THE FOUNDATION IS OFFICIAL

Dear friends,

It’s been a while, but we have resumed our mission of passing on watchmaking know-how to a wider audience. And we are proud to announce that the HOROPEDIA FOUNDATION has been officially established. We have also launched the English and German versions of our website and filmed the very first videos in the long list of visual content we plan to release this year.

THE FOUNDATION IS OFFICIAL

Six months after the launch of our project, the HOROPEDIA Foundation was finally officially established on February 1st. It is registered with the Commercial Registry of the State of Geneva.

The Foundation is a non-profit and independent organization. It is committed to contributing to the sustainability and visibility of watchmaking trades and know-how by supporting the regular and uninterrupted work of the HOROPEDIA website, sharing knowledge, and highlighting the technical and artistic skills accumulated over the years as well as those that are continuously developing.

The Board of the Foundation is composed of Philippe Dufour (President), Dr. Helmut Crott, André Colard, and Marc André Deschoux, who will also act as Executive Director. He will oversee all decisions aimed at achieving the Foundation’s objectives. He has general responsibility for the affairs of the Foundation and oversees all activities carried out under its authority by the other bodies of the Foundation to which powers and authority have been assigned.

As the community and visual content of the HOROPEDIA website grow, the Foundation’s future commitment will also include granting scholarships to enable young students and/or individuals in continuing education to study or further their studies at specialized horology schools.

“Since the 1960s, the horological reference has always been the horology dictionary known as “Le Bernois”. I think we need to stay in tune with the times and take advantage of new technologies to attract new blood. And while there’s nothing like explaining it orally, we can also do it visually. Future generations will benefit from this project intellectually, and through the opportunity to study or pursue their studies in the field of horology,” said the Foundation’s president, Philippe Dufour.
The Foundation also plans to support and fund projects and activities related to the preservation of Swiss horological culture.

“I truly believe this will be a game changer in terms of sharing horological know-how and expertise. This is truly an ambitious and targeted project, which will take years to accomplish, a real marathon, but we have a lot of wonderful people around us, including our president, Philippe Dufour,” said the Foundation’s executive director, Marc André Deschoux.

THE FIRST VIDEOS

The first video content for the HOROPEDIA site is being filmed as you read this post. We will not reveal for now the subject that will be the first to be published in the coming weeks. But you won’t be disappointed.

True to the nature of HOROPEDIA, all our videos are filmed in keeping with the project’s spirit of independence. We do not want to promote any particular company. Our goal is to illustrate technical terms and lift the veil of secrecy surrounding the horological art (watchmaking) by revealing the entire process of creating a timepiece. For the sake of education and the preservation of craftsmanship, we believe it is essential to remain impartial while providing as much information as possible.

Since the beginning of 2023, our team has visited several sites, filmed manufacturers, suppliers and schools, and spoken with various horologists in order to make the art of horology more visible and easier to understand, even for those unfamiliar with watches and clocks. We have a busy schedule for the coming months and we will keep you updated on our progress through this newsletter, news updates, as well as our Instagram and LinkedIn networks.