Richemont's Americas chief says the United States has fewer than 2,000 watchmakers

FHH Watch Summit. Photograph: WatchPro

The United States has fewer than 2,000 watchmakers, Christophe Massoni, president and chief executive of Richemont Americas, said on the education panel at the FHH Watch Summit, held by the Fondation Haute Horlogerie in New York on 15 October, according to the account published this week by WatchPro.

North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking in Dallas, Richemont's partner school. Photograph: WatchPro

Massoni noted that Richemont's partner watchmaking school in Dallas, the North American Institute of Swiss Watchmaking, opened in 2009, has more than doubled its number of graduates, and that the profession does not require a traditional academic background: a former janitor at the Dallas facility applied to the school and is now a watchmaker at Cartier. On artificial intelligence, he said it is “an opportunity to amplify human talent, but not to replace it”.

Aurélie Streit (FHH), Johanna Levy (GIA) and Pascal Ravessoud (FHH). Photograph: WatchPro

Pascal Ravessoud, vice-president of the FHH, spoke of a “massive afflux of new interest” in watches among 18- to 30-year-olds, but warned that social media can distort their view of the industry. “Without context, you can't appreciate a fine watch and really understand its true value,” he said.

In September, the FHH and the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) announced a training agreement: from early 2027, GIA will offer the Watch Advisor certification, the FHH Academy's entry-level credential, on its campuses and online. According to WatchPro, GIA will also introduce watchmaking classes in California. Since 2014, the FHH Academy has trained more than 50,000 people and certified more than 18,000 in 20 countries.

Find out more on the website of GIA.