French for fine watchmaking: the upper end of the trade, judged by how movements are made and finished, by design and by service.
Haute horlogerie is French for fine watchmaking; horlogerie alone means horology. The Fondation Haute Horlogerie (FHH), founded in 2005 by Audemars Piguet, Girard-Perregaux and the Richemont Group, sets out its criteria in a Fine Watchmaking Manifesto, which judges the watch first, not the brand alone. They include in-house or exclusive movements and in-house balance springs; decoration by hand, such as chamfering, polishing and brushing; innovation in function, display or material; métiers d’art; and gold, platinum or gem setting. A brand’s history, its distribution and how it passes on skills count too.
No criterion is compulsory. The FHH expects most watches to meet only some, and its Cultural Council, which drafted the manifesto, calls it “by no means an exact science but a guiding principle”. The phrase states an ambition, not a certification: on its own, it guarantees neither hand finishing nor complications.
In job listings
Houses use haute horlogerie and fine watchmaking to describe themselves, which says little about a role. More telling are retail listings asking for sales experience in haute horlogerie, from watch supervisor to boutique director, and manufacture listings naming fine watchmaking production units that mill, turn, bevel and polish components. See current haute horlogerie sales roles.
