AIHH General Meeting

The AIHH (Association Interprofessionnelle de la Haute Horlogerie) held its General Meeting in Neuchâtel (Switzerland) on 20 and 21 June 2003

Attending in their eleventh Ordinary General Meeting , the members of the AIHH gathered in Neuchâtel, the Mecca of Swiss watchmaking and the region where the vast know-how that sets this industry apart is cultivated, making it the third biggest exporter of the country.

The Chairman, Luigi Macaluso (right), in his opening address, hastened to recall the need for both producers and distributors to protect and develop this exceptional heritage. “Although the world economic situation is complex, we must maintain jobs and guarantee the quality of these workplaces”, he said in substance.

The Association Interprofessionnelle de la Haute Horlogerie with its eleven Brand members (Audemars Piguet, Baume & Mercier, Cartier, Corum, Ebel, Girard-Perregaux, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Zenith), and 200 Retailer members among the best watchmakers-jewellers in the world and 180 Brand Agents and Representatives, during this session, turned its attention particularly to the shortage of watchmakers observed almost everywhere in the world. Luigi Macaluso called upon the public authorities to “not only protect this unique world heritage and to stimulate the interest of young men and women in this occupation but also to guarantee a high quality of training for the students who choose this trade.”

The AIHH Academy has been enriched by new training modules for sales staff in order that they may ever better advise and serve the well-informed end customer with a good knowledge of prestige products.

The return to certain basic values, stimulating the appeal of high-quality products that can express know-how, tradition, creativity, rarity and durability, offer a great opportunity to the luxury and prestige Brands that make up the AIHH.

It is on this assumption that the Association will base its future work. The constitution of the Centre of Studies- one of its major projects - will be a valuable source of information for the Members of the Association, for the luxury world in general and for Fine Watchmaking in particular.

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Source: AIHH release
July 2003