His experience spans over 35 years and he has been published in numerous publications including Forbes, The NY Times, WatchPro, and Fortune Magazine. He is widely considered a pioneer in the industry for bringing transparency and innovation to a once-considered stagnant industry. the largest and most trusted name in luxury watches. Paul Altieri is a vintage and pre-owned Rolex specialist, entrepreneur, and the founder and CEO of. Other brands that qualify as “Fine Watchmaking”:Īccording to Bloomberg, this is the outcome of a three-year review of 86 brands. What do you think of the way they did this? Did Tudor deserve a slap in the face? Or is it just an attempt to take parent Rolex down a peg….? Below is the list of brands the Fondation deemed worthy of being partners – in their estimation the epitome of fine watchmaking – and the others that met the criteria. In addition to Tudor and Longines, surely the most controversial omissions, snubs include Baume & Mercier, Frederique Constant, Bremont, Alpina, Harry Winston, Bulova, Raymond Weil and Porsche Design. Alongside Tudor, Longines is no longer within SIHH’s requirements of “Fine Watchmaking” like Tudor.

High profile Council members who helped make the decree include Aurel Bacs of Phillips Watches, Ben Clymer of Hodkinkee, William Rohr of TimeZone, and Wei Koh, founder of The Rake and Revolution Magazine. Choosing the brands “will significantly further understanding of Fine Watchmaking and give it greater prominence in the world,” the Foundation states. They lead the way with avant-garde products that reflect centuries of tradition.” Only 64 luxury brands qualify, of which 28 have become partners with the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. UnqualifiedĪccording to the Foundation, “Fine Watch brands meet the criteria set out by the Cultural Council. Tudor is no long recognized by SIHH to be in the “Fine Watchmaking” industry. Nonetheless, many watch enthusiasts may take issue with the fact that while the likes of Bulgari and Chanel and many lesser-known brands made the cut, Tudor and Longines were deemed unworthy. No mere offhand edict, the report was painstakingly compiled with input from a prestigious “Cultural Council” of experts who evaluated each brand based on his or her area of expertise. As we just told you, SIHH parent the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie has just released an explosive report dubbed the White Paper on Fine Watchmaking that declares only certain watch brands qualify as examples of Fine Watchmaking.

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