A close-up and personal visit of a musical legend

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A close-up and personal visit of a musical legend - Reuge
4 minutes read
Reuge continues patiently fine-tuning two centuries of musical tradition in its Sainte-Croix workshops. The venerable House is entering the 21st century with a range of fascinating new twists in its enduring tale. We share a few of them here.

First you have to drive down to a few kilometres south of La Côte-aux-Fées and take the scenic Jura route, before climbing to an altitude of 1,100 metres while negotiating an impressive number of bends in the road leading to a town that definitely takes some effort to reach!

Once there, however, the view is simply breathtaking, both literally and in terms of the vision it affords of local history – which is of course inseparably bound up with that of music boxes for two centuries, since the first factory of this type was established there in 1814. 200 years on, Reuge remains the worthiest representative of this noble tradition.

Discretion cast to the winds

Stepping inside Reuge means immersing oneself in those 200 years of history. Despite its growing success, the music box manufacturer has not allowed itself to be swept away by the wave of success. There is no “management car park”, no monumental chandeliers, no hordes of staff waiting to pounce on visitors. Instead, the latter are personally greeted by the hyperactive CEO, Kurt Kupper.

This warm and friendly individual has indeed every reason to be cheerful, since his dynamic impetus has propelled Reuge firmly into the 21st century through collaborative endeavours with such well-known names as Lancôme, Ferrari, Vertu and MB&F. Within a very short period of time, this burgeoning star-system has clustered around and naturally widened the historical core of the Reuge customer portfolio, hitherto mainly composed of governments and private institutions. In a nutshell, the formerly highly discreet Reuge, traditionally present in the highest spheres, has opened up to a broader audience that is eagerly snapping up its creations.

 

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Profession? Cheesemaker – blacksmith

Nonetheless, nothing has really changed at Reuge. The same passion continues to fuel the work of all 60 staff members. Didier is a perfect example. This tirelessly enthusiastic man works on building music box combs and flits from one workshop to another like a youthful apprentice who has been offered his dream job. Except that he joined the firm 32 years ago… “I was drawn to Reuge by my passion for this field and I learned everything from scratch, made my own tools and developed my own techniques”, he says. “I design, shape and prepare the combs one by one with my own hands”. A quick glance at Didier’s workshop confirms the truth of that statement: there is definitely no CNC machinery here or even the slightest trace of electronics. All his machines are more than 50 years old and proudly flaunt their resolutely mechanical nature. The 21st century has not yet crossed the threshold of Didier’s den, and he’s in no rush to allow it in. “I have to actually touch the material; otherwise I can’t feel how it reacts – its heat, its intensity and its flexibility”. Try teaching that in micromechanics classes….

 

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A musical ear

Wandering through the labyrinths of the historical Reuge building, one soon becomes aware of a common denominator between all staff members: their keen sense of tunefulness. “I work here because I’ve learned to do just about anything and because I have a musical ear” is the kind of comment commonly heard in the various assembly, poising, tuning and finishing workshops. Even when standing next to a machine operating at full speed, you will always hear the sound of a few notes at Reuge. One artisan is busy adjusting a comb, another is fitting a cylinder, and yet another is conducting a quality control: music is everywhere at Reuge.

 

"Il faut ici savoir être plumassier, régleur, accordeur et rhabilleur..."

This universal musical score is performed by a number of professions. Clothing a music box movement in the appropriate exterior is doubtless the phase most symptomatic of the need for such a variety of skills. Unlike with timepieces, this process means being a plumassier (ornamental feather artist), precision timer, ‘piano’ tuner and repairer all in one. “We are all versatile,” says Bertrand, who is busy assembling a songbird automaton. “From snuffboxes to watches as well as presentation chests, we never do the same thing twice and you have to be aware of the specific characteristics of each model.”

 

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New presentation boxes and bulldozers

Speaking of models, Reuge has never before had as many as it now does. “We made 66 Music Machine 1 with MB&F, and all were sold. We are currently finishing 99 MM2s, and almost all of them also sold out within just a few days, which means we are now busy with the MM3,” is the almost apologetic explanation proffered by CEO Kurt Kupper, now a victim of his own success.

So how does the future look for Reuge? On an internal level, the modest firm has finally decided to treat itself to new premises – located as ever in Sainte-Croix, the legendary stronghold of the music box. Bulldozers are currently at work in preparing a new setting for a company that offers its customers such a stunning variety of finely crafted marquetry boxes.

 

"Luxe, exclusivité et sur-mesure"

As far as projects are concerned, Kurt Kupper is sticking firmly to his road map, as Reuge remains firmly geared towards luxury, exclusiveness and bespoke creations. It soon hopes to be ready to unveil one-of-a-kind creations developed for extra-special clients, and one can only hope the latter will be prepared to reveal some of their treasures.

 

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