Watch aficionados have indubitably heard of “spiralage” without understanding the term. “It’s the equivalent of a human heart. Nothing beats without it. Time stands still,” explains Erika Meyer, cradling a hair-fine spring in the palm of her hand. In fact, this minuscule object plays a fundamental role in fine watch making – the quality of it’s assembly guarantees the smooth functioning and precision of the timepiece’s movement in the long term.

Due to technological developments in recent decades, an increasing number of timepiece brands have resorted to using high-precision machinery as the method to preform this spiralling operation. Audemars Piguet is one of the few houses to uphold the tradition of using a setter like Erika Meyer. “The spring must be centred and perfectly compared to the balance. It is crucial that the opening and closing movement be as perfect as the circles engendered by a stone thrown on still water,” explains the grey eyed woman in her fifties who has worked at Audemars Piguet for over 30 years.

These various exact motions require careful patience, skill, manual dexterity and an experienced eye. All of which are rather feminine qualities, explaining why women comprise the vast majority of those who have plied this fast disappearing trade. Erika Meyer confides that, “I am focused and tense all day. Although experience is beginning to give me a certain familiarity with the secrets of the timepiece’s little heart.”

The 800 to 900 odd pieces she produces yearly are intended for ultra-thin watches and the collection’s Grandes Complications as well as vintage models needing maintenance. Over the past few years, she has been teaching a young colleague the skills necessary to take her place, thereby ensuring that the traditional craft will be passed on again…

In the Village of le Sentier in the Vallée de Joux, a region well known for the high quality of its technical and artistic creations, the Ecole Technique de la Vallée de Joux (ETVJ) is the institution of reference for anything having to do with horologic microengineering, jewelry making and micromechanics.  It’s no surprise that several former students are working in various departments of the Audemars Piguet Manufacture in the neighboring village of le Brassus. “From the very first day, I was completely fascinated by the program. The professors shared their passion for watchmaking with me, transmitting their appreciation of a profession that maintains a respect for tradition,” says Gilles Pellet, head of Audemars Piguet’s Research and Development Laboratory.

This unique school was created in 1901.  “At the time, the only watchmaking school was in Geneva. The companies that were traditionally in the Vallée de Joux, particularly Audemars Piguet, decided to create a school nearby, in order to provide the training that was needed to cover all the aspects of the profession,” explains Lucien Bachelard, who has been Director of the school since 2001.  In the past 30 years, the school has grown spectacularly. In the 1980s, only twenty students trained to be watchmakers – last year, there were 144. “This success reflects the high level of confidence in and respect for Swiss watchmaking know-how. Despite the crisis caused by the advent of electronic quartz watches in the 1970s, the enthusiasm for mechanical watches has never disappeared,” continues the director.

The program is spread out over three or four years. In the first two years, students learn the most important techniques. “They learn how to machine metal and work with materials, as well as make all the parts of a watch; for example, cutting the teeth of the wheel, filing the bridge, pivoting the axes of the balances,” explains Pellet. The third year is spent mastering the tuning of the escapement and posing of the balance-spring, as well as certain more complicated mechanisms such as chronographs or calendars. To be able to work on other complications, such as repair work, renovating or clockmaking, some students decide to stay and spend a fourth year specializing.

Photo credit: ETVJ

“The Valley,” is how the inhabitants of the high plateau of the Jura mountains refer to the “Vallée de Joux,” their slice of nature perched at 1,000 meters in altitude. Just fifty kilometers away from the Geneva airport, this magnificent region of low mountains was the cradle of the development of Swiss watchmaking in the 19th century. Like Audemars Piguet’s two founders, Jules-Louis Audemars and Edward Auguste Piguet, the valley’s artisans spent the harsh winters making timepieces that they would then sell in the big cities to supplement the income from their farms.

Although the watchmaking companies in the Valley’s villages have wisely accepted modernization and innovation over the decades, the natural beauty of the setting has been protected from urban and industrial development. A lovely lake, vast stretches of unspoiled forest and pastures greet the eye; and the clean air, the friendliness and the warm accents of the local inhabitants give the region a unique charm.

“Tourist attractions focus all year long on sports, families, quiet and relaxation. This exceptional setting allows visitors to escape from the traffic and noise of the city,” explains Cédric Paillard, director of the Vallée de Joux tourist office. Local products like the Vacherin Mont d’Or cheese, gentian liqueur and lake fish reflect the lifestyle adopted by the inhabitants of the various small hamlets that dot the Valley.

Audemars Piguet has been in the village of Le Brassus since 1875. To welcome haute horology enthusiasts from around the world, the Manufacture opened a museum that tells its history, as well as the Hotel des Horlogers. This four-star establishment offers a spa and a restaurant run by the famous chef Philippe Guignard, whose passion for the Vallée de Joux is palpable in dishes that feature fish from its lake, fresh aromatic herbs from its mountains and mushrooms from its forests.

Engraving is the product of a long tradition in the art of Swiss luxury watchmaking. Utilitarian or decorative, it involves adorning each component of a timepiece with miniature sculptures or extremely detailed, fine motifs, a job that often requires human handiwork.  With extraordinary skill, the engraver cuts into the material, using chisels and working almost exclusively by hand. From engraving initials, numbers on the face, or decorations drawn by a designer to the ad-hoc creation of a motif, the work of this goldsmith demands patience, dexterity, attention to detail and an aesthetic sensibility. Like an artist, the engraver adds his touch and personality to each one of his masterpieces.

“Doing the work by hand is the only way to render the material responsive and to evoke emotion in those who look at the finished piece. The work of the engraver makes each object unique, because each artisan has his own sensitivity, his interpretation and his personal touch,” explains Dominique Fléchon, director of the research and study center at the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.

Often hidden in the depths of the case, the subtlety of this decorative work is nonetheless unveiled in skeleton watches. Designed to highlight the beauty and architectural complexity of their movement, these models with transparent casebacks reveal their lacelike mechanics, which are enhanced by the ornamental delicacy of the engraving. As representatives of this work, the Jules Audemars Equation of Time skeleton or the Lady Jules Audemars with transparent sapphire caseback pay tribute to the attentive care that Audemars Piguet brings to this complex and refined savoir-faire, the pinnacle of the art of prestigious watchmaking.

A watch that sits well on the wrist, excellent readability, an accessible crown for setting the hour: These are all qualities that the external parts designer brings to his creations. From the technical office, part of the “watch development” section of the Manufacture du Brassus, Jean Cretin explains to Audacity what he and his four colleagues do. “We are in charge of the watches’ “body” – the case, the glass, the bracelet, the clasps.”

A close collaboration must be established with the design department. The future prototype will be built from a two-dimensional image. The work is done mainly on the computer, using software that lets the technicians model the future watches in three dimensions. “A prototype is then created in epoxy resin by an outside company. This model gives us an idea of the actual volumes and proportions that were imagined at the start,” Cretin explains.

The epoxy-resin model is used to correct all the errors that weren’t apparent in the design phase. An unintentional space between the wrist and the watch means the ergonomy must be redesigned. The same goes for the dial. “We can be convinced to change the glass-opening, the dimensions of the display, the indexes. The calendar window can, for example, be too close to the exterior, which is not esthetically pleasing. We must then change the size of the dial,” the head of the external parts design office explains.

Once the design department is satisfied with the model, a small number of watches are produced in order to improve any final details that might have escaped the designers. A dial set with precious stones could end up with an irregular surface, if only by a tiny fraction, because of the size of the gems, and could prevent the hands from turning properly due to lack of space. All these situations, and the numerous models involved, demand a good measure of flexibility on the part of the “constructeur habillage.”