In 1865 Charles Reuge founded the firm of the same name, specialising in the manufacture of mechanical pocket watches fitted with musical movements, in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland.
Twenty-one years later in 1886, his son Albert opened a musical box workshop there. He soon converted the family workshop into a prosperous local factory that eventually became a small plant producing musical parts.
Guido Reuge, the founder's grandson, took over the firm in 1930 and headed it up for 60 years. He also bought out a large number of competing businesses.
In 1960, the firm took a decisive step in the direction of singing birds. Over the next fifteen years, Reuge learned the trade by merging with companies specialising in this craft. In 1988, the family firm was taken over by a group of Swiss investors, who provided it with the necessary resources to enable it to achieve a new stage in its growth.
Today, Reuge blends its traditional expertise in mechanical musical automatons with modern material technology in order to meet the demands of its clients — connoisseurs seeking customised objets d’art.
