Attracted by the profits made by manufacturing watch and clock components, a large number of farmers gave up agricultural pursuits in the 19th century and began manufacturing machines which allowed them to increase the production of components. The obsession with increasing production capacity pushed the inhabitants of the region to the heights of invention. Small factories sprang up manufacturing lathes, cutting tools or other machines, each ever more innovative than the last, but which still met the precise needs of watch and clock makers.

In the Franches-Montagnes region, one often hears of the Huot or Beaumann families, who came from Franche-Comté to set up in Les Bois to manufacture watch movement blanks or assortments. These two products were subsequently sold to an assortment factory, which is today owned by ETA.

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