Haute Horlogerie

From Watch Wiki

Example for Haute Horlogerie in pure culture: Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso Platinum Number One
© Jaeger-LeCoultre

Literally translated: High art of watchmaking

The term Haute Horlogerie is used since the quartz crisis at the end of the 1970's, beginning of the 1980's, for the renewed tradition of high-class mechanical watches. Specifically it includes the competence to manufacture challenging complications. Examples are: Rattrapante (or split seconds) chronograph, flyback chronograph, moon phase, tourbillon, perpetual calendar, minute repetition, alarm watch, world timer, astronomical watch and equation of time. In the upper luxury segment, there are models that unite several of these complications in one watch.

To maintain the tradition of the Haute Horlogerie the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie was founded in 2005 in Switzerland by well-known watch companies. Afterwards a further number of known producers joined.

Closely connected with the Haute Horlogerie is the competence of a largely self-concepted production of watches, including watch and case, as is encountered with watch manufactories.