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  • FHH Academy

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

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

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  • Watches and Culture

    Attract new audiences and present watchmaking in a new light.

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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 00

Watches and Culture: Did you know?

  • Timepieces

    Lady Arpels Papillon

    On the dial of the Lady Arpels Papillon watch appears one of the House's icons: the butterfly. Part of the Van Cleef & Arpels world since the beginning, the butterfly is a symbol for a happy and care free Nature, as well as the...

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  • Famous watchmakers

    Nicolas Fatio de Duillier

    Swiss mathematician and astronomer. Born at the château Le Vieux clos in Duillier. Lived in Paris (from 1683), The Hague and London (from 1687). Member of the Academy of Sciences in Paris....

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  • History

    1979

    Launch of the Delirium, the world's thinnest watch (1.98mm). This was the first time the case back had been used as the bottom plate, an idea that the Swatch would later borrow.

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  • Glossary

    • Argand burner

      An oil lamp once used by watchmakers as lighting.

    • Bolt

      A catch that can be operated from the outside of a watch case to trigger a mechanism, for example to set the hands.

    • Cut

      Cut is the result of centuries of research, trial and error. A stone is cut to show off its colour and create lustre by the play of light on its facets and eliminating its defects. Diamonds are...

    • Date

      The number, in order, of each day in the month.

    • Exterior

      The different parts (case, dial, hands, crystal, crown, etc.) that help to give the watch its finished and functional appearance.

    • Feuille

      A hand in the form of a leaf.

    • Grande sonnerie

      Watch that strikes the hours and quarters in passing and repeats the hour at each quarter. The hour and quarter strikes can be repeated on demand. Certain Grande Sonnerie...

    • Hematite

      A natural iron oxide that is a metallic dark to silver-grey with a high sheen. Hematite can be used to make watch dials. It has a specific gravity of 4.95 to 5.16 and a hardness of 6.5 on the...

    • Isochronism

      The property of being isochronal.The science of timing lies in achieving isochronism of the regulating organ of a timekeeping instrument. The principal factors that can impair a balance's...

    • Jumping seconds

      On a chronograph, a hand that makes one rotation every second, pausing four, five, even eight times to indicate quarters, fifths or eighths of a second. Also called foudroyante.

    • Karrusel

      A device similar to the tourbillon, the difference being that the cage is driven by the third wheel. Invented by Bonnicksen, a Danish watchmaker established in London.See complication.

    • Lapis lazuli

      A rich blue opaque gemstone often used in watch dials. It is specked with pyrite that looks like gold. Lapis has a hardness of 5.5; it has a specific gravity of 2.4 to 2.9. Lapis lazuli is not a...

    • Movement

      The duly-assembled organs and mechanisms of a watch, meaning the winding and hand-setting mechanism, the mainspring, the gears, the escapement and the regulating organ (spring...

    • Nephrite

      A family of the jade group of ornamental gemstones. Nephrite is slightly softer that jadeite and is often veined.

    • Opaque

      An optical characteristic of certain gemstones that do not transmit light either due to a very saturated colour or numerous inclusions.

    • Piezoelectric

      The ability of certain crystals to generate a voltage in response to applied mechanical stress (pressure, twisting, traction, etc.). Discovered by brothers Pierre and Jacques Curie in...

    • 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...

    • Resonance

      This sophisticated technique, developed by Breguet and applied to wristwatches by François-Paul Journe, implies two fully independent movements: two mainsprings, two geartrains, two lever...

    • Stopwork

      System that controls tension to the mainspring when wound. The best-known stopwork mechanism is the "Maltese cross".

    • Tourmaline

      A dichroic gemstone that comes in all colours of the rainbow. Some crystals are bi or tri coloured. Tourmaline has the greatest colour range of any gemstone. Tourmaline has a hardness of 7-7.5 and...

    • Ultra-complicated watch

      Any function other than the indication of hours, minutes and seconds, regardless of whether the mechanism is hand-wound or self-winding, mechanical or electronic, and of movement height. The...

    • Vagues de Genève

      Synonym of Côtes de Genève. A decoration of undulating lines, like waves, frequently used to embellish superior quality movements.

    • Water-Resistant

      Describes a watch which, in theory, will not let in water at a depth of up to 3 atm or 30 metres. See Waterproof

    • 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!