For centuries, the remarkable creations of Switzerland’s fine horology houses have relied on the rare artisanal skills of numerous craftspeople dotted throughout the nation’s villages and valleys. In an era of increasing automation, those skills, passed directly from individual to individual since time immemorial, are in danger of being lost.

But not if Audemars Piguet has anything to do with it. The Swiss luxury watchmaker, fresh from launching new novelty models in March, is taking action to preserve traditional skills with an inspiring new initiative, Atelier des Établisseurs, launched at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2026. It draws its inspiration from the établissage system, which dates back to the 18th century. That saw the farmers of the Vallée de Joux in the Jura Mountains retreat indoors during the valley’s notorious winters to each work on a single watch component, which were then put together by a company known as an établisseur. In fact, it was a role that Audemars Piguet itself once played.

Atelier des Établisseurs will nurture crucial watchmaking skills, including engraving, enamelling, skeletonisation, gemsetting and lapidary work, to produce timepieces in very limited quantities. It’s an approach that has already borne fruit, in the form of three utterly distinctive new models.

One of them, Établisseurs Galets, is distinguished by the quirky offset shape of its oval natural stone dial, mimicking the stones polished smooth by the Lac de Joux, which sits inside a yellow gold case. Echoing the same unpredictability, the bracelet’s links are set with varied stones connected by gold ball joints. The watch is powered by Calibre 3098, which comes with hand-grained bridges. There are five unique variations on the watch, each made by a single individual.

The even more head-turning Établisseurs Nomade can be anything from a pocket watch to a table clock. The dial features faceted titanium or gold, alongside stones painstakingly sawed to the perfect shape by a lapidarist. The Calibre 7501 at its heart, meanwhile, is skeletonised using a hacksaw. It all sits on top of a case that is a three-dimensional work of abstract art in bevelled metal mesh and faceted stones. Again, it comes in five unique variations.

Yet more aesthetically astounding still is the Établisseurs Peacock secret watch – a beetle when closed, a magnificent preening peacock with gemstone eyes when open. Created by a team including jewellers, enamellers and engravers, it shows off a hand-engraved translucent enamel dial between the wings, hand-decorated with a sunburst pattern, with the hour displayed in a window. This one comes in just three variations.