Close
  • FHH Academy
  • FHH Forum
  • Watches and Culture
  • FHH Academy

    Train and Certify, The Academy masters, delivers and measures watchmaking knowledge worldwide.

    More information

  • FHH Forum

    The Watch Forum provides a platform for debate to help craft the industry of tomorrow.

    More information

  • Watches and Culture

    Attract new audiences and present watchmaking in a new light.

    More information

Who are we

A not-for-profit foundation set up under private law in 2005 by Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux and Richemont, the objective of the FHH is to promote and spread the reputation of watchmaking excellence around the world.

It provides information on the latest news, history and skills within the watchmaking professions. It trains, assesses and certifies horological knowledge. It organises events and encounters intended for both the general public and professionals. A creator of content, competencies, connections and experiences, the FHH is supported by leading names in the watch industry and independent creators, all actively contributing to its activities.


Head office

Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie

Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie

Pont de la Machine 1

1204 Geneva | Switzerland

T +41 22 808 58 60

Watches and Culture: Did you know?

  • Timepieces

    Jules Audemars Chronometer with Audemars Piguet Escapement

    Hand-wound chronometer with small seconds at 6 o'clock and power-reserve indication, high frequency movement (43,200 vibrations per hour) with Audemars Piguet escapement and double balance spring. 18-carat pink gold case, black dial, brown...

    More informations

  • Famous watchmakers

    Georges Graham

    English clockmaker and astronomer. Member of the Clockmaker Company (CC.). Free CC.1695. Master CC.1722. Member of the Royal Society in London (admitted in 1721) and member of its Council...

    More informations

  • History

    1878

    Foundation in Biel of the first Swiss institution to officially control watch rates, acknowledged as the official watch observation bureau in 1893 and now the Bureau officiel des chronomètres (BO).Wristwatches produced in...

    More informations

    • a

      A

    • b

      B

    • c

      C

    • d

      D

    • e

      E

    • f

      F

    • g

      G

    • h

      H

    • i

      I

    • j

      J

    • k

      K

    • l

      L

    • m

      M

    • n

      N

    • o

      O

    • p

      P

    • q

      Q

    • r

      R

    • s

      S

    • t

      T

    • u

      U

    • v

      V

    • w

      W

    • y

      Y

    • z

      Z

    Prev Next
  • Glossary

    • Anti-magnetic

      Describes a watch that is protected against magnetic fields.

    • Bar

      Unit of measure to indicate a watch's water-resistance, specifically its capacity to resist pressure, based on standard atmospheric pressure defined as 101.325 kilopascals (kPa) equivalent to...

    • Clock

      Any device (water clock, candle clock, sundial, sandglass, mechanical clock, etc.) whose function is to indicate the time. Today, it refers exclusively to a non-portable mechanism intended to work...

    • Dart (Guard pin)

      In a lever escapement, a small metal pin which prevents accidental movement of the fork.

    • Engine-turning (Guilloché)

      A style of hand or machine engraving with intersecting wavy or straight lines. When the piece is moved horizontally or vertically against the tool, the finished effect is guilloché, compared with...

    • Full cut

      A brilliant cut diamond.

    • Gregorian calendar

      The calendar now referred to by the majority of countries, introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII in his reform of the Julian calendar. With its 365.25 days, the Julian year was 11 minutes...

    • Hardness

      The resistance of a material to scratching and wear. Hardness is measured using the Moh's Scale. This scale indicates that one substance can scratch the substance below it and scratch itself. For...

    • Integrated circuit

      A group of electronic components and their connections, performing one or more functions. Integrated circuits for watches measure just a few square millimetres.

    • Jewels

      International term for the rubies in a watch movement.

    • Knot

      A raised mineral inclusion in a diamond found at the surface.

    • Lapidary

      A craftsman who cuts, polishes and sells coloured and precious stones. A lapidary who specializes in diamonds is called a diamond-cutter.

    • Moonstone

      A variety of orthoclase feldspar that shows a bluish white glow that is called adularescence. It is usually whitish-blue, but can be colourless, yellow, orange, gray, or even reddish. Moonstone is...

    • Niello

      An enamel-like alloy of lead, copper, silver, sulphur and sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride). Niello paste is applied over incised gold or silver then fired in the enamellist's furnace. Excess...

    • Oscillator

      A device such as a pendulum or balance that produces the oscillations that divide time into equal units: a balance spring in a mechanical watch; a quartz in a quartz watch.

    • Pinion

      A watch part, generally with 6 to 14 leaves (teeth). The different parts of the pinion are the leaves, the seat to which the wheel is riveted, the shank and the pivots.

    • Quartz

      Silicon dioxide. Also called rock crystal. Quartz has the specific property of vibrating at a very high frequency (32 MHz) placed under electric current. Under certain conditions, it...

    • Rim

      A circular mass held by spokes to form the balance.

    • Second

      The basic unit of time corresponding to 1/86,400 of the mean solar day, which is the period of rotation about its own axis of an ideal Earth describing a circle round the Sun in one year, at a...

    • Turning arbor

      Slightly tapered arbor in tempered steel for turning the hour wheel.

    • Universal (watch with universal hours)

      A watch whose dial shows the time of places in different time zones.

    • Vermeil

      Silver covered with a thin layer of gold.

    • Water

      The transparency and clarity of a precious stone; the orient and lustre of a pearl.

    • Year

      A four-digit indication of the current year that changes automatically at midnight on December 31st.

    • Zodiac

      At the heart of countless legends and beliefs, since ancient times precious stones have had symbolic value. From the Jews to the Egyptians, each culture and religion has given a different meaning...

    Expand Glossary

Glossary

From A to Z, we've got watchmaking covered!