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  • FHH Academy

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

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  • FHH Forum

    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

    LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK AUTOMATIC

    OFFICINE PANERAI PRESENTS THE LUMINOR 1950 3 DAYS CHRONO FLYBACK, a new chronograph with flyback function and an automatic movement with a power reserve of three days. The new chronograph in steel is the first to be made by...

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  • Famous watchmakers

    Jean Antoine Lépine

    French clockmaker. Clockmaker to Louis XV, Louis XVI and Napoleon I. Son-in-law of André Charles Caron. Associated with his father-in-law between 1756 and 1769. Technical director of Voltaire's...

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  • History

    1929

    LeCoultre revealed the world's smallest movement, the 101 calibre. It comprised 74 parts, measured 14 x 4.85 x 3.4 mm and weighed less than one gram. Invention of the perpetual motion Atmos, "the clock that lives on air" (in...

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  • Glossary

    • Axle

      A pivoted steel arbor on which the balance is mounted.

    • Bow lathe

      The bow is a band of steel strung with a cord, generally gut, which drives the watchmaker's lathe.

    • Countdown timer

      A device for counting backwards over a given interval.

    • Dead seconds

      A hand that jumps forward when the second has elapsed. Breguet used the expression seconde d'un coup or "sudden second".Generally, the jump of a hand is a distinctive feature of a quartz...

    • Enamellist

      A person who creates enamelwork.

    • Fracture

      A break in a gemstone.

    • Grande complication

      See complication.

    • Hunter

      A watch whose case has a front and back cover.

    • Invar

      Alloy of iron and nickel whose low coefficient of thermal expansion was discovered by Charles Edouard Guillaume. Invar (abbreviation of invariable) belongs to the Elinvar family of metals...

    • Jasper

      An opaque, ornamental stone found in many colours, including white, brown, yellow, red, and green. It is often striped, speckled, and multi-coloured and is used in watch making as a dial. Jasper...

    • 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.

    • Luminescent

      Having the property to emit light rays. In watchmaking, Tritium is the name given to a radioluminescent substance containing tritium. It was used to coat numerals, markers and hands so they could...

    • Mainspring winder

      The tool used to wind the mainspring before inserting it in the barrel.

    • 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.

    • Organic

      Describes a substance produced by a living organism. Pearl, coral and shell are examples of organic substances used in jewellery.

    • Pin

      An articulated metal catch that is inserted in a hole in the leather strap then secured by the buckle. The majority of belts fasten this way. A watch can be said to have a pin buckle.

    • Quartz oscillator

      The regulating organ in a quartz clock or watch.

    • Repassage

      The final and complete inspection of the watch with its mechanism and aesthetics, just before it leaves the manufacturer. Both rate and appearance are inspected.

    • Silent

      A manually-operated means of silencing a striking mechanism equipped with this function.

    • Tapestry pattern

      A pattern of repetitive motifs, similar to a tapestry. A die of this motif guides the movement of the tool on a specially-adapted rose engine.

    • 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...

    • Vermeil

      Silver covered with a thin layer of gold.

    • Watchmaker's cabinet

      A small chest of drawers for storing the watchmaker's tools and often part of the bench. A cabinet can also be a separate piece of furniture with any number of drawers for sorting and...

    • Year

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

    • Zinc

      A metal applied by electrodeposition (electroplating) to protect iron and steel.

    Expand Glossary

Glossary

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