Rexhep Rexhepi is a well-known name in the field of haute horology, especially after winning his second GPHG Men’s Watch Prize for his Chronomètre Contemporain II, in 2022. It was in 2012 that Rexhep Rexhepi established Atelier Akrivia, his workshop, which since 2017 is located in the Old Town of Geneva, but it was only in 2018 that he was ready to put his name on the dial of his creations. In this on-going series on high horologists, this month, we turn the spotlight on Rexhep Rexhepi and his evolution as a watchmaker who signs his dials
A traditional childhood – Kosovo
Rexhep Rexhepi was born in 1987 in a small village of Zheger on the banks of the river Karadak in Kosovo. He grew up there as part of a big family. “We used to live all together, an extended family, with my uncles in one house. I was born there and grew up with my grandmother because my father had been living in Switzerland since 1976. Like many of the other families, our family had sent one of the family to another country to earn a better living, make more money and take care of the family. My father was in Switzerland, and he took care of us financially, but I grew up with my grandmother.”
An early love for watches – Switzerland
There might be many, many reasons for Rexhepi’s choice of a career, but he credits the main one as being his idolising of his father as a young child. “In Kosovo, I didn’t get to see my father often and so when he visited us, I wanted to spend time with him. I looked up to him like a hero. I remember that he always had these watches; it was never just one, he usually had multiple watches with him. I remember wearing some watches, … and to listen to them, without understanding anything. I was just hearing the ticking of the watches.”
But this ticking sound stayed in his head and when he travelled to Switzerland in 1998, he carried this intriguing sound with him. “I came to Switzerland as we had to leave Kosovo during the war. We had not planned to, as my father wanted to come back to Kosovo one day. But during the war, we didn’t have a choice. We joined him after we had escaped from Kosovo, and when I came here, the first thing that I saw was this advertisement about watches. Very quickly, I began to realise that I had come to a country of watches.”
Young Rexhepi started school and faced the casual cruelty of children everywhere. Struggling to fit in and to integrate into his new life, in his initial years in Switzerland, he didn’t have many friends. “I was trying to find my passions, and I started to get interested about watches. I read some books, and I tried different hobbies, but by 13–14 years of age, I was sure that I wanted to learn watchmaking. I wanted to get an apprenticeship and learn how to build a watch. For me, it was fascinating.”
Learning from the best – Patek Philippe
Once he had decided on his course, young Rexhepi was ambitious enough to want to learn from the best and so started his apprenticeship with Patek Philippe. “I wanted to have the best learning possible. I was looking around and was asking for information. I used to skate with a friend that I had, and he was doing his apprenticeship. I asked him which is the best place for an apprenticeship and why. He advised me to go to Patek. I wrote to them and did a few tests, and they finally accepted me.”
“What is very good in Patek is that you have access to all the materials. Another important point is that they let you work in all the workshops, all around the company, and you can see and learn everything. For me, it was something incredible because I could learn all the basics, and it is very important to have your basics right.”
Mastering complications – BNB Concept
After completing his apprenticeship at Patek Philippe, Rexhepi, at the age of 20, went to work at BNB Concept, a high-concept movement thinktank that was founded by three watchmakers who were formerly employed at Patek Philippe. “I joined them for many reasons; I was young and wanted to learn more. I knew that it would take a lot of time for me to move forward professionally before I could work on a complication, which is what I wanted to do. This is what I love, and I thought that it was a good time to move and learn more.”
“BNB Concept was a good opportunity for me because they were used to creating complicated movements. When I made this choice, I knew that I would have more opportunities to learn. It was a startup, and it was really interesting because you learn how to build a movement. I did some prototyping work, and I was managing a team.”
A dream come true – F.P.Journe
Rexhepi’s next port of call on his professional voyage was at F.P.Journe and describes it as “It was my dream. I would look at him and his evolution; I had always wanted to be independent. So, for me, it was a dream to go to work for an independent watchmaker – to understand his journey better, to understand and feel what drives him. Finally, I joined him in 2010, and it was an incredible experience.”
In industry circles, F.P.Journe is known to be a tough taskmaster, as every watchmaker there is wholly responsible for the complete creation of his watch – for everything from A to Z. But Rexhepi brushes it off. “Yes, but this way was challenging. I always wanted to try the next step, and it was really good learning. When you have a company that is managed or driven by a watchmaker, the perception is different – totally different. This is why I wanted to work with him, and it was an incredible experience.”
