New Wikipedia-style website will simplify the world of watches

Watchmaking will soon have an online platform dedicated to explaining each element of this complex and fascinating world.

Horopedia.org – a portmanteau of watchmaking, horology and encyclopedia – was announced this week in Switzerland as part of the Geneva Watch Days 2022 Pavilion. No start date has been announced yet.

Inspired by Wikipedia’s open access approach to information, the new site aims to provide in-depth, accurate and expert knowledge of watchmaking. Using written descriptions, images and even short films, it will help demystify the industry while spotlighting the human hands behind each element.

That Horopedia.org Team said the platform will be dedicated to sharing know-how and artistic skills “accumulated by the industry over the centuries”.

Billing itself as the “watchmaking ecosystem,” the site will allow the watchmaking community to contribute to content “on a voluntary and unsolicited basis,” with the hope that organic growth will follow.

An element of the site deals with explanations behind the purpose and function of each part in a watch movement, such as a watch movement. B. an escapement or the bridge that connects two elements.

It will also delve into the more complex arena of complications, which will test a house’s ingenuity and know-how while remaining fully functional. The tourbillon is one such complication. Essentially a movement floating on a gyroscope inside a watch, it’s one of the most challenging to master. It also helps maintain accuracy by reducing the effects of gravity on a watch’s tiny, intricately moving parts.

The site is free and offers everyone from high-end watchmakers to collectors and watch enthusiasts the opportunity to explore how each element of a watch is designed, manufactured and executed.

The site will be multilingual, although details on the available languages ​​have not yet been announced.

Horopedia.org was created by the Horopedia Foundation, a Swiss non-profit organization made up of four industry experts. Distinguished watchmaker Philippe Dufour is President, while Marc Andre, founder of TheWatchesTV, is Managing Director. They are joined by Helmut Crott, who has been providing watchmaking expertise to major auction houses for four decades, and Andre Colard, founder of the EPHJ show.

Updated 09/01/2022 06:43