiss Metalworkers' and Watchmakers' Union.
The square flag shows on a light blue or grey field a golden pocket watch, surrounded by a ring on which the zodiac is depicted in similar colours as the clock. The clockwork is visible. A few laurel branches peek out from behind the ring. In front of the ring at the bottom a winged sand glass is depicted. Above and below the watch the motto is arranged in two bows: "L'INTELLIGENCE ET L'ADRESSE / FONT L'EXCELLENT OUVRIER" (Intelligence and skill make the excellent worker). The flag has golden fringes on three sides. Location: Musée d'histoire, La Chaux-de-Fonds (source).
Martin Karner, 24 July 2023