Breguet Tourbillion Skeleton Dial Platinum Dial Black Leather Men's Watch 3355PT00986

Acne Paper - Summer 2011

ACNE: Why did you choose watchmaking as a profession or was it watchmaking that chose you?
Emilie Eveno: My grandfather was passionate about watches. When he retired, we decided to get him an Atmos pendulum clock as a present by Jeager-LeCoultre. Fascinated by it myself, I remember spending hours just observing its mechanism. It is a very particular piece for it can function for centuries without any exterior intervention. Energy is transmitted through changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure. We often compare it to a lung for it is sufficient in itself to function and all this thanks to a mixture of gas that is in a sealed capsule that arms the spring mechanism to redistribute energy in itself. Its cage is entirely of glass so you can watch the race wheels meshing with each other or the slow movement of the pendulum, already impressive by its size, suspended by a steel wire enabling its rotation. Its movement is also very quiet; it oscillates twice per minute, providing a soothing and hypnotic effect on the beholder. So after obligatory school I went for the ecole d'Horlogerie of Geneva and was accepted aged 15 only. I was scared to start a professional school, as it would have closed me other doors or I could have got it wrong. Deciding about your future and your job at 15-16 isn't easy! So to do like everyone I spent a year in high school to get a high school degree, but it wasn't made for me. I finished my year and went for l'ecole d'Horlogerie, surer about my choice. I got accepted and went to study for a 4-year degree with a formation on the side to become a watchmaker. I now work for a small reputable company Agenhor.

Tell us about the tools you picked - the tweezers and the cushion?
In watchmaking its history goes back to 1881 when Dumont manufactured the first tweezers. Learning to manipulate it requires a lot of time due to its multiple functions - grab, lay, maintain and cut. The tweezers are for me like an extension of the clock's soul and the very small cushion is your work space.
Geneva has such a long tradition of watchmaking…
Yes, and it's a very dense history going back to the middle of the 16th century, when Calvin forbade the carrying of any ornamental objects, forcing goldsmiths and jewelers to become watchmakers. In the 20th century, the mechanisation of making allowed Switzerland to increase its production and diversify its development. During the 1970s, partly due to the popularity of quartz watches, Switzerland's production slowed down and struggled to survive. It is thanks to Nicolas Hayek, 40 years later and founder of Swatch, that the country has regained its position as a world leader in the field.

In your city, you are the latest in a long line of distinguished craftspeople pursuing the art of watchmaking. Is there anything or anyone in the history of your craft you are particularly intrigued by?
I am particularly interested in minute repetitions. It is an additional module that is triggered via either a lock or a button on the side of the box. The repetition "reads" the hour and then activates two hammers that ring the hours on a serious tone and minutes on a sharper tone. This complication requires very special skills to get the perfect sound and it's partly why I am fascinated by it.
As said earlier, you are the youngest generation in this field, does your young age in any way affect your work?
I don't see my age as a challenge even though it is slightly inconvenient. Like in any field, there is still a lot to learn but I am lucky to be surrounded by more experimented colleagues with whom I have an excellent relationship, which allows me to improve every day.

What do you learn from your older colleagues?
Experience. Experience varies with age and it is in the main point of this job. It is therefore logical that time is necessary for someone that just graduated if he or she wants to be as good as a mature watchmaker.

And do you have a mentor?
The first person that comes in mind is my boss, Jean-Marc Wiederrecht. With an experience of over 30 years, he set up his own business in 1996. His great creativity enables him to produce exceptional pieces, each more beautiful than the others. He chose not to launch his own brand in order to continue to diversify by working for many brands. In 2007 he even won the award for Best Watchmaker at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie in Geneva. He has realized his dream and still continues to renew himself as, for example, this year, with the arch shows "Time Suspended" for Hermes.

Is there anyone you are proud of?
I am grateful to my teachers who taught me the basics of my job when passing on their passion.

What qualities or talents does one need to succeed in your field?
It is all about precision, patience and meticulousness.

What do you think your customers look for in your product that makes it special?
Our customers are from big watchmaking houses. They come to us because we provide reliability and quality, as well as innovation within a function or the board. We want our watches to make people dream, tell a story that people can then share.

