Setting
4 places
Alexandra sees live on screen what is happening on the component and can correct each student while the gesture is being made.
Watchmaking anglage training workshop · Alexandra Schmitz · Les Brenets, Switzerland
Watchmaking anglage and beveling training in Switzerland.
What if true luxury were
having gold in your hands?
In Les Brenets, Alexandra Schmitz trains hand and micromotor anglage on real watch components: 8h to enter the workshop, 40h to correct a gesture, 100h to build a foundation. Small groups, microscope linked to a 4K screen, live correction as the gesture happens.
Materials
Real components
You work on vintage or contemporary watch components, not on a simplified exercise.
Vision
Microscope + 4K screen
Drifting width, broken reflection, poorly placed correction: the fault becomes visible when it needs to be corrected.
Real practice
Subcontracting
Alexandra continues to do subcontracting work: bridges, wheels and components whose finish is judged under the light.
Reading the component
The component sets the diagnosis: width, edge, reflection, correction.
Under the light, an angle quickly shows whether it holds. Alexandra angled this wheel, then had it photographed to show what the eye looks for at the bench: width, boundary, reflection.
Angle, width, geometry, reflection: the component shows what holds and what needs reworking. To go further, you can read the Workshop Journal.
Exploration mode: click a marker, or activate the loupe to read the detail.
Click a marker to read it. Activate the loupe to give full space to the detail.
01
Clean edge
A clean transition, without a soft edge or burrs.
02
Even width
A width that swells or narrows betrays the trajectory.
03
Coherent geometry
Curves, points and corrections must remain coherent.
04
Stable reflection
A broken reflection signals an area to rework.
Useful teaching
On screen, Alexandra corrects what is happening on the component.
Correction starts from a named defect: uneven width, soft edge, excessive pressure, unstable trajectory, poorly placed correction. The student returns to the bench with one precise point to hold.
The microscope connected to a high-definition camera transmits the component to the 4K screen: Alexandra sees the pressure, trajectory and reflection during the gesture, then corrects immediately.
Name the defect
Alexandra shows the gap on screen, then asks for one precise gesture.
Correct in the right place
The correction is made where the defect begins: angle, width, edge or junction.
Correct and check
The component goes back under the optical system to check whether the correction holds.
Real watch components
You progress on components that do not forgive approximation.
Bridges, wheels, levers and vintage or contemporary components support the training. Each material, access point and surface state imposes its constraint: the exercise remains tied to the trade, not to a simplified school piece.
Two settings
Two entry points, depending on your need.
Individual training or work with a workshop: choose the entry point that matches your situation. The Training page details the formats; the Companies page clarifies team and manufacture needs.
Discover, correct or build a serious foundation.
8h, 40h and 100h answer three distinct needs: first immersion, skill correction or progressive foundation.
- 8h Enter the workshop and understand what anglage truly requires.
- 40h Rework a gesture, stabilise a reflection, gain consistency.
- 100h Build a coherent foundation to go further.
Stabilise a team’s gestures on your components and criteria.
The aim is for several hands to read the component in the same way, rework in the right place and hold your criteria.
- Staff training Gestures to stabilise and working practices to align.
- Work on your components Learning as close as possible to your workshop realities.
- Workshop setup Organisation, tools, ergonomics, criteria.
Training formats
Three formats to learn watchmaking anglage without choosing blind.
8h to enter the workshop. 40h to straighten an already-started practice. 100h to build a complete foundation with the time needed for repetition and control.
8h
Discover the workshop
A day to set up the bench, take the tool in hand and see the first defects.
40h
Advance
To rework a gesture already underway and stabilise width, reflection and rework.
100h
Build a complete foundation
To begin seriously or support a broader career change.
Alexandra Schmitz
Alexandra Schmitz: a craftswoman and trainer in contact with real components.
Alexandra starts from the component: drifting width, broken reflection, excessive pressure, poorly held trajectory. The instruction comes from what is visible on screen and on the component, not from a rehearsed rule.
“I prefer a precise correction to a long phrase: when the student sees the gap, the correction can really begin.”
She keeps part of her week for subcontracting with watch brands and independents. That continuity brings demanding components, tolerances and production criteria back into the training.
Since 2006, that bench practice has fed a sober, direct way of teaching: look, name, correct, check. To understand the path behind it, you can discover Alexandra Schmitz’s journey.
A calm workshop. Clear correction. A result you can defend at the bench.
Testimonials
What students, watchmakers and workshop managers retain.
Feedback where consistency, reading the light, rework and the calm of the workshop come back often.
“I made enormous progress in the consistency of my gestures, in reading the light and in the precision of the edges. Your teaching and your standards gave meaning to every detail of the trade.”
“I recommend it. People coming out of this training become operational very quickly. My new colleague, with no previous experience, gained solid foundations thanks to Art de l’Anglage. Promising.”
Frequently asked questions
Two answers to get oriented quickly.
The minimum to understand the workshop before comparing formats or booking a conversation.
Is watchmaking anglage training accessible to a beginner?
Yes. The 8-hour format offers a first serious immersion in the workshop. The 100-hour format can also suit a structured start or a career change.
Do you work on real components in watchmaking anglage?
Yes. The workshop works on real watch bridges, wheels, and components, both vintage and contemporary, so that learning is grounded in the materials, geometries, and surface finishes of the trade.