Becoming an Independent – Atelier Akrivia
Rexhepi stayed with F.P.Journe only for two years. “I would have loved to stay longer, but life happens. I suddenly had things coming together, and, in 2012, I started my own workshop.” Rexhepi did not suffer any misgivings on leaving a job that actually paid to starting on his own. “Actually, it was more scary later. The first time I took the decision to become independent someday was when I was at Patek. I was 16 or 17 and I had this watch – the Patek Philippe 10-Day Tourbillon 5101 in platinum – in my hand. It was the first time that I had a tourbillon in my hand, and this watch made me realise that this is something incredible. I knew that one day I wanted to make something like this, and from that moment, I tried to take every decision possible to go into this direction.”
“When I started in 2012, I was young, and at 25, you think you know everything, but you don’t. I was sure that everyone would love my watch. I was totally naïve to believe that, and of course it was not like that. But at that age, you can take risks. You don’t really see the difficulties and so for me, it was an easy decision. But for some years it was very tough.”
Unlike most people, when Rexhepi started his brand, he used the name Akrivia and not his own. He credits his father for his reasoning. “My father, when I first came to Switzerland told me, ‘You know this country will give us everything. You can work and make a good life here, but you have to work twice as hard as the Swiss people because they have given you a lot. You have to show them that you love them and that you are grateful.’ I had this in my head, and thought, you know what? You can’t come to Switzerland, make Swiss watches, and put an Albanian name on them, right?”
“I was thinking that I am only 25 and have achieved nothing in life. How could I put my name on the watch? In my perception, you have really to prove that you did something, and eventually you can put your name on a watch like a master watchmaker.”
Again, unlike most people who would have chosen an easy creation, Rexhepi took the path less travelled and chose to work on a high complication watch for his first creation. This he now explains is “Because, you know you are young, and you want to prove to people that you have the ability to create complicated watches. I don’t know if it was a good decision then; now, I don’t think so. Because it was really hard in the first few years, and there were no sales. Despite this, I was happy to take all the decisions, because this was fully built by me.”
Rexhepi’s Atelier Akrivia is a fully integrated workshop in Geneva today; but it did not begin that way. “When I started, I just wanted to do a few watches, to be alone, to be, to relax, you know, just wanted to do my watches, live my philosophy. But I realised more and more that it was not that simple. You keep getting calls, and then there are administrative things to be done, so you need help. On the other hand, you are in Switzerland and the rent, and all these would cost you more. So, slowly, I evolved a little and I started to work with others. But it’s always the same story; when you do not have enough volume and when you have a particular quality standard to maintain, it becomes challenging.”
“Slowly, I brought in each step in the process of creating a timepiece because I didn’t have a choice. Today, I’m very happy because we do the components, we’re doing dials, the case, and the straps. We’re doing the complete construction of the timepiece. It was never my goal to be totally independent, but I did not have a choice. We may not be the best, but we are at least trying to be something that we can be proud of.”
Rexhep Rexhepi – an eponymous collection
Rexhepi’s eponymous collection – which carries just his name on the dial – was unveiled by him in 2018, under the aegis of Atelier Akrivia. Does this change anything? Rexhepi thinks not; “It’s my brand, it is still my atelier so nothing will change about it. I put my name on the dial in 2018, because many collectors used to tell me time and again that I should do it. Finally, I decided that it was the right moment to sign my watches because now I am fully creating them. People also have a different perception because they don’t see it as a brand. Rather, they see an independent watchmaker who signs his watches. It was a big, big moment, because people start to see the watch and you differently.”
“I believe it was a big, big change. The design aspect has definitely changed; Akrivia is more modern and more fun, while Rexhep Rexhepi is more classical. It is targeted at people who actually love classical watches. I started my watchmaking journey with Patek, which for me means the traditional classic watches. I started with something different with Akrivia because I wanted to do something different. At 25, I wanted to do something different, but I soon realised that in watchmaking we are not that open. We want to still follow some codes, which is good, but I will continue to try other things as I am not stuck on just classic.”
The resounding success of the first watch he launched under his name, the Rexhep Rexhepi Chronomètre Contemporain was a happy surprise for Rexhepi. “Yes, for sure, it was a great surprise because when you compare it to the first watch I made, for which I had to wait three years to sell, it is an honour to have collectors wait for a few years to get their new watches.”
