As far as commutes go, it’s safe to say a case decorator at Bovet has yours well and truly trumped. Bringing new meaning to the daily “grind”, his journey to the engraving workshop winds up through fir forests to a ridge overlooking the dramatic, impossibly attractive Val-de-Travers. And at the end of this particularly beatific journey, his office for the day: an immaculately-restored 14th-century chateau – herein to work on our new, exclusive series of watches.

It’s exactly the kind of environment, and the kind of product, that MR PORTER had in mind when deciding to launch our Small World campaign. We’re committed to championing craftsmanship and artisan production techniques – and the communities that foster them – from all around the world.

The idea of small-batch, high-quality production might seem like a recent fascination in some circles, but it has been the modus operandi of elite watchmakers such as Bovet for centuries. We’re particularly proud to introduce this watch, limited to just 10 pieces, which has been painstakingly decorated in Bovet’s workshops at the Château de Môtiers.

Based on the Amadéo Fleurier 43 Monsieur Bovet, each piece in this limited collection has had its 18k white gold case hand-engraved in a pattern that the brand says is inspired by the work of celebrated tattoo artist Mr Mo Coppoletta. The swirling, scrolling motif is intended to evoke the sea, the waves, the sun and the clouds.

Each watch’s engraving represents almost a solid week of work by a single engraver – all of it carried out under high magnification. Glued to a microscope for days, the work requires the steadiest of hands, but also an eye for consistency; each of the 10 watches will undoubtedly show tiny differences, but outwardly should appear identical.

Keeping the proportions the same is the hardest task of all. The end result is something modern, with its connection to London’s foremost tattooist, yet also highly traditional – Bovet has been using these themes as well as these methods for hundreds of years.

Yet there was a time when such crafts nearly died out. In the 20th century, Bovet lapsed into disuse, and was resurrected by businessman Mr Pascal Raffy in 2006. Restoring the brand to its castle home, he acquired top-flight dial and movement facilities nearby, and with a production of just 2,000 pieces a year has done much to resurrect traditional decorative techniques – most of which were on the verge of extinction.

Alongside a handful of lonely artisans dotting the valleys of the Jura – a chalet industry, if you like – Bovet has played a crucial role in preserving archaic trades such as inverted fleurisanne hand-engraving (named after the town of Fleurier) grand feu enamel dial painting, stained-glass-style cloisonné enamelling, plus flinqué: a combination of lathe-applied guilloché dial engraving and transparent enamel, resulting in a dazzlingly colourful interference effect.

Painstakingly turned within the ancient masonry and oak beams of the chateau, fleurisanne has been Bovet’s party piece since the 19th century, adorning dials, cases, even the bridges of its movements. Once the raised surfaces are polished, the patterns gleam with vivid three-dimensionality. Then, to the deceptively pared-back case chasing you can add a sumptuous guilloché dial in fittingly sartorial midnight blue. Plus, no other watchmaker comes close to Bovet’s ingenious double-dial Amadéo case, fully reversible on the wrist, with cabochon-set crown at 12 o’clock that uncouples the strap to let it function either as a desk clock or pocket watch – a fob chain is also included, naturellement.

The decorative crafts may be ancient, the working environment several centuries more so, but Bovet’s spirit of invention feels as crisp as a spring drive through the conifers.