L'Epée 1839 is Switzerland's only manufacture to specialize exclusively in the production of high-end clocks. Founded in 1839 by Auguste L'Epée in Saint Suzanne, France, the Manufacture originally produced music boxes and horological components before evolving into the world's leading maker of platform escapements — reaching a record 200,000 units per year by 1889, and earning gold awards at World Fairs in Paris, Vienna, Hanoi, and the United States. In 1976, L'Epée participated in a landmark aeronautical project: fitting wall clocks into the first commercial flights of the Concorde supersonic aircraft — the only clocks ever installed in a civil supersonic airliner. The Manufacture reoriented to luxury clockmaking in the 1970s, and in 1981, one hundred L'Epée clocks in Hermès leather cases were gifted to guests at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. In 1994, L'Epée unveiled the Giant Regulator — the largest clock in the world according to the Guinness Book of Records, measuring 2.20 m tall and weighing 1.2 tons — unveiled at the Louvre in Paris. Today, L'Epée 1839 is celebrated for its kinetic horological sculptures: avant-garde table clocks that defy convention, featuring tourbillons, perpetual calendars, retrograde mechanisms, and striking complications — all designed and manufactured in-house.
L'Epée 1839
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1839
Auguste L'Epée founds the Manufacture in Saint Suzanne, France, producing music boxes and horological components — beginning a legacy that spans 185 years.
1889
L'Epée reaches a record production of 200,000 platform escapements per year, and wins gold awards at the World Fairs in Paris, Vienna, Hanoi, and the United States.
1976
L'Epée fits wall clocks into the first commercial flights of the Concorde supersonic aircraft — the only clocks ever installed in a supersonic civil airliner.
1981
One hundred L'Epée clocks in fitted Hermès leather cases are gifted to important guests at the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.
1994
L'Epée unveils the Giant Regulator — the largest clock in the world per the Guinness Book of Records: 2.20 m tall, 1.2 tons, 2,800 hours of work — unveiled at the Louvre in Paris.
2014
For its 175th anniversary, L'Epée 1839 launches the Creative Art Line with the Starfleet Machine — a collaboration with MB&F that inaugurates a celebrated series of kinetic horological sculptures.
2023
The Time Fast II Chrome wins the GPHG award in the mechanical clocks category at the Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie de Genève.
2024
L'Epée 1839 and MB&F co-create the Albatross — their 15th and most ambitious collaboration, continuing one of independent watchmaking's most celebrated creative partnerships.
