Métiers d’Art Specialists Worry About the Future – The New York Times

When Anita Porchet started out as an independent enameler in 1992, her specialty had all but disappeared from watchmaking, a near casualty of what the industry still calls the quartz crisis of the 1970s. As the popularity of inexpensive quartz watches pushed many Swiss watch brands near bankruptcy, it also undermined some of the traditional crafts tied to the industry.

Three decades later, because of her talent and perseverance, Ms. Porchet has become one of the world’s premier enamelers, with more orders, she said, than she can fill. But facing the pandemic, she sees the profession once again at a tipping point — and unsure of its survival.

“Orders are being canceled or pushed back to next year or later,” Ms. Porchet said in a phone interview from her home in Corcelles-le-Jorat, Switzerland, in the canton of Vaud.

“My clients are all in a wait-and-see mode,” she said. “The impact of one or two order cancellations can be enormous on small workshops because they cannot hang on for very long without work.”

Ms. Porchet works from home aided by two assistants, a common arrangement for artisans who practice the traditional crafts commonly known as métiers d’art: enameling, marquetry, feather work, metal engraving and the like.

“I cannot afford an apprentice,” said Rose Saneuil, a French marquetry specialist based in Montrouge, a suburb of Paris. “It is hard enough making a living on my own from this type of work.”

Since Switzerland first went into lockdown in mid-March, global demand for high-end watches has collapsed. Nearly all the 2020 watch fairs, where so much of the industry’s business is done, were canceled, with some shifting to a virtual format because of global travel restrictions. And many distribution outlets around the world remain closed.

Swiss watch exports have plunged, down some 30 percent this year compared with last year, as reported in September by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. Some watch brands are already laying off workers. In September, Ulysse Nardin and Girard Perregaux announced they were cutting about a quarter of their combined work force — around 100 jobs at the Kering Watches Manufacture. And more layoffs expected industrywide by year’s end.

“Many artisans are without work because brands cannot sell their watches,” Ms. Porchet said.

Decorative techniques in watchmaking date back centuries, but demand for métiers d’art watches has only seen a resurgence since 2000 — fueled, according to Ms. Porchet, mostly by Asian buyers who have a cultural appreciation for the work. Brands such as Vacheron Constantin, Piaget, Ulysse Nardin, Hermès and Chanel, among others, have greatly contributed to the revival by developing exceptional craftsmanship in-house or by hiring independent artisans.

This year, as in the past, those brands presented a panoply of métiers d’art watches. Ulysse Nardin showed the Sparkling Blast watch set with diamonds cut geometrically to look like shards of glass. Vacheron Constantin unveiled in January a collection with enameled dials for the Lunar New Year.

Chanel’s Mademoiselle Privé Bouton line featured a Camée model, a secret watch with a profile of Coco Chanel hand-carved in agate on the dial cover. Piaget presented an array of métiers d’art timepieces, among them the Ecstatic Dance with a dial in a delicate marquetry of straw, mother-of-pearl, leather, parchment and wood, crafted by Ms. Saneuil.

“The orders I worked on during the lockdown were placed over a year ago,” Ms. Saneuil said. “I finished three dials for Piaget earlier this year. I am trying not to worry yet, but orders have slowed down.”

Several of the most sought-after craftspeople said that, in addition to fewer orders, they were seeing brands shifting from multipiece collections to very small collections or even just one-of-a-kind pieces — but requiring even more exceptional work.

“Our clients are now focusing exclusively on bespoke pieces and truly extraordinary product,” said Dick Steenman, a Geneva-based craftsman who works regularly for brands like Chanel, Chaumet and Van Cleef & Arpels.

“I think we are going to see an end to semi-industrial series in métiers d’art, and that is going to hurt many workshops with lesser qualifications,” Mr. Steenman said.

In recent years Mr. Steenman, who also creates one-off timepieces under his own label, Van’T Hoff, reduced his staff by half — from 12 to six, retaining only highly skilled workers to create a niche specialty in engraving and miniature sculpture.

Also, he said, “a few clients are also asking for help in research and development, to come up with fresh ideas and innovative techniques.”

“Today, there is still demand for exceptional pieces,” Mr. Steenman said, “but buyers also want to know which artisan worked on their watch. They want to meet the craftsman, and learn how the watch was made. It is part of the ‘special services’ that high-end clients expect.”

Like Mr. Steenman, Ms. Porchet is focusing on more sophisticated and often more complex projects. She recently completed an enameled case back for a pocket watch that a brand (which she declined to identify) had ordered for a private client, and a small series of enameled dials for the Arceau Aaaaargh! wristwatch, commissioned by Hermès.

“Wealthy collectors will always buy unique or custom-made pieces, even in periods of crisis,” Ms. Porchet said.

The independent brand MB&F also has ventured into métiers d’art in a rare collaboration with a master engraver, Eddy Jaquet, on a series of eight one-of-a kind Legacy Machine watches. Each of the LM Split Escapement x Eddy Jaquet, introduced in September, was inspired by a different Jules Verne novel.

“During uncertain times, people still buy intrinsically valuable products,” said Charris Yadigaroglou, head of communication for MB&F from Geneva.

“Eddy has been engraving inscriptions for us for 10 years,” Mr. Yadigaroglou said. “Three years ago, we noticed that he had very little work despite his immense talent. So we asked him to design and engrave the dials for this series.”

MB&F said all eight watches — each priced at 148,000 Swiss francs ($161,900) — were presold on Zoom calls with retailers, even before Mr. Jaquet had completed the last three dials.

“I am grateful for this project because, without it, I would not have much work the rest of this year,” Mr. Jaquet said from his atelier in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. “I go from being overly busy to being under-worked very quickly.”

And at least one entrepreneur has seized on the moment as an opportunity.

Last month Xavier Rousset, a former dial maker, introduced XRby, a new brand that plans to produce métiers d’art mechanical watches in collaboration with a single artisan, but only after payment is made. Prospective buyers will be able to view high-definition computer-generated renditions of a proposed watch design on the XR website, and then place orders.

“The watch industry is at a turning point today,” Mr. Rousset said from Besançon, a small town near the Swiss border that is known as France’s watch capital. “The current crisis and competition from connected watches will kill off much of the quartz watch industry. But there will always be demand for mechanical watches with beautiful, decorative workmanship.”

His first model, the XRby Rose Saneuil, features a brightly colored quetzal in a marquetry of wood and leather on its dial. It is priced at 33,000 euros, or $38,670.

“These are know-hows that people care about and must be preserved,” Mr. Rousset said. “We are doing just that by putting the craftsman back at the heart of watchmaking.”