hen your father is at the head of a company that supplies high-end watch brands, there’s every chance you will follow in his footsteps. Fanny Queloz recalls growing up in La Chaux-de-Fonds, inheriting her father’s passion in a landscape of “mountains and fir trees, a world to feel at home in.” She remembers time spent in the company’s workshops, watching and learning, discovering the different techniques with a child’s enthusiasm.

Ultimately, though, she would choose a different direction, combining business studies with another of her passions, equestrian sports, competing at the highest level for the Swiss elite showjumping team. Even so, La Chaux-de-Fonds was never far away and alongside a successful sporting career, Fanny Queloz returned regularly to the family business, where she trained in decorative techniques under the watchful eye of the company’s master artisans. She continued to progress, both in the saddle and at the workbench, until 2018 when she joined the company full-time.

The pandemic would force her to change her plans. After the family firm shut down, Fanny — together with her brother Julien and backed by Valérien Jaquet, founder and CEO of Concepto group — set up Arts & Design Manufacture, in order to “safeguard skills, jobs and start afresh.” This was a difficult climate in which to launch a new venture but, as the energetic entrepreneur says, “the majority of our clients stood by us. In 2020 we were a team of five but business picked up. We have expanded our expertise and employed more artisans. We’re now a team of twenty.”

Fanny Queloz

Specialists in high-end decoration, especially hand-engraving, Arts & Design Manufacture puts its skills to work on watch cases, as well as components, dials and objets d’art. “We provide a bespoke, artisanal service. We do everything by hand,” notes Fanny Queloz, who hasn’t forgotten her early days and confesses to having questioned whether she was cut out for such meticulous work.

“I was lucky enough to have a master engraver, Mr Robert, a gentleman with more than 35 years’ experience, as my teacher. Once I got started, there was no going back.” The company continues to develop its services, in micro-engraving, micro-sculpture, mosaic, micro-painting and ceramic, and Fanny Queloz is personally involved in ensuring these skills are passed to new generations. “It’s a mission I’ve set myself for the simple reason it’s how I found my direction in life. We are a small family business and we work with the Applied Arts unit at the Centre de Formation Professionnelle Neuchâtelois training centre in La Chaux-de-Fonds, so that young people who have completed their Certificat Fédéral de Capacité in engraving can discover more about these wonderful professions and experience the satisfaction of decorating beautiful haute horlogerie pieces.”

About the GPHG Academy

Created in 2020, the Academy of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) now has more than 1,000 members, accomplished men and women who believe in the shared destiny of the watchmaking community. As experienced and significant players in the main sectors linked to the watch industry, Academy members take part in the various stages of the GPHG by nominating candidates and then selecting the winners alongside the Jury.