© Cosa
All eyes are riveted on one pair of hands, trembling slightly in the stiff sleeves of a white coat. Inexperienced but willing fingers carefully assemble the components, pieces so tiny that they seem too fragile to touch. Foreheads wrinkle as everyone focuses their gaze on the minute mechanical movements, and then the crucial moment: using the famous watchmaker’s magnifying glass along with a screwdriver and precision tweezers. Yes, this is how watches are made.
During the first part of the workshop, silence reigned. We carefully observed our watchmaker’s every move, eager eyes following his nimble fingers as they went about their work. Not forgetting learning all the new technical words that we’d need to remember later, when we did this ourselves. It was full-on concentration, and it was wonderful.
I’ll never look at a watch in the same way again. On the surface, it’s such a simple thing – a way to tell the time. But behind that are the intricate mechanisms needed to achieve that simple thing, mechanisms that need expertise and, yes, time to put them together.
By the way, we also offer watchmaking workshops in other Swiss cities so please contact us for more information.
