When we hold within our hands the prized luxury wristwatch of our dreams, the two features we are immediately drawn to are first, the external beauty and secondly, the complex internal workings. For many of us, we go further than simply admiring, our curious minds wonder about the sheer amount of time, dedication and skill that went into building such an intricate piece of art. Well lovers of all things horological, technical and a thrilling challenge, I urge you to look into ‘Initium’.

Who are Initium?

Initium are a Swiss based company who are opening up the ordinarily private profession that is watch-making, to those people who wish to take their passion further than simply collecting and admiring luxury timepieces. With a choice of three locations and seven classes, Initium offers something for everyone. Whether you are new to the watch making game, or fancy developing your knowledge on the subject, classes with Initium will suit you perfectly.

Initium employs a creditable group of expert watch-makers whom, having trained with some of Switzerland’s most celebrated watch manufacturers, possess the skills, knowledge and experience to help you understand every single detail about a watch and its sophisticated mechanics.

What do they offer?

Initium holds a variety of watch-making classes every week and accommodates English, French, German and Spanish speakers. The watch-making professionals focus on three main subject areas, mechanical watches, automatic watches and the decorative arts. The ‘Alpha’ classes allow you to discover watch-making with a three-hour introductory class, which includes a 30 minute explanation of the inner workings of a mechanical watch, and an opportunity to put theory into practice.

Under the guidance of the master watch-maker, you will disassemble and reassemble part of a manual wind (ETA 6497) or automatic (ETA 2892) movement, depending on which Alpha class you choose. This class is great if you are slightly apprehensive and would prefer a taster session before committing to one of the full-day and more expensive classes.

The ‘Gamma’ (half-day) and ‘Delta’ (full-day) classes, allows you to go further than the ‘Alpha’ sessions, and after reassembling your movement, you are given the opportunity and complete freedom to choose the parts you use when creating your very own watch. All of the components on offer are of high quality and you have specialists on hand throughout the entire day for help and guidance. These classes are tailored for people of all levels, so if you fancy delving right in with the full-day session and creating your own watch, that’s not a problem!

If you are passionate about watches but don’t feel like you’d enjoy the more technical classes, then do not worry because Initium offers an ‘introduction to watchmaking’s decorative arts’ class. The three-hour session allows you to learn the crafts of hand-chamfering and engraving from experts artisan’s, and even gives you the opportunity to try the traditional watch-making skills out yourself.

How do I book?

If after reading this you too feel as if you want to jump on the next flight to Switzerland, take up a space on an Initium work bench and enjoy one of these stimulating classes, take a look at all the important information below on pricing and locations. For bookings please visit the Initium ‘enrol and contact’ page. It may also be helpful to scan through the FAQ’s page too!

Locations

Whether you want to attend Initium classes for personal skill development or pure enjoyment, there truly is no experience like it. If you know of someone who would jump at the opportunity to join a class and you fancy spoiling them, why not invest in one of Initium’s ‘gift tokens’, and present your loved one with an experience they’ll always remember and a sentimental watch they can treasure!

learn more about Initium.