Watchmaking anglage training · Les Brenets · Switzerland · 4 seats
8h to find your bearings. 40h to correct or move up a level. 100h to build the foundations and reference points of workshop practice.
Each format follows the same principle: look at what the component reveals, name the gap, correct the gesture and document progress. The conversation before choosing reads the starting point, the possible rhythm and the time that will truly let the gesture change.
Training begins with vocabulary, neighbouring finishes, materials and the reading of light. Before correcting, you need to know what you are looking at.
Posture, support, bench height, component holding and tool choice are set before increasing difficulty. Many defects start there.
The component imposes its volumes, surfaces and sensitive zones. Work starts from those constraints: access, surface condition, protected areas and reflection control.
Straight graining, satin finishing and basic finishes create the frame. The surface needs coherence before anglage is expected to solve everything.
Width, reflection, pressure, corrections, junctions and internal angles are observed directly. The gap appears, is named, then corrected.
Immediate correction helps understand the gesture while it is happening. Progress photos, the certificate and, when the level justifies it, a recommendation become traces of the path.
The file, abrasive stick, micromotor, loupe and correction remain central. The dual binocular microscope, HD camera, 4K screen, adapted holders and sometimes 3D printing do not replace the hand: they make the gesture observable, and therefore correctable.
This video shows the real training environment: bench work, binocular microscope, high-definition camera, 4K screen, micromotors, holders and gesture correction on the component.
It also shows what matters in a small group: seeing the defect, understanding why it appears, then correcting it without moving the problem elsewhere.
Each format has a specific function. Choosing accurately matters more than choosing long.
| Format | Mainly clarifies | Starting point | Useful outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8h | Find your bearings, test the gesture, understand whether anglage suits you and read the first gaps. | Beginner, curious profile, professional who wants to assess the setting before going further. | A clear view of the possible next step: stop, 40h or 100h depending on the initial level and objective. |
| 40h | Improvement or level-building: width, reflection, pressure, corrections, junctions, surface condition. | Existing practice, partial foundations or a clear need for targeted correction. | A more readable and regular gesture, with defects better identified and corrected. |
| 100h | Building the foundations: bench, reading, tools, surrounding finishes, anglage, repetition and control. | Motivated beginner, career change, or profile needing to set the framework from the beginning. | Foundations and reference points to approach the expectations of a manufacture or subcontracting workshop, then progress through experience. |
Portfolio, certificate and recommendation: the certificate confirms the path followed, the portfolio shows before/after stages and a recommendation is issued only if the observed level justifies it.
8h: the discovery day is refunded if the 100h path is booked.
Realistic marker: employment and full autonomy are built afterwards; the format builds solid reference points and readable work.
For the 40h and 100h paths, Alexandra gathers before/after photographs, key steps and gestures worked on in an individual portfolio. It documents progress, but also the student’s profile: strengths, pace, qualities and the workshop contexts towards which they may then be guided.
For students who feel ready, and whose observed level allows it, a path can include work on a movement developed with our partner BeWatchmaker. The idea is to apply the gestures learned during training to a movement intended to live, then assemble the watch at the end of the path in the BeWatchmaker workshop.
This option is discussed with Alexandra. It depends on the chosen format, the actual level at the bench and the availability of the kit.
Your relationship to the bench, the slowness of the gesture, the light and the first visible defects.
Depending on what appears at the bench, Alexandra guides you toward stopping, a 40h correction format or a more complete 100h construction path.
The 8h discovery day is refunded if the 100h path is booked.
You have already touched the craft, learned certain gestures, or developed habits that need serious correction.
For first contact, 8h is more appropriate; to build from zero, 100h will often be more coherent.
The work starts from the component and the visible defects to reset priorities.
You are starting out, changing careers, or your foundations are too fragmented to justify a direct 40h format.
It also suits someone who wants to understand the gesture in depth rather than skip steps.
The path sets the references in order: see, understand, correct, then repeat.
Six short answers to frame expectations before choosing.
Yes. The 8h format allows you to discover the workshop seriously. The 100h path can also suit a motivated beginner or someone changing careers. The level is demanding, but learning starts with simple reference points.
8h helps you find your bearings. 40h helps correct or move up a level when a practice already exists. 100h builds the foundations and references of a workshop path.
Work starts with the bench, vocabulary, surrounding finishes, reading light and understanding surfaces. This prevents correcting blindly.
Yes. The 100h path helps students move closer to the expectations of a manufacture or an anglage workshop. A true professional level is then built through experience, repetition and control.
Yes. The portfolio reflects the pieces worked on, the progress made and the qualities observed. The certificate confirms the path followed. A letter of recommendation, when justified, takes the real profile into account: precision, regularity, pace, ability to read technical plans, autonomy, tool mastery or finishing level reached.
Yes. For the 40h and 100h formats, simple follow-up is included after the course: review of the level reached, training guidance, help structuring the portfolio and possible orientation according to the qualities observed. It remains support, not a promise of employment.
The conversation looks at your starting point, your relationship with the component and the rhythm needed to progress without skipping steps.
“When the eye begins to see more finely, the hand finds another way to correct.” Alexandra Schmitz
