Jaeger-LeCoultre is pleased to announce its return to Venice in September to participate in the fourth edition of Homo Faber Biennial, the world’s leading exhibition of contemporary craftsmanship. Created by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, Homo Faber celebrates the savoir-faire of talented craftspeople from around the globe, honouring and supporting the priceless human skill behind the creation of beautifully handcrafted objects. This year’s edition of Homo Faber Biennial, designed around the theme An Island of Light by award-winning British stage designer and artist Es Devlin, will showcase the work of more than 500 highly skilled makers from over 70 countries, exhibited across 15 themed spaces. Homo Faber 2026 will take place at Fondazione Giorgio Cini on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, from 1 to 30 September 2026.
A Celebration of Beauty and a Rare Insight into Precious Craft Skills
Underlining the exceptional savoir-faire of its Métiers Rares™ atelier and reflecting a core value of the Maison, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been chosen to participate in two of the themed spaces of Homo Faber 2026.
In “An Atelier Alive”, located in the Sala degli Arazzi, the Maison celebrates the talent and accumulated savoir-faire it continues to nurture in both watchmaking and the decorative arts through four new limited-edition Reverso timepieces. On the caseback of each watch, a minutely detailed reproduction of one of the early 19th-century paintings of Venice by the great English artist J.M.W. Turner showcases the craft of miniature painting in Grand Feu enamel. Among them is ‘The Dogana and San Giorgio Maggiore’, depicting the very island on which Homo Faber Biennial takes place. Turner’s fascination with the Venetian light echoes the theme of Homo Faber 2026: An Island of Light. Alongside these miniature works of art, illustrating a shared commitment to beauty and heritage, visitors are invited to observe the delicate and demanding craft of Old Master painting restoration, as an expert restorer breathes new life into a Renaissance masterpiece.
Many of the motifs on Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Métiers Rares™ timepieces are inspired by nature, and the Sala Bianca, with its theme “An Infinite Birdsong”, provides the perfect setting for three more of the Maison’s creations. From the Vallée des Merveilles™ series, two Reverso One timepieces showcase the crafts of gem-setting and enamelling with images of birds among blossoms, each requiring between 125 and 160 hours of gem-setting work. Alongside them, a new colour edition of the Atmos Régulateur Enamel ‘Colibris’ clock, the result of 230 hours of hand-enamelling, is framed by hand-painted Grand Feu enamel panels depicting hummingbirds among cherry blossoms and hydrangeas.
Homo Faber Fellowship
Underlining its commitment, alongside the Michelangelo Foundation, to the preservation and transmission of vitally important craft skills for future generations, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been a founding partner of the Homo Faber Fellowship programme since its establishment in 2023. Redefining the traditional mentorship model, Homo Faber Fellowship offers an international, hands-on learning experience that combines the transmission of exceptional craft skills with business acumen, equipping emerging artisans to thrive in a sustainable craft economy.
Each year, the Fellowship brings together duos of renowned craft masters and emerging talents (fellows) for an eight-month sponsored training programme across Europe. Each cycle begins with a one-month residential masterclass combining creative workshops, design case studies and training in business skills and entrepreneurship. This is followed by a six-month residential placement for fellows in the studios of their respective masters, during which they exchange ideas, share skills and further develop their techniques through the co-creation of an object.
A selection of these objects has been curated for Homo Faber 2026, where they will be displayed across different exhibition areas, each reflecting the creative vision and craftsmanship it embodies. The ten displayed objects were created by the following duos of master artisans and fellows from both the most recent completed cohort (2025/2026) and the previous cohort (2024/2025):
- “Cabinet of Curiosity” by Navid Gholipour (Cyprus) and Natali Touloupou (Cyprus), craft of woodworking, 2024/2025 edition
- “Matter to Reflect” by Eve George (France) and Alexandra Holmes (UK), craft of glassblowing, 2024/2025 edition
- “Suaimhneas” by Helen O’Connell (Ireland) and Finn Conlon (Ireland), craft of stone carving, 2024/2025 edition
- “Balance” by Ole Morten Rokvam (Norway) and Line Blom Salvesen (Norway), craft of ceramics, 2024/2025 edition
- “Intérieurs en Couleurs” by Luis Minguez Serrano (Spain) and Gonzalo Minguez Minguez (Spain), craft of bookbinding, 2024/2025 edition – temporarily exhibited
- “Bird Houses” by Stian Korntved Ruud (Norway) and Marianne Bain (Norway), craft of woodworking, 2024/2025 edition
- “Before the Storm” by Kim Jordan (UK) and Sandra Pinto (France), craft of straw marquetry, 2025/2026 edition
- “Light of Longing” by Helena Imaginário (Portugal) and O33 (China), craft of lamp making, 2025/2026 edition
“ Light of Andalusia” by Pablo TITO (Spain) and Tito Martínez (Spain), craft of ceramics, 2025/2026 edition
- “Liminal” by Kuniko Maeda (Japan/UK) and Momoka Ienaga (Japan), craft of paper sculpting, 2025/2026 edition
