Exclusive Video: The Craftsmanship Of Akrivia – Beveling & Polishing

Rexhep Rexhepi’s goal from the start was to master every skill of watchmaking himself. He understands perfectly their importance and the amount of work they require. In the following video, he explains how two important ones are performed: beveling and mirror polishing.

The beauty of a caliber stems from its architecture and Akrivia is already renowned for the symmetry the Atelier applies to their movements. But there is more. Finishing has to be stellar at this level of fine watchmaking. And hand beveling of angles on plates and bridges are the stepping stones because they are everywhere to be seen when you gaze into a sapphire caseback. It requires painstakingly long hours of work by hand.
 

The gesture has to be precise and follow multiple steps, as Rexhep explains in his workshop. It starts with a file, and then specific sandpapers are used – from the coarse to fine – to help obtain the smoothest of surfaces. A watchmaker can spend hours on just one angle – but Akrivia’s calibers sometimes have 20, 30 or 50 different facets, both inwards and outwards. As Rexhep says: “You have to be strong mentally to achieve that level of excellence on every single one of them."
 

The same applies to mirror polishing a.k.a “poli bloqué." The final result requires multiple steps to end with a perfectly polished surface where one can see his reflection like in a mirror. The last step is on the pewter bloc with diamond paste, a surface soft enough not to scratch the final work. It adds beauty to the whole and enables light to shine all over. It is a crucial aspect that collectors around the world inspect thoroughly.