CABINET (WORKSHOP)

In watchmaking, the word “Cabinet (workshop)” covers two distinct meanings. It first refers to the small Geneva workshops active especially in the 18th and 19th centuries: located in the attics and top floors of buildings, particularly in the Saint-Gervais district, they benefited from abundant natural Light thanks to their large windows, an essential condition for the meticulous work of Établissage. It was in these Cabinets (workshops) that the cabinotiers worked, independent craftsmen — polishers, winders, engravers, casers — working on commission for the watch merchants of the Geneva Fabrique, a system of dispersed production characteristic of Swiss watchmaking under the Ancien Régime. The term then refers to the piece of furniture or the case, generally made of Wood precious, which houses and protects the mechanism of a Clock or a Pendulum: the Cabinet (workshop) of a longcase Clock, a wall cartel, or a table Pendulum, often richly decorated (marquetry, gilded bronzes, varnish), fully contributes to the value and aesthetics of the object. In both meanings, the cabinet thus refers to an enclosed and carefully finished space, whether it be the place of artisanal watchmaking or the case that showcases a Movement of horology.