At the Cartier Maison des Métiers d’Art, ancient arts and crafts are preserved and perfected
In 2014, a charming 17th century farmhouse in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the Swiss watchmaking cradle in the Jura mountains, was converted by Cartier into its métiers d’art workshop. Located right next to the Cartier Manufacture, the 30,000 square metre birthplace of Tank and Santos, Maison des Métiers d’Art concentrates solely on preserving and promoting ancestral techniques through the lens of watchmaking. Many of these ancient crafts would have been at risk of being lost forever without this atelier as there was hardly any written documentation about them.
Here, one will discover a conducive environment where about 200 craftsmen are given the freedom to elevate their work, a place where heritage is also enriched with modern ideas and tools. Here, an array of human and technical heritage is protected and cultivated so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come.
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Maison des Métiers d’Art focuses on three families of expertise in the arts of metal, fire, and composition. They all involve a high level of skill, precision, and attention to detail, not unlike the development and realisation of a watch movement.
Three ancient techniques can be found under metal, among them is gold bead granulation where beads of different sizes are used to fashion a motif on the dial. These beads have to be delicately soldered onto the dial, a process made particularly challenging because heat is involved and risks deformation.
Then there are enamel granulation, where beads are formed from enamel, and filigree, an intricate precious metal thread work invented by the Sumerians in 3000 B.C.
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