What do you love about this work?
What I love most about this craft is the independence, the creation, working with the hands, the chance to make a product from A to Z, sometimes working for months. Each unique piece is an adventure, a gestation, a birth, sometimes even followed by a little 'baby blues'!
Why did you begin creating erotic automata?
It all started quite by chance. I received a phone call in 1989: someone was asking me if I knew how to make erotic automata. I replied: 'No, but I'm interested!' This is how, with Blancpain, we created the first automaton on a wristwatch. In 30 years we have produced several hundred unique pieces.
© Anita Schlaefli
Where do you find inspiration for your engravings?
I engrave romantic subjects based on original drawings and sometimes using live models. I either create according to the wishes of my clients, or I suggest to manufacturers subjects related to the magic of time, to the history of the brand in question or even in connection with watchmaking.
How important is the design process in the creation of an engraving?
My starting point is a traditional drawing, which I realise on paper by means of the old technique called 'two pencils': a black and a white pencil on grey paper. In my opinion drawing by hand is essential and will always remain superior to drawing on a computer.