THE Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie’s (FHH) circle of partner brands has expanded once again as the Lucerne, Switzerland-based watchmaker Carl F. Bucherer enters this prestigious list. Carl F. Bucherer, which only this year brought out one of its haute horlogerie pieces — the Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral — becomes the 44th company be named partner to FHH.
Carl F. Bucherer follows Breitling’s entry into the group in mid-October. FHH said that every time another company joins its ranks, the foundation is able to strengthen its “mission to make known the creativity, expertise and innovative spirit of fine watch–making.” It noted that the group is composed of brands representing both traditional and “new school” watchmakers.
Carl F. Bucherer’s membership in the FHH coincides with its 130th anniversary — the company’s history can be traced back to 1888 when Carl Friedrich Bucherer put up a watch boutique in Lucerne, prior to launching its first wristwatch in 1919. The company through the 20th century produced chronographs, chronometers and even quartz pieces. It repositioned itself at the start of the new millennium, releasing an in-house movement in 2005, the world’s first automatic movement with a peripheral oscillating weight three years later. Since then, Carl F. Bucherer has continued to develop its movement-making prowess at a new production site in Lengnau, near Biel, Switzerland, where it partly built the Manero Tourbillon Double Peripheral.
Carl F. Bucherer is also noted for being one of the oldest Swiss watchmakers still owned by its founding family.
For its part, the FHH crowed that since its founding in 2005 it has been mounting exhibits in which the finest watch companies are able to showcase their wares, as well as inform the media and consumers about these. The FHH was started by the Richemont Group, Audemars Piguet and Girard-Perregaux.
Along with Carl F. Bucherer, the FHH counts as partner brands A. Lange & Sohne, Armin Strom, Audemars Piguet, Bovet, Breitling, Bulgari, Cartier, Chanel, Chopard, Christophe Claret, De Bethune, De Witt, F.P. Journe, Ferdinand Berthoud, Girard-Perregaux, Greubel Forsey, Gronefeld, H. Moser & Cie, Hautlence, Hermes, HYT, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Laurent Ferrier, Louis Vuitton, MB&F, Montblanc, Panerai, Parmigiani, Piaget, Ressence, Richard Mille, RJ, Roger Dubuis, Romain Gauthier, Speake-Marin, TAG Heuer, Ulysse Nardin, Urwerk, Vacheron Constantin, Van Cleef & Arpels, Voutilainen and Zenith.
