In the timepiece capital of the world, time may be running out for carbon-heavy imported steel thanks to a new solar-powered furnace.

Swiss firm Panatere has patented, and has now inaugurated, the world's first two solar foundries for melting down steel for reuse.

Consisting of 500 concave mirrors mounted on a heliostat that allows them to track the Sun, each is focused into furnace's chamber until it reaches 2,000 degrees Celsius. Heat like this can melt steel in 1.5 hours, all without any fossil fuels being burned.