Anthony Finnerty, the watch photographer
Since he was seven years old, he started taking photos without restraint. He developed a passion for it and took it up as his job, specialising in landscapes and watches.
By Myriam Scherly
How did you get acquainted with photography?
My father was an amateur photographer and I have this childhood memory of me going through his old cameras with which I was already fascinated. I was subjugated by their solid metallic surface and their mechanical aspect. On the occasion of my seventh birthday, I received a little compact camera which I carried everywhere, both on my touristic explorations or during my family and classmate meetings.
Of course, at the time I was not passionate about Swiss watches and I certainly did not expect what fate had in store for me!
Why did you go Switzerland?
I grew up in a town north of Great Britain. One day I felt the need to discover the world and to be independent. This led me to meet my wife, which made me want to start afresh and to found a family.
What geared your career towards the field of horology and jewellery?
It is not always easy to find a job when you immigrate to a new country; obviously your numerous job applications will get rejected. Through one of these rejects, I met the great photographer Nick Welsh in Geneva – in fact, I was interviewed by Nick and was tested in his studios – I had to touch up some watch photographs; I had never done this before and after 7 hours of trial and error, I had to give up but this experience kindled the horology fire in me! I touched base with my second chance three months after my arrival in Switzerland. In fact, I had been hired as a graphic designer at the Franck Muller factory.
My interest and skills caught attraction and shortly after, I started taking photographs of jewels and watches.
How do you benefit from your double citizenship?
With the Swiss citizenship, I feel more at ease and accepted as belonging to this country. I feel so lucky to be part of a place which allows me to combine my passion for photography with something which is essentially Swiss – the heart of the watchmaking industry – and to witness the growth and evolution of this particular world. I like using the craft of photography so that I can zoom in on the artistic details of watch mechanisms.
