The Jaquet-Droz Automata at the Musée d'art et d'histoire, Neuchâtel

Location

Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Address

Esplanade Léopold-Robert 1, 2000 Neuchâtel

Opened

1884

Type

Art museum

Official website ↗

History of the museum and the automata

The museum's collection began in 1816, when Maximilien de Meuron gave two paintings to the town of Neuchâtel. The fine arts museum opened in 1884 in a building by architect Léo Châtelain, and the historical museum moved into its ground floor in 1885. The two institutions shared the building for about a century before taking the name Musée d'art et d'histoire in 1989. The staircase is decorated with monumental paintings by Léo-Paul Robert and architectural ornament by Clement Heaton.

The automata were made in La Chaux-de-Fonds by Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721–1790), his son Henri-Louis Jaquet-Droz and Jean-Frédéric Leschot. They were designed in part to promote the firm's watches and mechanical songbirds, were first shown in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1774 and then presented in Paris, London, Lyon, Geneva and other cities. After this long European tour they were given to the City of Neuchâtel on 1 May 1909.

What you can see

• The Writer (about 6,000 parts): the most complex of the three. It is programmable and writes a text of up to 40 characters on four lines with a goose quill. As of 2026 it is out of order because of a defective part; it remains on display, while the other two are still demonstrated.
• The Draughtsman (about 2,000 parts): a child figure that produces four drawings, including a portrait of Louis XV, a royal couple, a dog with the words "Mon toutou" and Cupid in a chariot drawn by a butterfly.
• The Musician (about 2,500 parts): a young woman who plays five melodies on a real organ by pressing the keys with her fingers; her chest moves as if breathing and her eyes follow her hands.

The museum's other collections cover fine arts, history, applied arts and numismatics, including the 1979 Amez-Droz bequest with works by Degas, Monet, Morisot and Renoir, a Ruckers harpsichord and historical models of the city.

Why it matters for watch collectors

The automata apply the mechanics of watchmaking, such as cams, gear trains and spring drives, on a spectacular scale, and the Writer's interchangeable program makes it an early programmable machine. They are also the heritage behind the luxury watch brand Jaquet Droz, now owned by the Swatch Group. For owners of its automaton watches, the originals show where the brand's identity comes from.

Visiting

The museum is at Esplanade Léopold-Robert 1, 2000 Neuchâtel. As of 2026, according to the official website:

• Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 11:00 am–6:00 pm, with some special openings and closures around holidays.
• Admission: adults CHF 12; Neuchâtel residents CHF 8; students, AVS pensioners and groups of 10 or more CHF 4; free for under-16s and on Wednesdays.
• Public demonstrations: first Sunday of each month at 2:00, 3:00 and 4:00 pm, included in admission and without booking, plus during the museum's Tuesday events.
• Private demonstrations: Tuesday to Sunday for groups of 5–30, led by a specialist watchmaker; CHF 120 for the first 10 people and CHF 10 per additional person, with interpreters on request.

The MIH in La Chaux-de-Fonds, which also displays Jaquet-Droz clocks and automata, makes a natural combination for a day in the region.

Related brands

• Jaquet Droz

Opening hours, prices and exhibitions change. Please check the official website before your visit.

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