Profession: beveling by Nathalie Jean-Louis

At 34 and after many years of training, this resolute young woman has managed to become a beveller. She is grateful for having been given the chance to work with one of the best specialists in the world. Her training started after she graduated from an arts high school “right at the bottom of the scale, doing circular graining”. Her motivation gave her wings and so she took up training in hand-bevelling and decorating by hand. As she puts it, “it is a field where it is essential to be always willing to learn more”. This profession was more a vocation than a brain wave for her. She tells us that she “learnt to enjoy pushing the boundaries in order to achieve a better result. I like challenging myself to do better!”

Nathalie Jean-Louis’ beveling workshop in Granges. Her only tools are a file, pastes and polishing paper and a handful of small instruments. Just as humble, the mechanical equipment only includes a micro-motor, a circular-grainer and a lathe. The essential lies in the magical fingers of this craftswoman, master of the hand-made

Her craft focuses on the decoration of high-end watch movements that have either been produced for limited series or for unique pieces.

“There are complicated constructions that are absolutely amazing, and on which I sometimes work for 8 hours!”, marvels Nathalie Jean-Louis. She carries out this meticulous work at the Vidayhado workshop which she independently founded in 2011. She chose being a freelance as she is a perfectionist who insists on doing everything herself in order to master the complete work even if it means that she has to work overtime and often during the weekend. She states that doing the work on her own is a guarantee that the work is well done. Besides, she is convinced that “creating something beautiful requires a significant personal investment!”

The beveller Nathalie Jean-Louis perpetuates a know-how that requires the patience of a saint.

She exudes that joy that comes from practicing a rare profession and which is usually found in passionate professionals with years of experience. She does hand and micro-motor beveling, circular graining and satin-brushing and she says she is happy that her work contributes to the preservation of “a heritage which is leaning towards oblivion”.

She is now planning to transfer her specific skills to the field of high-end jewelry, too. She wants to design a high-end jewelry collection that encompasses other crafts such as enameling, setting and engraving. She reckons these techniques will become a trend in horology in the near future.

Nathalie Jean-Louis, founder of the workshop Vidayhado

This article was also published in a printed version of the JSH, Journal Suisse d’Horlogerie