Portfolio - Special Edition Switzerland

21 Special Edition Switzerland I ’m sitting on a low stool at a high bench, peering through a magnifying glass as I try to pick up a tiny screw with a pair of tweezers and place it into one of the minuscule holes in the watch mechanism in front of me. It’s frustratingly easy to drop the screw. A few millimetres in diameter, it’s a lot bigger than some used in watchmaking, which can be as small as 0.4mm, but not so easy to carefully insert it in its rightful place and use a small screwdriver to fix it there. “You’re doing well,” says Ivan De Matteis, the watchmaker guiding me through the process, and I laugh. It’s clear that I’m not, but certainly, it’s fun trying – and that’s what Initium is all about. HANDS-ON HORLOGERIE For the past three years, this small start- up has aimed to give visitors to Geneva a hands-on experience of a craft that has made this city tick for hundreds of years. Located on Grand-Rue in the heart of Geneva’s Old Town – whose pretty pedestrian streets are populated with ateliers, antique shops, and galleries – Initium’s courses range from a three-hour initiation in watchmaking to a full day course in which participants assemble their very own mechanical watch to keep. With 500,000 combinations of the various components available, you’ll leave with a truly unique timepiece. “It’s like Lego for adults,” says De Matteis with a smile. Before De Matteis guides me through the process of watch dismantling and reassembling, my initiation to haute horlogerie (high-art of watchmaking) starts with a brief presentation about the rich history of the craft in Geneva and the various parts in a watch movement. Holding a pair of tweezers and a screwdriver as directed, I carefully affix the multiple wheels, balance spring, and lever to the base plate until the movement works as it should. It’s incredibly satisfying for me and for De Matteis, who used to be a watchmaker for leading Geneva brands including Patek Philippe, Rolex, and Vacheron Constantin before joining Initium because he wanted to teach. The most satisfying aspect of the job, he tells me, “is when I finish the course and see that the person has understood, has more information than he had at the start, and is smiling” – which certainly applies to me. A TIMELY CRAFT Watchmaking was developed in Geneva, thanks to the Huguenots.