The town of La Chaux-de-Fonds, and the nearby smaller town of Le Locle, in origin agricultural towns, developed economic expansion during the 18th century through the clock and watch making industry, which originated from the city of Geneva.
During the 19th century the watch making industry became the leading industry in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The city of La Chaux-de-Fonds was expanded in 1835 with a new city plan laid out as a grid. At the end of the 19th century the manufacturing of watches was restructured from decentralized workshop production to the mechanized mass production, through the interchangeability of parts and standardisation of production process, making La Chaux-de-Fonds a center of production and trade in the watch industry.
Today, Switzerland still remains one of the world's largest watch manufacturers.
The architect Le Corbusier and the carmaker Louis Joseph Chevrolet were born in La Chaux-de-Fonds.