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 00

Watches and Culture: Did you know?

  • Timepieces

    Cosmograph Daytona

    Rolex's first chronograph, the Cosmograph Daytona, saw daylight in 1963. 

    More informations

  • Famous watchmakers

    Jacques Frédéric Houriet

    Swiss clockmaker and chronometer maker. Served his apprenticeship with his uncle, Abraham Gagnebin, then was apprenticed to Abraham Louis Perret-Jeanneret, master watchmaker in Le Locle, under the terms of a notarial letter of...

    More informations

  • History

    1922

    The English watchmaker John Harwood sought to improve the watch's water-resistance by doing away with the crown and stem. He filed a patent in 1923.

    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

    • À tact watch

      Repeater watch (see complication) in which hammer and bell are replaced by a sharp pin which protrudes from the case to prick the finger once for each hour.A type of watch made after...

    • Beryl

      A family of stones that share the same crystalline and chemical properties. Varieties include the emerald and the aquamarine.

    • Copper-plate

      Delicate line engraving or etching on copper.

    • Dauphine

      A type of hand in the form of an elongated triangle.

    • Electroplating

      A plating technique using electrodeposition.

    • Fly-back (Retour en vol)

      A function of particular use to pilots by which the chronograph hand can be reset to zero and immediately started again by pressing once on the pushpiece. Indeed, the operation of...

    • Glucidur (Glucydur)

      A highly elastic, hard, amagnetic and corrosion-proof alloy used to make monometallic balances, escapements and balance-springs.

    • Hertz (Hz)

      A unit of frequency of a periodic phenomenon equal to one cycle per second.

    • Irradiated (treated) diamonds

      Diamonds that have been exposed to radiation in order to change their colour from yellowish to fancy yellow or blue. The change is permanent.

    • 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.

    • Kunzite

      A transparent pink or light purple gemstone and is a variety of spodumene. The colour of some kunzite can be enhanced by irradiation. Kunzite has a hardness of 6-7 and a specific gravity of 3.1 -...

    • 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...

    • Marcasite

      Marcasite is a misnomer for pyrite that has been cut in shiny metallic stones. It is sometimes found on watch bracelets and cases.

    • Nickel silver (German silver)

      A silver-white alloy of copper, nickel and zinc developed in France circa 1820 by Maillot and Chorier from whom it takes its name.

    • Onyx

      A black agate that is often found as watch dials.

    • Pearl

      An organic gem material found in oysters and mussels. Since 1913, pearls are cultured meaning that a nucleus is inserted in a farmed mollusc. There are many types of cultured pearls: Akoya...

    • Quartz oscillator

      The regulating organ in a quartz clock or watch.

    • Retour en vol

      A function of particular use to pilots by which the chronograph hand can be reset to zero and immediately started again by pressing once on the pushpiece. Indeed, the operation of stopping,...

    • Sweep seconds

      Also called centre seconds. A seconds hand positioned at the centre of the main dial.

    • Termineur

      An independent workshop or independent watchmaker assembling all or some of a watch, using parts supplied by an établisseur or manufacture.

    • Universal hour

      One twenty-fourth of the universal day which begins at midnight at the Prime Meridian at Greenwich. Following the 1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington, the Earth was divided...

    • Vagues de Genève

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

    • Winding mechanism

      The mechanism which tightens the mainspring in a watch or lifts the weights in a clock. It comprises about ten parts (see drawing). The winding and hand-setting mechanisms have nowadays...

    • 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!