A New Name for the Same – but different – Blog

If you find the above title confusing, welcome to what it’s been like in my head over the past few months. Hopefully, you will find the outcome of my thought process and what is coming next to make sense.

As of now, “Made in Bienne – a watch fan in the city of watchmaking” becomes “Time Files – a watch blog made in Bienne.”  The URL is no longer madeinbienne.ch but timefiles.ch (it will redirect as needed). The Instagram handle becomes @timefiles.ch. The articles published under the previous blog name will remain fully accessible, under the new domain. 

Why the change?

When I started “Made in Bienne” four years ago, I wanted to share the amazing watch life I discovered on a daily basis in my new home city. Over time, as I met more people in the watch world, I also came across fascinating things happening in other parts of Switzerland. I wanted to write about them too. After a long period of hesitation, I eventually ran a poll on Instagram earlier this year. 76% of those who voted (maybe you were one of them?) were in favor of the content including other parts of the Swiss watch landscape. That was the tipping point.

With some regret, I quickly concluded the new concept needed a new name. My passion is in showing the people and places that make the industry, what’s happening behind the scenes, behind the watch. I aim to write articles that are still relevant a few months, even a few years later. The name “Time Files” resonated with me to express that approach. I am a bit worried that in an autocorrect world, the play on word around “time flies” might backfire, but you have to live dangerously sometimes I guess, a bit like that heroic time I sat in a hot tub with my Speedmaster on the wrist.

Still made in Bienne

Keeping “Made in Bienne” in the tagline was a no-brainer. The identity, credibility, and strength of the blog as it develops are rooted in it being written in the cradle of watchmaking. I expect about one third of the content moving forward to remain Bienne-focused, and the rest being split between the broader region (St Imier, Grenchen, La Chaux-de-Fonds, etc.), the Vallée-de-Joux, Geneva, and Schaffhausen.

The tone and angle will remain the same. I do want to go deeper on one feature that I started to develop earlier this year: suppliers. There is so much to learn and show about those who make or transform key parts of the watch before they reach the brands. I also want to talk more about the different people who make the watch world, sometimes without working directly on a watch themselves. The next article will be about just that.

Thank yous

I hope you like the new blog design. A huge thank you to Ludovic and Babacar for their work on “v2.”  The design will continue to improve over time. Apologies in advance for any glitch you might encounter during this transition phase. In a similar vein, in an effort to improve the quality of the photography in future articles, I recently had the pleasure of working with a talented Paris-based photographer who happens to be my sister, Jeanne. I think you will appreciate the difference in the first article with her pictures, coming this week.

I am extremely grateful for all the support, feedback, and collaborations since I started the initial blog in 2020. The list is far from exhaustive but people I would like to especially thank include Luigi B, Alexis N, Julien S, Marc M, Félix R, Dario R, Marine L and of course my family, both for helping out and bearing with me while I do this as a personal passion project. And to everyone who’s been a reader, follower, newsletter subscriber or engaged in any other way or form, a warm thank you for being part of the journey so far. I’m excited to continue it all together, trying to share the beautiful intricacies of the Swiss watch world, from Bienne.