In and around Geneva, Switzerland (more watch facilities, mystery business) Part 2

I'm on the outskirts of Geneva and 10 years ago when I cycled around here it was pretty barren except for some watch companies opening production/headquarters. Piaget had built this eye catching watch facility.   

Side view of Piaget facility. Lots of glass as watchmakers like natural light. 

Backside view of Piaget. 

Ten years ago this building for watchmaker Frederique Constant sat all alone. See those buildings behind it?  Now there are a half dozen similar office buildings behind it.

Ten years ago this modernistic structure for high-end watchmaker Vacheron Constantin was just built with two more buildings to the left under construction. 

Now the two mini-me buildings to the left are finished.

Trivia: Vacheron Constantin is the oldest continuously operating watch manufacturer in the world since its founding in 1755. 

Ten years ago this area was in the boondocks. Now, it's full of buildings. Five years ago a new tram line to Geneva city center was built. 

That building on the left is Harry Winston, the famous jeweler.  The company also makes watches containing lots of jewels. Harry Winston is owned by the Swatch Group. 

This building complex intrigues me. It's relatively new with no signage. Visitors can't just walk onto the property unless the gate is opened.

Being the nosy guy I am, if it was a weekday I would press the intercom near the gate and ask what they  do. I'm almost 100% sure they wouldn't tell me. 

Switzerland is home to many secretive companies.  

These two buildings are physically connected to the red building in the previous photo. What the heck goes on there as inquiring minds want to know?

This is the tall building seen in previous photo. Look at all those security cameras at the top and bottom.

Hmm, I might have to come back during a weekday. What would I do?  First, I would go to neighboring businesses and ask around if anyone knows what goes on there. 

I might hang around the sidewalk across the street from the red building and ask people passing by or exiting the building if they know what goes on in the three connected buildings.

What are my guesses?  Several blocks away there's a Lamborghini dealership and also a Ferrari dealership.  Maybe it's a car storage facility.  With lots of watch factories around it could warehouse for a precious metals company.

It could also be home for an armored truck service (like Brinks in the USA). This would be easy to confirm just by hanging out across from the entrance and watching for armored trucks entering or leaving.  

 

I'm back in Geneva's center and always like passing the city's beautiful opera house. 

In and around Geneva, Switzerland (sweets, Ft. Knox, Patek Philippe, Rolex) Part 1

It's Sunday morning and I'm heading to the outskirts of Geneva to see if watch companies have built any new additions to their factories. Back in 2002/03/04 I visited the head offices of over 100 watch and watch related companies in Switzerland. Many times head offices and factories were located in different parts of the city/country. 

Ten years ago (on a Sunday) I cycled around an area of Geneva where a slew of watch companies had built new factories. I'm back to see if any new additions were added.

Every time I'm in Geneva I make it a point to visit one of Guillaume Bichet's pastry shops (he has a half dozen). Why? Many patisseries have the same selections of sweets (that's not a bad thing) but Bichet is always changing his offerings. 
 

Strawberries are coming into season and I've been sampling the offerings of various pastry shops to see who has the best strawberry tart. 

On the left is a mocha tart and the right a strawberry something. Both get the thumbs down. 

Under those balls of whipped cream on the mocha tart is a cake-like filling and the shell is not crispy. 

There's also a cake-like filling under the strawberries---kind of like strawberry shortcake. Not so good. A strawberry tart to me has a thin crispy shell, filled with a creamy vanilla custard, then a mixture of strawberries and LOTS of whipped cream on top.

Wow, that tall green building is the head office of Rolex and wasn't there when I visited the company back in 2002. 

Over the past few years Rolex has been marketing Tudor, their second tier brand, like crazy. This building with the Tudor name atop is new and sits behind the tall green building in previous photo. 

I'm standing next to a busy road a half-dozen miles from central Geneva. See that block long unassuming boring looking building with "Ports Francs" atop?  

What if I told you more than $100 billion dollars worth of art, precious metals, jewelry, wine, cars and who knows what are stored inside. 

It has been said it's the most secure facility in Europe. There's a million square feet of storage space. The average size of a Costco warehouse is 146,000 square feet. Do the math. 

Here's a closer look at the entrance. Two different sets of cheap-looking fencing. Big deal. No armed guards in a guard hut. Doesn't look too daunting to me if I was a bad dude looking to break-in.

So, let's say the Mona Lisa was put up for auction and I snagged it paying $500 million. I could have it shipped here and have it put in storage for a possible sale in the future. Since it's considered "in transit"  I don't have to pay custom duties or tax liabilities until it leaves the warehouse which could be years. 

 

This grey building if you look past the unsightly trash dumpsters has the word "art" on the door.  It has been said it holds the "greatest art collection that nobody gets to see". 

The company dates back to 1849 and has been involved in quite a few incidents involving antiquities trading and money laundering.  Oh, and by the way, who is the majority owner of this business?  The Canton of Geneva. Cantons are similar to states in the USA.  

Go to Wikipedia and type in Geneva Freeport to read more about its fascinating past. 

Patek Philippe and Rolex are considered top dogs in the world of watches. 

I visited Patek Philippe back in 1996 and 2003 and received an excellent reception.  You can read the stories by going to www.corporatetrivia.com, then clicking on the "watches and chocolate" heading. 

Looking through a fence I can see their 15th century chateau is still intact. Patek Philippe inherited the chateau when buying the property. It was renovated and is used for receptions.

Snapped this through a fence. Patek Philippe has created a campus-like setting.  

This is a new Patek building. In the distance can you see that half circle metal sculpture? It's a 4-story tall stainless steel balance spring.  

