In the high-tech world of watchmaking, design and engineering know how tend naturally to take center stage in the effort to make precise, reliable and lasting mechanical timepieces. These are the bedrock of what we do at Aera. But there is a third, equally vital element we depend on that is a vital part of the creation of all useful things. Craft is essentially the practical application of knowledge applying the marriage of hand and eye and is honed by experience and perfected by repeated gestures, like the stitching of leather, the shaping of wood or even the meticulous brushing and polishing of an Aera watch case. Ancient Greek philosophers like Plato got deep into the true meaning of art, using the word techne equally for both “art” and “craft”. Today, we would naturally make the distinction that craft is the creation of useful things while art is the creation of decorative things, even if we like to think that there is also great beauty in our highly functional watches.   In a world increasingly besotted with corner-cutting AI, the human touch is the long game. Craft is what makes us fall in love and stay in love with the objects we covet. This month in the Aera journal, we explore and celebrate craft, this innately human side of creativity.