In a time of increased mass-production, what do you think is the future of your craft?
I think that luxury watchmaking has a soul and never would another mechanism be as good as the savoir-faire and the beauty we, watchmakers, provide to these exceptional pieces. There will always be passionate people to keep watchmaking alive. Besides, I am sure the never-ending or untiring imagination of the man combined to his technical skills will allow him a future full of innovations and surprises. And as long as there will be watches, the craft of watchmaking will not disappear. Even if the quartz watch has a big part in the market, the mechanical watch will last for, in the general unconscious, the latter is considered as a true piece of art.
Some people see their watch as a precious item, just an accessory, or part of their family heritage. What does it represent to you?
It depends on what you mean by 'watches'. The watch industry is actually so diversified that I don't see watches the same way I did at the beginning of my studies. Each watch has a world of its own, as some brands will focus on technical prowess, aiming to work towards an escalation of complications. Agenhor prefers to develop watches that make people dream, tell a story. Every watch is entirely created and mounted by the hand of man, not by machines. Any person contributing to its development and its realisation fully invested himself in this project. So there's a bit of the watchmaker in the watch, that you maybe wear at this very moment at your wrist, giving it a story, a life, a world. So, for me, watches represent precious objects that deserve attention and to be taken care of. I already evoked my grandfather's pendulum clock earlier and all the fascination I had for it - this is exactly what watchmaking represent to me.

You said the watch industry is diversified and different. How so? Are there different categories?
There aren't really "categories", even though we more and more talk of "new watchmaking" with Max Busser & Friends for instance. By diversified, I mean that the world of watchmaking is full of multiple designs, ranging from the simple wristwatch to a clock, through unusual pieces such as Max Busser & Friends' Horological Machines or the Halloween Spider by Artya, which contains a real dead spider.
Do you get attached to the watches you work on?
It is obvious that given the time I spend on each watch and the care I give to each, I get attached to it and establish a special relationship with it.

When was the first time you realised your first watch? How did you feel after?
I started by the Hornet of Arnold & Son, it had a pattern I didn't know yet - every movement has a unique pattern and there are so many for watches - complications, chronographs, minutes repeaters, ones with a perpetual numerical order, etc. So I was guided by Veronique, my colleague,
This piece particularly stroked me, as it was the first one I did. It is a complex watch with split teeth gears - difficult to manipulate and handle. It took me some time to get to analyse where the problems were coming from and to then completely understand its mechanism. But I couldn't be more satisfied than ever when I did.

Could you tell me more about your work on a watch? How do you start and finish?
First we assemble the individual components - wheels, levers, stars, frictions and so on. Then we proceed to the filling. The plates arrive "naked" from our suppliers. We get to add the tubes, pins, studs or stones, each at a height well defined so we can then proceed with the making of the piece. Each mobile is checked, its movement, its gears with the rest of its components and so on. Once everything is installed and works perfectly we clean and oil our pieces to fix in the face and hands. The piece is then sent to our client who will finish the casing himself.
Do you have a favorite watch?
I have a thing for the watches made by Jeager Lecoultre, Breguet, Patek Philippe or Lange & Söhne.
Last question, would you like to set up your own company later? Where do you yourself in ten or thirty years?
I haven't thought about that yet. I still have a lot to learn and working for Agenhor completely satisfies me. I was lucky to find a job straight after graduating unlike others, due to the crisis. And working in this company has been very enriching, I have learnt a lot about varied things. I am allowed to mount clocks alone and in its whole - something that would have been impossible in a bigger company. Besides my boss Jean-Marc Wiederrecht is very good, he pays a lot of attention to work in a traditional way, with nature around, open windows and surrounded by a good team, unlike most actual factories where watchmakers sometime become machines and everything is computerised, sterilised, removing all the soul or life to the product - a product that is meant to make people dream. Quality watchmaking has a soul. In ten or thirty years, I sincerely hope I will continue working on pieces as interesting as the ones I am doing today. Whatever time that passes, I will keep the same amazement for this beautiful craft.