Josef Gunzinger was born in Welschenrohr, Solothurn, Switzerland on March 23, 1892, and died on May 1, 1970 in Heiligenschwendi.
In 1962, he was made "citizen of honor" of the town where he was born.
Son of Melchior Gunzinger, watchmaker, and Elizabeth Allemann.
Married in 1920 to Rosalia Allemann, a household skills teacher.
Upon his apprentiship as a watchmaker in his father’s workshop, he went to La Chaux-de-Fonds for a one-year furthering of his skills.