For the past few years, high-end Swiss watchmaking has been obsessed with a single world: manufacture. The M-word has been a leitmotif for many brands, with its connotations of a vertically integrated artisanal culture of in-house skills encompassing every aspect of building a watch.
However, manufacture is only part of the story. There is also a thriving tier of specialist movement makers who are responsible for some of the most remarkable watches on the market, although often they sign confidentiality agreements with the big brands for which they work, so they are little known outside the industry.
