Before the watchmaker, there was the reputed goldsmith’s trade Although watchmaking was a relative latecomer to Geneva, the city was already well known internationally for its goldsmith’s trade, first documented back in 1293. Thanks to the trade shows organised by the city, the works of Geneva’s goldsmiths became highly sought after by European court dignitaries and powerful figures of the era. With the Calvinist Reform, which advocated a return to essential values, luxury and extravagance were no longer fashionable. Under this stranglehold, many goldsmiths converted to watchmaking, conferring their exceptional skills upon the making of timepieces. On 20 January 1601, for the first time, the political authorities recognised this corporation of skilled craftsmen and approved the ‘Ordonnances et règlements sur l’estat des orlogiers’. The quality-focused charter laid down the training conditions for the watchmaker’s trade, for which apprenticeship lasted five years, and the rules governing the exercising of the profession. « The watchmaking collections produced by Pilo & Co Genève are dedicated largely to expertise and versions embellished with personalised settings. They are totally in tune with the history and ethos of Geneva. Before the watchmaker there was the goldsmith. After the watchmaker there was a concentrated pool of skills and talents, a professional corporation entirely devoted to flawless quality and absolute precision. » ‘La Fabrique’, a concentrated pool of expertise It was not, however, until the mid-17th century that Geneva watchmaking prevailed over the goldsmith’s trade. The watchmaker’s corporation was highly organised and divided the craftsman’s work into specialisations. It was the first to allow women to carry on certain watchmaking trades. In a stand against the large factories, also known as ‘machinofactories’ (the term was used pejoratively), the people of Geneva used the term ‘La Fabrique’ from the early 18th century onwards to refer to all the independent businesses linked to watchmaking. Gradually, the term was to refer to the entire Geneva watchmaking sector until the end of the 19th century.
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