By Rehaut 1775 | Reporting checked September 16, 2026
Ulysse Nardin's private museum in Le Locle, Switzerland, was burglarized at approximately 3 a.m. on September 14, 2026. The brand's public appeal identifies three missing heritage pieces: an 1860 pocket watch, a 1927 Grande Complication pocket watch and a Genghis Khan wristwatch from 2002. The incident is documented in the Neuchâtel police statement and Ulysse Nardin's official appeal.
For collectors, the news raises a question that goes beyond identifying the missing watches: what do we lose when objects that document watchmaking history disappear from a museum collection?
Police describe a forced-entry burglary. Several individuals entered the museum and broke display cases. An alarm brought a security company to the building, but the entry point was not immediately found. The theft was discovered approximately an hour later, and police were notified. Investigators are examining why the initial response did not detect the break-in. A criminal investigation was opened, according to the official September 14 release.
Ulysse Nardin subsequently confirmed that its team members were safe and asked the watch community to circulate its appeal. The brand described three heritage pieces as being among the stolen items. That wording matters: the public identification of three watches should not be treated as confirmation of the complete stolen inventory.
The publicly identified pieces span more than 140 years of watchmaking. Their dates and names appear in the brand's appeal, with additional descriptions reported by WatchPro and Montres-de-luxe.
The earliest identified piece is an 1860 pocket watch with a twin-barrel movement, an eight-day power reserve and its original Grand Feu enamel dial. Those details give collectors several reasons to pay attention: the movement's approach to storing energy, the survival of its original dial and the opportunity to examine an early chapter of the manufacture's work.
The 1927 pocket watch combines a minute repeater, chronograph, perpetual calendar and moon-phase display in an 18-karat gold hunter case. Bringing those functions together makes it a particularly rich object for studying the relationship between mechanical complexity and traditional pocket-watch construction. Its significance lies in the complete surviving object, including the way its movement, case and indications were designed to work together.
The Genghis Khan represents a later chapter of Ulysse Nardin's complicated watchmaking. It combines a tourbillon, minute repeater, Westminster carillon and moving jacquemart figures. WatchPro describes figures synchronized with the chimes. That combination gives the watch a theatrical character: sound and mechanical animation are central to the experience of observing it.
Ulysse Nardin was founded in 1846 and celebrates its 180th anniversary in 2026. Its museum and archives occupy the historic rue du Jardin building, the manufacture's headquarters since 1865, according to Le Journal des Arts.
From Rehaut 1775's collector perspective, a museum watch is a physical source of knowledge. Its construction, finishing and condition allow questions to be investigated directly. Photographs and descriptions help preserve a record, but access to the object makes it possible to examine details that an image may miss.
The loss also gives collectors a reason to think carefully about provenance: the documented history of an individual watch. A model name identifies a design; photographs, identifying numbers, service records and ownership documents help establish which particular example is being discussed. Keeping those records together is part of responsible collecting.
This emphasis on understanding individual watches also informs our guide to what makes a watch worth collecting.
Ulysse Nardin has asked collectors and enthusiasts to share its official appeal and identification photographs. Use those images when checking a possible sighting, rather than relying on a similar-looking example of the same model.
Neuchâtel police are seeking information about suspicious people, vehicles or behavior in Le Locle between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on September 14, 2026. The number in the police witness appeal is +41 32 889 90 00.
If a listing appears relevant, preserve its URL, photographs and date, and pass the information to investigators. A visual resemblance is a lead to assess; it does not establish that a seller possesses one of the stolen watches.
Three heritage pieces have been publicly identified. The brand describes them as being among the stolen items, so its appeal should not be read as a complete inventory.
No confirmed combined valuation appears in the reports reviewed through September 16, 2026. Their rarity and historical significance do not justify assigning an unsupported monetary estimate. Crown & Caliber's report also notes the absence of a police valuation.
The sources reviewed for this article do not confirm a recovery as of September 16, 2026. Readers should check the police and brand announcements linked above for subsequent developments.
Cover photograph: Ulysse Nardin museum interior, Le Locle. © Ulysse Nardin, via Le Journal des Arts. The photograph is a museum view, not a photograph of the break-in.
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