This is the full shot of the new Patek building in the previous photo.  Big doings had been going on because where you enter into this gate used to be a long white two-story building. They tore it down and I bet there's now a large underground parking facility.

This was an old addition and is connected to Patek Philippe's head office building.

When I visited Patek Philippe back in 2003 Rolex was putting the finishing touches on a massive three building production facility--right next door to its rival. 

That's Rolex on the left and Patek Philippe on the right with a public sidewalk separating the two. 

This is the Rolex three building complex. 

In and around Lake Gruyere, Switzerland (bingo mania, wallpaper museum) Part 2

It's around one o'clock and I stop in this farming village to eat a sandwich. Next to me is this outside flea market (brocante translates into flea market).

Ever watch that show called American Pickers? It has been running for about 15 years. It's about two guys traversing the USA going through people's attics, barns etc... looking for "junk" to buy.

This place would be right up their alley as the guys love to buy vintage signs. 

Several chickens are wandering the grounds--don't know if they're guard chickens. 

Anyway, as I'm eating my sandwich all these cars start pulling up and parking all over the place. I see mostly older women getting out and heading somewhere. Where could they be going? I'm assuming something is going on at nearby church as it's usually the social center of these villages.

I ask a passing woman and find out bingo is on the agenda.  I decide to follow the crowd.

This building houses a bar and restaurant and it's where bingo will take place.  So, can you see the two women going inside?  Entering requires climbing about a half-dozen stairs to the restaurant and bar on the first level.

To reach the bingo hall on the second level one has to navigate these stairs. I mention this because unlike in the USA, the Swiss have no laws mandating disability access such as ramps and elevators.  

Instead of dinner followed by going to a movie--- here it's lunch followed by bingo. 

This is the room where the magic happens. It's set to start in about a half-hour. The dining room and bar the floor below are packed and I'm sure they'll soon be high-tailing it up the stairs. 

This is an overflow room. The whole place seems to be comprised of 90% women. I hope they have fun!  Would like to know how much prize money is involved. 

Right next to bingo hall is this field with a half-dozen horses with their foals (babies). See the foal with the momma? I held out my hand and the curious foal came within inches of my hand before bolting back to momma as a guy came walking by with his large dog. Jeez, I thought maybe I had the makings of horse whisperer. 

After leaving bingo mania I'm cycling down the road a few miles and spot this spiffy-looking chateau. The plaque at the entrance says something about a "musee du papier peint".  Seeing the front door open I check it out.

I ask the cashier if this is a museum about writing paper. I'm way off. It's a wallpaper museum. 

The chateau dates back to the 16th century. In 1756 the place was purchased by the Diesbach family. In the 1770's wallpaper became incredibly fashionable in Europe, especially in Paris. When a new wing was added to the chateau in 1787-1789 wallpaper was used throughout. 

That such a collection survived intact is very unusual. 

So, we're talking wallpaper almost 250 years old.

Back then wallpaper wasn't made by a machine. 

Dresser drawers and trunks were lined with wallpaper.

I would call this my favorite.

This is the backside of the chateau. It's much bigger than it looks from the front. 

In and around Lake Gruyere, Switzerland (failed golf resort) Part 1

I've been cycling for about an hour and can see today's destination in the distance: Lake Gruyere.  

Back in 1948 a dam was built (Rossens Dam) on the Sarine River and Lake Gruyere was formed. It's about a 30 mile bike ride around the lake.

Right next door to the previous photo I'm looking at this dairy farmhouse complex with a self-service shop on the right. They live upstairs and below is where the magic happens. Someone is in there producing who knows what (cheese, milk, ice cream). The cows are in the field on the left (out of the picture).  

I check out the offerings in the self-service store. Lots of cheese, milk, yogurt and even ice cream. A passing jogger says they make the best cheese for fondue. 

Whoa, this sign looks really familiar. 

I've seen this sign before. About 10 years ago an ad similar to this ran periodically in the Financial Times newspaper. Besides an 18 hole golf course, spa and multiple restaurants a Hyatt-branded hotel with something like 80 rooms was to be built. Better check the place out. 

Coming down the entrance drive it looks like the place has been abandoned. Peeking in windows I see the place empty of all furnishings. Hmm, I decided to check out the backside

Wow, great view of the lake from the backside of the building.

The place looks like it has been left to rot. On the left was evidently the main dining room and is barren of all furnishings. 

Diners would enjoy great views. What the heck happened? 

I do some online sleuthing and from what I can gather the resort is owned by a Chinese businessman and it's up for sale. The Hyatt hotel didn't pan out and guess it was later changed to building apartments and selling them--which never came to fruition.

The fairway greens seem to have been freshly cut and putting greens in reasonable shape--in the distance you can see several sand traps. What gives? More sleuthing reveals the answer. The Chinese businessman evidently defaulted on a loan from a local bank. The bank is paying for minimal grounds upkeep to make it look more pleasing to potential buyers rather than letting it fall into disrepair.

This is the church you saw in an earlier photo. The golf course is on the other side of the road to the right.  These are the tee areas for the driving range.

Not too keen about this driving range. When I go to a driving range I like to whack the ball and watch it continue rolling. Here, it's a steep uphill and might just roll back. 

Saw these woodcarvings outside a home.  I wonder if they bought them or if they were carved by the owner

Was a chainsaw used or was it all chipped away with wood carving tools.  

Passing through the village of Corbieres (population 900) I spot this medieval structure. Better take a closer look.

It's a large complex and I'm thinking it's a monastery.

Nope, it's Corbieres Castle also known as Baillival Castle. Back in medieval times a bailiff (similar to a sheriff) was a position of immense power and usually resided in fancy digs.