, circa 1889, with a specimen of
morning glory engraved in the dust cover by using the
tapisserie technique. The core of the museum collection is made up of several important legacies: • The Collection Maurice Yves Sandoz; the collection is particularly rich in Swiss-made
automatons from the 18th and 19th century, many including
mechanical music or singing bird automatons. • The Collection Henri Jeanmaire; the strength of this collection is the marquetry clock cases by
Charles André Boulle in the
Louis XIV era. • The Collection Alfred Huguenin, focusing on the history of the Neuchâtel style pendule. In these three specialized areas of horological history, several of the exhibited pieces are among the best specimens globally that are on display to the public. On the ground floor there also is a highly concentrated comprehensive technical history of the
watch movement. The museum features also a small auditorium where a video presentation allows visitors to witness the exhibited
automatons in action. The park-like garden features several sundials and larger, sculptural clocks, including a replica of the
Elephant clock of
al-Jazari. At most times there is at least one additional temporary exhibition on a horological theme. The museum has an excellent horological library, incorporating the research archives of the Swiss horological scholar and historian Alfred Chapuis, and the former library of the French horological author
Tardy. The library is open for horological scholars by appointment only. ==Events==