Craftsmanship

THE WATCH FILES

Craftsmanship

Piaget: the art of bringing stone to life

Piaget: the art of bringing stone to life

The Ateliers de l’Extraordinaire are at the heart of Piaget’s creations, embodying the Maison’s philosophy of “artisanal intelligence”. Rémi Jomard, (…)

How Hermès created two new decorative crafts in leather

How Hermès created two new decorative crafts in leather

At the heart of the Hermès Horloger leather atelier in Brügg, in the canton of Bern, six craftspeople have mastered two entirely new decorative arts: (…)

Bonniksen: the birth of a handcrafted watch – and a new independent brand

Driven by the Time Æon Foundation with the support of Greubel Forsey, the fourth chapter of the Naissance d’une Montre programme will not only culminate in (…)

Rexhep Rexhepi: craftsman and king of Geneva's Old Town

Rexhep Rexhepi: craftsman and king of Geneva’s Old Town

It is difficult today to walk through the heart of Geneva’s Old Town, along the Grand-Rue that runs through it, without stopping to admire the artisans at (…)

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Awake: raising awareness through the beauty of craft

Awake: raising awareness through the beauty of craft

A new logo, a permanent collection and a mission to make artistic crafts more accessible: Awake has come a long way since its Kickstarter debut in 2019. Yet (…)

Debora Martinez: the new wave of miniature painting

Debora Martinez: the new wave of miniature painting

Her name is beginning to circulate among collectors, gradually breaking through a particularly enduring code of silence. Today, miniature enamel painter (…)

Jaquet Droz: nothing but the unique, nothing but art

Jaquet Droz: nothing but the unique, nothing but art

Under the leadership of CEO Alain Delamuraz, Jaquet Droz is undergoing a profound transformation. The maison no longer seeks merely to produce watches, but (…)

Laurent Jolliet, chain maker and master of twisted wire

Laurent Jolliet, chain maker and master of twisted wire

Geneva-based Laurent Jolliet practices a rare craft: chain making. Without computers or binocular microscopes, the artisan handcrafts metal bracelets and (…)

Jeanne-Valentine Ulrich and the art of contemporary watch engraving

Jeanne-Valentine Ulrich and the art of contemporary watch engraving

As engraving techniques enjoy a resurgence in watchmaking, one name stands out: Jeanne-Valentine Ulrich. Trained in La Chaux-de-Fonds and later at Vacheron (…)

Globe Sauter & Cie: the Earth, handcrafted

Globe Sauter & Cie: the Earth, handcrafted

In Besançon, the emblematic city of watchmaking, a manufacture is bringing back to life a vanished craft: the artisanal making of terrestrial globes. (…)

Ferdinand Berthoud: birth and rebirth

Ferdinand Berthoud: birth and rebirth

Coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the resurrection of an illustrious name, the team at Chronométrie Ferdinand Berthoud presented the third opus in (…)

All too human

All too human

Aprosthetic limb worn by a soldier, possibly an officer, of the First World War.

The infinite hand

The infinite hand

In his essay In Praise of the Hand,1 Professor Claude Verdan (1909 – 2006) writes that “the brain is the principal organ of every evolved individual. It is (…)

The second life of hand-finishing

The second life of hand-finishing

There is something astir in contemporary watchmaking. Spearheaded by the likes of Philippe Dufour, hand-finishing is back in the spotlight. Exceptional (…)

Hermès: “Craftsmanship knows no limits”

Hermès: “Craftsmanship knows no limits”

An interview with Philippe Delhotal, Creative Director, Hermès Horloger.

Métiers d'art: out of the shadows, into the light

Métiers d’art: out of the shadows, into the light

Preservation of the métiers d’art has become a priority for the major names in contemporary watchmaking. Produced in limited quantities, these exceptional (…)

Homo sapiens or Homo faber?

Homo sapiens or Homo faber?

An initiative of the Michelangelo Foundation, established by Franco Cologni and Johann Rupert, the Homo Faber Biennial in Venice offers a remarkable (…)

Talking ‘bout the next generation

Talking ‘bout the next generation

Now, more than ever, the future of haute horlogerie is synonymous with artistic creativity, craftsmanship and technical virtuosity. The good news is that (…)

The forgotten workshop

The forgotten workshop

PORTFOLIO

Imagine a horological Pompei, buried not under volcanic ash but coated in decades of dust.

The Mill on the Col

The Mill on the Col

PORTFOLIO

A short distance from the watchmaking town of Le Locle, at the foot of a mountain pass that connects Switzerland and France, Moulins Souterrains du (…)

The Musician, the Third Thumb and the Exoskeleton

The Musician, the Third Thumb and the Exoskeleton

The human hand. Instrument of our intelligence, a legitimate obsession, we owe everything, or almost, to the hand. To mechanically reproduce its subtle (…)

What the hand knows

What the hand knows

“Watchmaking? A world where it is no longer clear whether it’s the brain guiding the hand, or the other way around. (…) Practice, practice, practice – until (…)

The return of the farmer-watchmaker

The return of the farmer-watchmaker

In 1964, documentary filmmaker Henry Brandt presented Les Hommes de la Montre. In it, Albert Bernet appears as the ultimate hero of a vanishing world: the (…)

The birth of intelligence

The birth of intelligence

The emergence of the opposable thumb, and with it the ability to grasp and manipulate objects, enabled humans to acquire intelligence such that they rapidly (…)