“The watchmaker’s watchmaker.” “The coolest name in watchmaking.” “One of the youngest success stories in Swiss watchmaking.” These are typical of the encomia heaped upon Rexhep Rexhepi who, at the age of 36, makes some of the most coveted timepieces of the modern era. Demand for his watches far outstrips the annual production of around 40 pieces and has earned him the reputation of being a Mozart of the mechanical movement.
He arrived in Geneva in 1998 aged 11, fleeing impending war in his native Kosovo, and was instantly confronted with his destiny. “The thing that I remember when walking through the airport on my first day in Switzerland was all the advertising for watch brands. Starting school was a little more complex, as I only spoke Albanian!”
