If all watch enthusiasts could have the opportunity to visit the factories and places where their beloved timepieces are designed and made, they would surely be amazed and astonished by these surroundings and would devote more attention and care to their watches in the years to come. To see with one's own eyes how the watchmakers of famous Swiss and German Maisons work, with how much love, passion and craftsmanship they create a watch, from the simplest to the most complicated, makes it clear how much effort there is in the design, in the construction of a mechanism, in that of a case or of each individual component. This helps to understand why certain costs are incurred and to feel even more responsible for looking after and maintaining watches well, not least to respect the values behind their creation. This is why it is a good idea to choose skilled and conscientious hands in which to place your watch during its lifetime. Hands and skills that can only be found in those people who have made watchmaking a way of life, to which they have dedicated days, weeks, months and years, who with humility, dedication and up-to-dateness continue to carry on a passion handed down from fathers or employers or out of a pure interest cultivated for as long as they can remember. A trustworthy partner can be identified by talking to, visiting and frequenting specialised shops that have always offered the best services, that are good advisers in making choices, that tell you what the world of watchmaking is like, that take their customers to visit these silent and industrious worlds, often enclosed in places where nature and unspoilt environments cradle these arts. And that is why I advise many watchmakers to visit these places to get a taste of the environment where these passions originate, to be able to reflect on their way of working and to evaluate in all sincerity whether their philosophy matches their origins. A healthy culture combined with a good education is the basis of any profession. You can never learn enough, and believe me, even though I have seen these places over the decades of my profession and spent days and days learning there, it always makes a good impression to return for a visit or to accompany friends and enthusiasts, because everything is modernised and the research continues even in those seemingly enchanted places.
