Reuge.

The village of Sainte-Croix has been the center of the nascent music box industry since 1865.It was here that Charles Reuge opened in 1865 when he opened his first music shop for pocket watches in Saint Croix. A pioneer, he managed to turn on a musical cylinder and a miniature clockwork. These hours were just the beginning. In 1870, a German inventor created a music box for discs that made it easy to change the tune easily and frequently. In 1877, the phonograph was invented by Thomas Edison. In 1886, with the same enthusiasm as his father, Albert Reuge opened a music box workshop in Sainte-Croix. He quickly turned the family workshop into a small music box factory. At the forefront of the mechanical music industry, Reuge has incorporated mechanisms into the most incredible objects like compact powders and lighters. The last quarter of the 19th century experienced an unprecedented boom in mechanical music, fueled by the emergence of the Saint-Croix railway. Many Sainte-Croix brands were shown at universal exhibitions in Paris (1867), Philadelphia (1876) and Antwerp (1885). A dynasty dedicated to mechanical music was born and led by Guido Reuge for over sixty years. He was the driving force behind the business. Intuitive and innovative, he built the historic Sainte-Croix plant in 1930 and acquired several competing companies, making a real profit for Reuge. Through his vision, energy and artistry, he regained confidence in mechanical music. The advent of phonographs greatly destabilized the music box industry in the early 20th century. The difficulties created by the economic crisis of 1929 led to a division of the music box market: one segment consisted of low-cost mechanisms, mainly for children′s toys, and the other of complex mechanisms, finished like luxury items.In the 1960s, an important step towards diversification: Reuge decided to revive the singing birds and started producing and selling mechanical singing birds for Bontems in Paris in 1960 and Eschle in 1977. The Reuge Manufacture has built up its skills and leadership by developing many new tunes that set Reuge apart from its competitors. American soldiers returning home after World War II were the unwitting creators of this trend, bringing music boxes in their luggage, a symbol of victory and a new life that is about to begin. Thus, it was then that there was a great deal of interest in small Swiss music boxes on the other side of the Atlantic.Today Reuge is the only true master of mechanical music; art that Reuge has decisively directed into the 21st century.When the mp3 player was developed, the passion for luxury mechanical items remained intact and sustained. Ultimately, it was modern design that was to become the source of their new life. The Reuge philosophy can be summarized in a few words:tradition - quality - exclusivity - modernity - creativityReuge′s ambitious mission is to bring the music box back into the limelight with luxurious and exclusive music gifts.