He left his mark as a trailblazer of Christian sacral art in Switzerland during the second half of the 20th century, about the same time as the church builder and designer Fritz Metzger and the painter Ferdinand Gehr, both of whom he held in high esteem.
Between 1946 and 1980, Aepli was a member of the Swiss Work Federation (Schweizerischer Werkbund, or SWB), an association dedicated to the debate of creative issues and the development of design.
The success of the companies Burch-Korrodi and Trudel Juwelier was due in large part to the professional-technical know-how and the creative contribution of Aepli.
It consisted of Aepli (chief designer), Martin Bucher (chef d’atelier) and Berger Bergersen (master enameler), all three of whom were professionally and technically equally adept, complemented one another's respective fields of expertise and worked famously as a team.
[4] Although this manner of prescribed anonymity bothered him, his unmistakable style left its mark on goldsmiths and silversmiths, reaching far beyond the German-speaking part of Switzerland, particularly north of the Alps.
Besides teaching compulsory trade curricula, Aepli also taught continuing education night classes at the School of Arts in Zurich, providing tradespeople with an opportunity to further their skills in silversmith techniques.