ATELIER AKRIVIA was born from Rexhep Rexhepi's dream of becoming an independent watchmaker, bringing to life a vision firmly rooted in Geneva's tradition of haute horlogerie and its codes of precision and quality. Born in Kosovo, he arrived in Switzerland at the age of 11, joining his father who had already settled there as war unfolded in his home country. Already fascinated by watches, he found that in Geneva — where watchmaking is omnipresent and deeply embedded in the city's identity — the early passion quickly became an all-consuming obsession. At 15 he began an apprenticeship at Patek Philippe, spending five years with the storied brand and gaining a profound understanding of haute horlogerie, where tradition, decoration and refined engineering are paramount. He was only 25 when he founded ATELIER AKRIVIA in 2012, having already accumulated a decade of experience working with some of Geneva's leading watchmakers. The workshop's guiding philosophy is reflected in its name: the Greek word akrivia (ακρίβεια) translates as precision or accuracy, with a secondary meaning of embodying exceptional quality. It was a demanding and uncertain path — his first creations did not immediately find their collectors and recognition came slowly — but driven by an unshakable belief in his work he continued relentlessly, refining his craft at the bench and building not only watches but credibility, trust and a name synonymous with excellence.
The atelier unveiled its first timepiece just a year after its founding: the AK-01 Tourbillon Chronographe Monopoussoir of 2013, developed with the support of former colleagues, combining a flying tourbillon, a single-button chronograph and a four-day power reserve — an exceptionally complex watch for a fledgling watchmaker, housed in a bold sculptural case. In 2014 came two more complicated pieces, the AK-02 Tourbillon Hour Minute, with a flying one-minute tourbillon and a hand-finished movement featuring a black-polished steel cock and hand-engraved lettering on the bridges, and the AK-03 Tourbillon Chiming Jump Hour, whose complications are arranged linearly on the dial to reflect his aesthetic vision of symmetry and whose hammer at 12 o'clock strikes a single note once an hour in synchrony with the jumping hours. In 2015 the house exhibited for the first time at Baselworld with the AK-04 Tourbillon Regulateur, inspired by the precision regulator clocks of the early 20th century. In 2017 Rexhep settled in Geneva's historic Old Town, and today REXHEP REXHEPI comprises several workshops united along a single street there — a watchmaking workshop, a hand-finishing atelier, a conventional micro-mechanics workshop, case making, a hand-sewn strapmaking workshop, a grand feu enamel dial workshop and an apprenticeship workshop — where every component is conceived, crafted and hand-finished in-house. The house has produced eight in-house calibres and won two prizes at the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.
