As summer invites us to slow down, the Centre Horloger de Provence offers watch enthusiasts a stopover devoted to discovery, transmission and conviviality. In Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue, Roy Baierlein and his team have brought together a selection of antique and contemporary timepieces that is certainly worth the detour.
On this page
A place entirely devoted to watchmaking
Founded by Roy Baierlein, the Centre Horloger de Provence is far more than a shop. Since 1983, this master watchmaker trained at the École Nationale d’Horlogerie de Cluses has devoted himself to the restoration, repair, manufacture and transmission of watchmaking expertise. Housed in the former Moulin de Valobre, the Centre brings together technical workshops, a training space, a shop and a substantial private collection.
Passion Horlogère knows this singular place well, where wristwatches sit alongside pendulum clocks, antique clocks, automatons and mechanical instruments. At Roy Baierlein’s, watchmaking is discovered as much through the objects themselves as through conversations with those who maintain them and bring them back to life.
A few beautiful stories to discover
For this summer selection, the Centre Horloger de Provence notably highlights a Seiko Speedtimer fitted with the famous calibre 7A28, considered the first analogue quartz chronograph movement produced in series. An important piece for understanding the technological revolution experienced by the watch industry in the early 1980s.
It is accompanied by a Breitling Avenger Skyland driven by the calibre Breitling 13, a sporty Tutima Pacific Automatic Day-Date, an imposing Bulova automatic chronograph, and even a surprising Cobra fitted with a Russian Poljot 2612 mechanical movement with an alarm function.
Lovers of classic elegance may also linger before a timeless Must de Cartier as well as a delicate mechanical Zenith dressed in a lizard strap signed Camille Fournet. These few pieces are but a glimpse of the hundred or so watches currently on display in the shop.
An invitation to step through the door
The visit, however, is not limited to admiring the display cases. Roy Baierlein and his team invite enthusiasts, collectors or simply the curious to come and take the time for a coffee, a glass of water and, above all, a watchmaking conversation.
The museum space, recently enriched with new pieces, may also be opened to visitors who have a little time. As for the deliberately impossible-to-remember password mentioned with humour in the Centre’s invitation, it fortunately should not be required at the door…
In a sector sometimes dominated by commercial considerations, the Centre Horloger de Provence reminds us that watchmaking remains above all a matter of craftsmanship, heritage, encounters and passion. An excellent reason to plan a stop in Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue over the summer.
Centre Horloger de Provence
100, chemin du Barrage
84320 Entraigues-sur-la-Sorgue
Tel.: 04 90 82 99 11
Usually open Tuesday to Saturday, from 10 h to 12 h and from 14 h to 19 h.
Leave a Reply