However much their work is valued, master craftspeople around the world often lack the marketing budgets, well-located retail spaces and scale necessary to promote their products, and consumers may not quite appreciate the laborious and often fascinating techniques used in their creation.

This is where the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship comes in. It promotes the work of expert craftspeople through its global cultural movement, Homo Faber (“Man the Maker” in Latin). One of its signature projects is the Homo Faber Guide, a digital platform through which the best craftsmanship worldwide can be discovered, featuring artisans, ateliers, museums, galleries and workshops.

Through its Homo Faber NextGen programmes, the Geneva-based NPO also seeks to make craft professions appealing to and economically viable for the next generation of potential artisans. Last year, it ran the first iteration of the Homo Faber Fellowship, which paired master craftspeople with younger rising talents to whom, over the course of six months, they imparted their knowledge and techniques.

At London Craft Week, 20 pairs of participants in the inaugural programme will display their co-creations at Cromwell Place, South Kensington, while recounting the stories of their creative journeys together. Inspired by an Art Deco theme chosen by the programme’s supporting partner – Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre – the objects they are exhibiting represent a variety of crafts, from bicycle building and gold-thread embroidery to feather-working, basket weaving and stone sculpting.

‘With a heritage exceeding 190 years, we acknowledge the critical importance of the transmission of know-how for the continual enhancement of our watchmaking endeavours,’ says Catherine Renier, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre, on the importance of supporting such a programme. ‘Today, it is in our hands to ensure that these skills are preserved and passed on to future generations. The Homo Faber Fellowship programme is ideally aligned with our core values, deeply rooted in fostering the exchange of expertise between masters and apprentices.’

During London Craft Week, Jaeger-LeCoultre is showcasing its own crafting savoir-faire at its Old Bond Street boutique. Visitors there can view the engraving technique used on the case of the watchmaker’s iconic Reverso watch. Originally created in 1931, the timepiece features a unique pivoting case system, while offering a personalised engraving or enamel miniature on the back.

The Reverso represents one of many unique craftsmanship accomplishments that have taken place throughout the brand’s history. Take, for instance, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Atmos pendulum clock, powered by small changes in the temperature causing an internal gas canister to contract and expand. Or its pioneering Polaris alarm diving watch, where a triple caseback system optimises the diffusion of sound underwater and alerts divers of the need to immediately return to the surface.

Speaking about how such a rich heritage of innovation informs Jaeger-LeCoultre’s present-day designs, Renier says, ‘Known as the “Watchmaker of Watchmakers”, our manufacture has developed over 1,400 different calibres and secured more than 430 patents, demonstrating a relentlessly inventive spirit’. She explains how the brand combines traditional knowledge and mechanical innovation with sophisticated design: ‘The synthesis of technical ingenuity, aesthetic beauty and understated sophistication ensures each timepiece is not only a nod to our rich heritage but also a beacon of contemporary precision and style. With 180 skills housed under one roof, we continue to create timepieces that are timeless yet contemporary, linking the past to the future.’

Indeed, Renier illustrates that through the inheritance of technical know-how many forms of craftsmanship bind humans together over time, especially watchmakers. Referencing the Reverso Quadriptyque, introduced in 2021, which represented the pinnacle of combined talent and experience, she describes how it was a watchmaking milestone for the Maison, an example of really pushing boundaries. ‘This exceptional timepiece showcases four different faces, each offering a unique complication, setting a new standard in multifunctional watch design.’

There is much to be proud of for Jaeger-LeCoultre in more recent years, too. ‘In 2023, we introduced the Reverso Secret Necklace, which elegantly combines haute horlogerie with haute joaillerie, transforming a sophisticated timepiece into a stunning piece of jewellery that offers versatility and a hidden time display.’ And, most recently, during the prestigious Watches & Wonders event, the Maison introduced the Duometre Heliotourbillon Perpetual – a masterpiece that features an entirely new tourbillon construction that rotates on three axes to create a unique “spinning-top” effect. ‘These creations, among many others, exemplify our Maison’s enduring commitment to creativity and innovation,’ Renier adds.

The 20 objects created during the Homo Faber Fellowship programme will be shown from 14-18 May at Cromwell Place. Echoing this celebration of craftsmanship, Jaeger-LeCoultre will showcase its watchmaking expertise in its boutique at 13 Old Bond Street, London

jaeger-lecoultre.com; homofaber.com