This ambitious initiative stems from one woman and two men: Jasmine Audemars, shareholder in the major independent brand Audemars Piguet; Gino Macaluso, owner and director of the Girard-Perregaux brand and Manufacture; and Franco Cologni, Senior Executive Director of the Richemont Group (owners of a brand portfolio including
A. Lange & Söhne, Cartier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget and Vacheron Constantin). The aim of this private foundation is to give full legitimacy, to promote and defend a distinctive ‘perimeter’ within the watchmaking world: technical and precious Haute Horlogerie with its inherent values of authenticity and originality.




Gino Macaluso, Jasmine Audemars and Franco Cologni


“Too much business, not even culture”
“Why now?” is the question we put to Franco Cologni. “Because there is a lot of confusion and a headlong pursuit of ill-defined goals prevailing in the watch industry. Because there is more business than culture or philosophy. In our view, Haute Horlogerie stands for Haute Culture, as it used to be understood and not in the restrictive sense currently used in which “haute” mainly means “expensive”.
He goes on to list the numerous aims the FHH intends to reach: “we want to be a Conservatory of traditions and various forms of know-how, but we also want to make an active contribution to the enrichment and development of knowledge by nurturing innovation and stimulating research. Moreover, we wish to promote our values and to transmit them, to convey them to the broadest possible audience through all the players in Haute Horlogerie the world over: legitimate brands, collectors, retailers, journalists, researchers, craftsmen and independent master-watchmakers. This is to be done with a very open-minded attitude towards those who will wish to join us and while devoting special attention to the up and coming generations we wish to make more aware of these genuine cultural values.

How can you define Haute Horlogerie?
Some may naturally object by asking how one can possibly hope to define what Haute Horlogerie is and is not? How can one decide which brands have the necessary legitimacy and those that could not hope to enter this “sacred perimeter”? One can easily imagine that this is an ultra-sensitive issue and may raise a lot of heated debate and provoke many conflicts of interest.
“It is precisely because this is a delicate, complex and debatable definition that we have created a Steering Committee made up of international personalities reputed for their complete independence”, explains Franco Cologni. “This committee has two top-priority tasks: to define the exclusive perimeter of technical and precious Haute Horlogerie, and to determine who the players are. It will establish which are the brands, whether historical or contemporary; who are the master-craftsmen and the suppliers: in a word, the active players who can truly claim to belong within this territory. I insist on the fact that these are ad personam nominations. And the list does not stop there: the ranks will also include the specialised retailers – and not the stores – who work in a spirit of excellence, the media that convey the message; and finally individuals, the end customers such as collectors and connoisseurs. They are all invited to be ambassadors of the Centre Culturel de la Haute Horlogerie, to sit around a table and to suggest co-optation of other potential interested parties, somewhat like a “Rotary Club” of Haute Horlogerie.

Getting into action!
Fair enough. While this “catalogue of intentions” appears quite clear-cut on paper, how will these virtuous resolutions actually translate into deeds? How does the Foundation intend to give weight and visibility to its action? A certain number of tools have been created and a plan of action has been established. This programme is intended for all the players the FHH intends to address directly: watchmakers, manufacturers, retailers, and of course, informed consumers. Let’s take a look at some of the main means of implementation.
In terms of watch production, the FHH intends to contribute to reinforcing “intellectual property values” by raising awareness of the concepts of patents and copyrights. This awareness raising is part of a firm battle against fakes in all forms: base copies which, parading under a different name, shamelessly incorporate the essential attributes of another product; or counterfeits which are proliferating to an alarming extent. The aim of this action is to promote the excellence and the original quality of Haute Horlogerie watches. This work will also involve nudging towards a definition of Swiss Made and the other international labels or origin.
At the distribution level, the FHH will focus its efforts to ensure that Haute Horlogerie products enjoy specific attention and are appropriately highlighted. The goal is to give end customers a greater sense of satisfaction by informing and training the sales staff that welcome them. Also in the area of distribution, the FHH will raise the concrete issue of the pernicious system of sub-distribution, the grey market and the unbridled use of e-commerce. In the same way, the FHH intends to promote widespread awareness in order to fight against the kind of savage commercial practices that degrade the economic and cultural value of Haute Horlogerie.
In terms of communication, the FHH wishes to promote a blend of professional and ethical information. It intends to monitor the objectiveness of the information being circulated and to seek outlaw any misleading or deceptive information or any abusive claims, whether conveyed through articles or advertising (one might take the abusive use of the word “Manufacture” as an example..).
At the end of the day, all these actions are aimed at reassuring the end customer by clearly staking out the perimeter of Haute Horlogerie based on the premise that fame and reputation should be based on genuine, tangible shared values. In the same way, particular efforts will be directed towards the younger generations and the so-called emerging countries, where the message must be forcefully asserted. To achieve this, the FHH wishes to promote encounters, exchanging and confronting ideas, and dialogue in all forms. Such interaction is the only way to get the message across.

Website, publications, forums, training
This comprehensive programme is to be implemen-ted progressively over the coming months. The Study and Research centre, representing the armed wing of the FHH, will be operational as of June 2006. One of the key promotional tools of the FHH, constituting an essential virtual rallying point, will be the major internet portal, named haute-horlogerie.org, that will start operating at the same time. This benchmark site, which intends to be exhaustive in its field, will be divided into four sub-sites respectively dedicated to presenting the Foundation; to the culture and philosophy of Haute Horlogerie; to events organised by the Foundation; and to the Haute Horlogerie journal that will be regularly published there. With its feature articles, news, specialised contributions and exchange forum, this journal is intended to serve as a vibrant platform for discussions and dialogue, as well as a living demonstration of the open-minded spirit of the FHH.
Autumn 2006 will bring the publication of a first book in the collection of reference works the FHH plans to launch. Entitled “Maître Horloger – Métier d’Art”, written by Dominique Fléchon and published by Flammarion, it will be available in good bookstores, at Haute Horlogerie stockists and via the website.
This book launch will be timed to coincide with the first of the series of Haute Horlogerie Forums the FHH plans to organise, scheduled for the autumn of 2006 in Geneva. All the Ambassadors of Haute Horlogerie as well as other guests will be invited to reflect together on the ins and outs of the very concept of Haute Horlogerie.
Finally, from September 2006 onwards, a first training module open to all interested members of the profession: retailers, sales assistants and mono-brand boutiques serving the cause of Haute Horlogerie will be set up. The first themes dealt with will be the culture and spirit of Haute Horlogerie, the know-how and sales skills inherent to Haute Horlogerie; as well as customer service and satisfaction.
These two-day training modules will be conducted by independent instructors who travel to meet interested parties around the world.

And what about funding?
The last question one cannot help asking is how the Foundation, a not-for-profit organization, intends to finance the development of this ambitious programme. The answer lies in the fact that the FHH is divided into two poles: the ‘non-profit’ pole we have just described, and the ‘profit-making’ pole that funds it: FHH Events. The latter, specializing in the organization of events primarily intended for professionals in the sector, has secured a gem in the shape of the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, a key watch industry event that is currently holding its 16th edition in Geneva, in a splendid placed called the ‘City of Haute Horlogerie’. This Events pole is already preparing other events around the world.
“Rowing is not enough,” concludes Franco Cologni, enlarging on his initial metaphor, “we now need to run up the sails we have made and hope that the wind will blow in the right direction. But only God knows whether that will happen.”


Source: Europa Star April-May 2006 Magazine Issue