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Musee Rath Presents Watchmaking in Geneva. The Magic of Craftsmanship, Treasures of Gold and Enamel

The Musée Rath in Geneva presents Watchmaking in Geneva. The Magic of Craftsmanship, Treasures of Gold and Enamel an exhibition on view 29 APRIL 2012.

Sharing the richness and beauty of the watchmaking, enamelware and jewellery collections of the Musée d’art et d’histoire is the objective of the exhibition Watchmaking in Geneva. The Magic of Craftsmanship, Treasures of Gold and Enamel. This exhibition puts on display more than a thousand objects and masterpieces from the 16th century to today. It also presents some pieces that can be admired by the public for the first time.

To enter the world of the watchmaking, enamelware and jewellery collections of the Musée d’art et d’histoire is to step into a realm of luxury where treasures of perfection are waiting to be discovered: watches, clocks and jewels in addition to enamels and miniatures. Monumental pieces and minuscule specimens of only a few millimetres are revealed as genuine masterpieces where beauty blends with high precision and technical prowess, compelling the viewer’s admiration in the face of such know- how.

As the Geneva public collections are so intimately linked to Geneva’s industrial and artistic activities, the exhibition also underlines the relationship between these works and the artistic craft trades. It evokes the role of the workshops as birthplaces of creation and highlights the modern relevance of a watchmaking tradition in Geneva that has been uninterrupted for over five centuries. For this reason, a number of prestigious private firms will be occasionally present at the exhibition with their own historic collections. Demonstrations in the fields of watchmaking, enamelware and jewellery will also be provided through the cultural mediation of the Musées d’art et d’histoire.

Watchmaking in Geneva. The Magic of Craftsmanship, Treasures of Gold and Enamel can therefore be termed an exhibition-event for several reasons. It puts on display an extremely rich and diversified heritage that has not been exhibited in public since the 2002 closure of the Museum of Watchmaking and Enamelware, but that will find the place it deserves in the Musée d’art et d’histoire’s future renovation and enlargement project. Finally, it showcases some never-seen-before pieces acquired over the last ten years. – www.ville-ge.ch

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