Rexhep Rexhepi is a Kosovar-born, Geneva-based independent watchmaker and founder of Akrivia, celebrated for elevating traditional Swiss finishing to contemporary relevance. Born in 1987 in Kosovo, he fled to Switzerland during the Kosovo War and began a five-year apprenticeship at Patek Philippe at age 15, honing rigorous hand-finishing standards. He later worked on high complications at BNB Concept and then at F.P. Journe, where he learned end-to-end watchmaking accountability—one watchmaker responsible for one watch from assembly to after-sales—an ethos he carried into his own atelier. In 2012, Rexhepi founded Akrivia in Geneva’s Old Town, retaining full ownership to preserve creative and quality control while building a small, tightly knit team that includes his brother Xhevdet. His breakthrough came with the Chronomètre Contemporain, a classically styled, observatory-inspired wristwatch that showcases exemplary movement architecture and artisanal finishing, reflecting a matured design language distinct from Akrivia’s earlier, more “neo-classical” cases. Production remains intentionally limited—on the order of a few dozen pieces per year—to maintain the philosophy of one watchmaker per watch and uncompromising craft. Rexhepi’s journey—from refugee to standard-bearer of hand-finished haute horlogerie—has made him a leading figure of the new independent generation.