a Praz is a quiet village of just over two hundred inhabitants, perched above the Vallée de Joux and enjoying an enviable view over Lake Geneva. It is here that Hugo Rittener, an independent automaton maker born in 1995, spent two years, together with his partner and parents, transforming a ruin adjoining the family home into a tailor-made workshop: two rooms of around fifteen square metres each, connected by a door, beneath a 2.40-metre ceiling.

The wall décor reveals the eclectic tastes of the master of the house. A Soviet poster celebrating post-war women workers hangs alongside a display bringing together a dozen hammers and, “for the sake of optimisation”, a printer suspended from the wall by two chains. A splendid 1957 Schaublin lathe brings colour to the workshop with its unmistakable pale-green finish, while a custom-built workbench, whose drawers were salvaged from an old hardware store in La Chaux-de-Fonds, supports several small milling machines.

At the back of the room, a first automaton—a seated Vincent van Gogh—greets visitors with a mischievous eye. Beside him sits a leather-covered wooden case with brass corners, which required around a hundred hours of work. Made according to the manual of a Parisian leather craftsman and using Louis Vuitton supplies, it houses Rittener’s latest automaton, Le Majordome, currently on display at the Hôtel des Horlogers in Le Brassus.

The second room houses the heavy machinery of the 1950s and 1960s, including a large milling machine and a Hauser jig borer capable of extremely fine tolerances. Tucked beneath the stairs is a discreet enameller’s kiln used for hardening steel.

“Fifteen years of savings” are concentrated within these walls. For the young independent maker Hugo Rittener, the investment feels entirely self-evident.

The wall décor reveals the eclectic tastes of the master of the house. A Soviet poster celebrating post-war women workers hangs alongside a display bringing together a dozen hammers and a printer suspended from the wall by two chains.

Europa Star: We came to talk about your automaton, Le Majordome, and instead find ourselves face to face with another highly intriguing piece, inspired by a Van Gogh painting...

Hugo Rittener: I was 15 or 16 when I discovered automata—the Jaquet-Droz Writers first, and then François Junod’s creations. Writing automata have always fascinated me. To me, they represent the ultimate expression of the traditional automaton, because they genuinely reproduce the gesture of someone writing. I made this one for myself. I would like to sell it, but in my eyes it is a unique piece.

According to François Junod, writing automata are among the most complex to design.

Absolutely. Bringing the writing cams to life by shaping them by hand is extremely painstaking: they control three axes simultaneously to form the letters. It is a skill that is very specific to automaton makers.

You also have two other automata on display here?

I made both of them entirely on my own. One cannot be sold yet because I am not fully satisfied with its reliability. The other was my self-portrait. I depicted myself in miniature—I can hardly imagine selling it!

Your latest mechanical creation, Le Majordome, represents years of study... and more than a thousand hours of production?

Roughly, yes. A good year’s work, not counting the stages I did not carry out myself. I am so passionate about this craft that I have always pursued my projects primarily for myself.

Today, working with François Junod gives you both economic stability and an extraordinary laboratory for ideas and learning.

I am incredibly fortunate. François is not at all bothered by my independent activity—quite the opposite. He is delighted to see young people striking out on their own and believing in it as strongly as he once did. He is willing to keep me on while I secure my first commissions.

On La Quête du Temps (read our article here, Ed.), there really were two of us. For three years, all we did was innovate. Le Majordome benefited from everything we learned and developed during that period. Tomorrow, perhaps one of my own projects will give me an idea worth sharing in return. It is an endless exchange. Even if I become 100% independent, I will continue collaborating with Sainte-Croix.

So your long-term goal is to devote yourself entirely to your own creations?

Yes. Eventually, I would even like to establish an entity capable of producing an object while controlling the entire chain, without relying on subcontractors. Almost like a brand. The world of automata is still very niche, but I am convinced it has enormous potential in jewellery and the artistic crafts. It is a field where an extraordinary range of skills can be brought together in a single object, because the scale of the pieces makes that possible.

“It is a field where an extraordinary range of skills can be brought together in a single object, because the scale of the pieces makes that possible.”

Why automata rather than clocks?

I have made many clocks, but I like an object to do something more than simply animate time. Combining clockmaking with an automaton introduces something immeasurable into a horological object. I find that very poetic: something unexpected, something that surprises you and makes you dream. When people discover automata, nobody remains indifferent.

Is that the idea behind the project you are developing for the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG)?

Yes. It is a project that has been living inside me for several years and represents the culmination of everything I have done so far. It will be a table clock with an automaton, an entirely new creation in which leather, aventurine, blown glass, casting, sculpture, painting and, of course, mechanical art will all enter into dialogue.

This first creation will give rise to a micro-series of five works, each one different yet connected by the same artistic reflection, inspired by the idea of the “inner voice”—that intuition which guides us once we learn to listen to ourselves. I have rarely, if ever, seen an automaton interact with its observer. More than an automaton, I want to create an object that seems to have stepped straight out of the imaginary world of a fantasy film or novel.

Will this project move forward independently of the sale of Le Majordome?

The first Majordome was developed thanks to the support of a patron. I would now like to produce a small series. As for the automaton currently taking shape for the GPHG, I am looking for the first collector willing to share in the adventure. They will accompany the birth of the work under privileged acquisition conditions.

“As for the automaton currently taking shape for the GPHG, I am looking for the first collector willing to share in the adventure. They will accompany the birth of the work under privileged acquisition conditions.”

What makes you think the market for automata could expand?

The major groups are getting involved. Louis Vuitton acquired L’Épée to develop horological objects and is producing some very beautiful automaton watches with La Fabrique du Temps. Jean Arnault has spoken about the growing excitement around this more poetic form of mechanical movement. Seeing automata display the time will appeal to collectors and broaden the circle around independent watchmakers.

Where is the expertise concentrated today?

Sainte-Croix is leading the way (read our report on the subject here, Ed.). One could imagine industrialising small jewellery automata, for example. But for larger pieces, there would be little point: the value of an automaton lies in its uniqueness and in the artistic crafts it brings together—the sculptor, the painter or the dressmaker. That is what gives me faith in this profession. There are very few fields in which creativity can have such an impact.

You also devote your weekends to your independent activity. Is that an unavoidable stage?

For the past five years, I have put a large part of my social life aside for my work. You have to learn to put yourself out there, and that does not come naturally to me. For a long time, I was afraid to show people what I was making. Whenever I finish one project, I am already thinking about the next and telling myself it will be better. But if I want to sell my creations, I have to go out and meet people. That is a challenge.

Are you planning an exhibition?

I will exhibit for the first time at the Festival Suisse de l’Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds in December. After that, with the support of an independent watchmaker, I would like to create an automaton incorporating a watchmaking movement.

Can you see yourself staying here in La Praz, the village where you were born?

I have already travelled a great deal for my age. Japan, for example, left a strong impression on me—its culture, its respect for nature, its sense of purity. And yet I have never wanted to leave my village. I feel good here.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Working 100% for myself, with a full year’s worth of work ahead of me. It is not always easy, but I am optimistic.

“Whenever I finish one project, I am already thinking about the next and telling myself it will be better. But if I want to sell my creations, I have to go out and meet people. That is a challenge.”