Celebrating 20 Years, a Watch Industry Group Makes Changes

New York Times

5 days ago

On a sweltering evening in June, members of the watch industry and representatives of the media that covers it gathered on Geneva's Pont de la Machine to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.
Waiters filled Champagne glasses and passed hors d'oeuvres, weaving through the crowd on the riverfront terrace of the former factory building that now houses the FHH, as the nonprofit industry organization is known.
Inside, guests were invited to visit 'Watch Makers,' an exhibition of hands-on demonstrations created by 30 of the FHH's 35 members, including brands such as Piaget, Ulysse Nardin and Bovet. For example, visitors can listen to the sound of a minute repeater or try to insert a minuscule screw into a bevel.
The organization said the free exhibition, on display until Sept. 7, marked another step in its recent efforts to go beyond the watchmaking training and industry educational sessions that have been its primary programming.
'Notably for the past three years, the FHH has been opening to the public while keeping its B-to-B basis,' Pascal Ravessoud, an FHH vice president, said in an email. 'Now we still do both, but we focus on the public.'
As Cyrille Vigneron, Cartier's chairman of culture and philanthropy, said during a pre-reception news conference: 'Today watches are beyond function, beyond necessity. They need to do something else, to be beautiful, to transmit passion. And, like opera, you have to be educated' to develop that passion.
Exports of Swiss timepieces, the only official statistics available in the notoriously secretive watch industry, have dropped this year, with significant declines reported in the numbers of watches sent to the United States, Japan and Hong Kong. But the FHH's efforts could help mitigate the trend, Patrick Pruniaux, the chairman and chief executive of Girard-Perregaux, said during the news conference: 'When people understand the time it takes to make a watch, with the knowledge developed over generations, they don't question the price.'
During the news conference, FHH executives announced changes in all three of its major programs.
The FHH Academy, a video training and watchmaking certification program, was opened to the public and the FHH Forum, an annual series of master classes in Geneva, is to be held in New York City for the first time.
'We are looking forward to welcoming everyone, from watch enthusiasts to watch professionals to the event on Oct. 16 and 17,' Mr. Ravessoud said during the news conference, noting that details would be added to the foundation's website when they are finalized.
And, according to Aurélie Streit, another FHH vice president, plans were being made through the Watches and Culture program for talks targeting women and Gen Z in locations around the world. As an example, she said, 'earlier this year we had talks with groups of women in London and in Paris,' including watchmaking demonstrations and a presentation on vintage women's watches.
The FHH was founded in 2005 when Franco Cologni, a well-known watch collector and author, brought Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux and the Richemont Group together to form an organization whose mission statement said the organization was 'for all subjects related to watchmaking.'
Now 90, Mr. Cologni was unable to attend the anniversary event in Geneva, but Mr. Ravessoud paid him homage during an interview later that evening: 'He was a visionary. He said that we need an institution to explain horology.'
Mr. Cologni's motto has been 'A Legacy for Tomorrow,' Mr. Ravessoud said. And now, the FHH announced during the news conference, it has a new motto: 'Watchmaking Knowledge for All.'