HH Journal: Questions to the Cultural Council - Points of view - news from the world of watchmaking and luxury watches

Questions to the Cultural Council Friday, February 1st 2013

Fabienne Sturm

Expert-collectionneur/Expert-collector

After graduating from Strasbourg University, the art historian Fabienne Sturm took up a position as assistant curator at the Museum of Textile Printing in Mulhouse before joining the Geneva Museum of Art and History in 1973…
Questions to the Cultural Council Friday, July 1st 2011

Wherein lies the true value of a timepiece sold at auction, and why is it that collectors’ interest in terms of wristwatches is focused on a mere handful of brands?

Aurel Bacs

In auctions at Christie’s, we offer collector’s wristwatches from USD 1,000, a fact that underscores the popularity of collecting mechanical watches…
Questions to the Cultural Council Wednesday, June 8th 2011

How can one avoid the term “Manufacture” becoming commonplace and instead maintain its noble pedigree?

Dominique Fléchon

The term “Manufacture” is an historical French term for a specific form of work organisation and is characterised by: the integration of specialised workers within infrastructures requiring substantial financial investments; a lengthy and technical production process divided into interdependent tasks; differentiation and specialisation of working equipment, which today means both manual tools and sophisticated machinery…
Questions to the Cultural Council Thursday, May 19th 2011

The Federal Council "Swissness" amendment wants to very slightly reinforce the Swiss Made label, basically so that 60% of the value of the product is realised in Switzerland. The FH has been campaigning for 80%. Why not 100%?

René Beyer

The answers to this question are political, philosophical and even somewhat surrealistic…
Questions to the Cultural Council Thursday, April 28th 2011

Segmentation in the watch market still uses fuzzy notions of bottom, middle and top of the range. Do you think price should be the decisive factor, as in FH classification, or should there be other criteria?

Elizabeth Doerr

For a consumer, price should neither be-nor probably in reality is it-the only factor in judging a fine watch…
Questions to the Cultural Council Wednesday, April 20th 2011

The problem of counterfeiting is taking on unprecedented proportions, particularly online. Would you describe this as:

Laurent Piciotto

a necessary evil that confirms brands' power over consumers; a lost cause; a scourge to be fought using even greater means?…
Questions to the Cultural Council Wednesday, April 13th 2011

Is Fine Watchmaking a fundamental concept or a marketing ploy?
Can any one definition be accepted by all?

Thomas Mao

Fine watchmaking is indeed a fundamental concept. Unfortunately, the words are used all too often today as merely a marketing ploy…
Questions to the Cultural Council Monday, January 17th 2011

Jasmine Audemars

Fondateur /Founder

Jasmine Audemars is the great grand-daughter of Jules-Louis Audemars, co-founder of Manufacture Audemars Piguet in 1875…
Questions to the Cultural Council Monday, January 17th 2011

Aurel Bacs

Expert-collectionneur/Expert-collector

International Co-Head of Watches for Christie's, Geneva, Aurel Bacs has been passionate about mechanical watches since his teenage years, when he would follow his father to auction houses, antique stores and the homes of other collectors in search of fine mechanical watches…
Questions to the Cultural Council Monday, January 17th 2011

René Beyer

Détaillant/Retailer

René Beyer is a watchmaker who has devoted his entire career to horology. He joined the Zurich-based family firm, Chronometrie Beyer, in 1986 after several work-placements abroad, including with Tiffany in San Francisco and Wempe in Hamburg…

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Presentation of the Cultural Council

The Cultural Council is the cultural voice of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH). It has responsibility for defining the Foundation's scope with respect both to its members and its activities, to then take the message and values of Technical and Precious Fine Watchmaking into the world.

The 16 members of the Cultural Council are independent personalities, acknowledged for their professionalism and expertise. They represent retailers, journalists, specialists and collectors, alongside representatives of the founders.

"Questions to the Cultural Council" alerts the Council's members to subjects that are of legitimate interest to any admirer of fine watches.

The contributors

Jasmine Audemars: Chairman of the Board of Directors at Audemars Piguet
Aurel Bacs: International Co-Head of Watches for Christie's, Geneva
René Beyer: Owner Chronometrie Beyer and the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum, Zürich
Franco Cologni: Chairman of the Cultural Council of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie.
Elizabeth Doerr: Journalist specializing in watches
Dominique Fléchon: Expert and Historian en Haute Horlogerie
Alexander Gubsky: Deputy Editor of Vedomosti
Tomoko Kayama: Editor-in-chief of World Wrist Watch
Fabienne Lupo: Chairwoman of the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie
Thomas Mao: Founder ThePurists.com
Michael Mauer: Owner Mauer KG in Bochum
Ludwig Oechslin: The curator of the International Clock and Watch Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds
Laurent Piciotto: Founder of the Chronopassion store in Paris
Fabienne Sturm: Expert and Historian in Haute Horlogerie
Michael Tay Wee Jin: Executive Director of The Hour Glass Limited and member of the Harry Winston Rare Timepieces advisory committee