Prominent Swiss Watch Brands Ally to Propel Online Watchmaking Education for Enthusiasts and Professionals

Renowned Swiss watch brands have come together to promote an appreciation for fine horology. The Fondation Haute Horlogerie (FHH), a non-profit launched two decades ago, has announced its intentions of launching online education, training, and certification programs for watchmaking. This effort is backed by Richemont, Girard-Perregaux, and the family-owned Audemars Piguet. Initiating a bold step towards ensuring the legacy of watchmaking, these sessions are introduced to non-industry professionals for the first time. Brought forth under the banner of FHH Boutique, an e-commerce platform, courses aim to deliver insightful knowledge into Swiss watchmaking. Catering to a global audience, these programs are made available not only in French, but English and German, with subtitles offered in various languages including Cantonese, Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin, Spanish, Korean, and Italian. It’s a move strategically designed with the intention of engaging a younger and more diverse audience. However, this initiative comes as a response to curbing the downturn faced by the Swiss watch industry. Between a decline in exports and sales, after a post-pandemic boom, and the real estate crisis in China, a leading market, watch brands face substantial headwinds. The scenario further pushed the decision to introduce these online classes, a move to keep the genre relevant for upcoming generations. The FHH has already seen great success through existing structures like FHH Academy and FHH Forum. Now, with these online platforms, watch brands are reinventing the wheel on how timepiece craftsmanship is perceived, learned, and passed on. The fact that these classes are available to non-industry professionals paves the way for a resurgence of interest and knowledge preservation within the realm of horology. It’s a clockwork precision design for ensuring the timeless legacy of Swiss watchmaking crafts.