FrançaisAmong the certifications of the world of watchmaking, the one awarded by the Fleurier Quality Foundation (FQF) is the only one to concern the finished watch, as it will be offered on the market. Initiated by four independent brands based in Fleurier, a locality belonging to the municipality of Val-de-Travers, it is based on both technical and aesthetic criteria, focused on the satisfaction of the end customer. It is also one of the most demanding labels and certifications and the complexes to obtain, after several certification steps.
Origins and objectives of the FQF
The Fleurier Quality Foundation is an independent watch certification body that targets the high-end segment. His reason of being ? Propose criteria defining the high quality watchmaking that take into account the expectations of the end customer, the one who has chosen to devote a significant amount to the acquisition of a timepiece and who wishes to be informed at best on the merits of the finished product: the precision, the solidity and the aesthetic care brought to the object.
This desire has brought together four independent brands, all located in the town of Val-de-Travers, in the heart of the Swiss Jura:
- Bovet Fleurier
- Chopard Manufacture
- Parmigiani Fleurier
- Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier
The FQF certification was born in 2001 and was officially launched in 2004. Its idea was simple: to adopt these criteria turned towards the customer to make the requirements of a new certification, itself intended to judge the mechanical watches manufactured to 100 % in Switzerland, and presented in their final packaging. This initiative was supported from the outset by several public bodies, including the municipality and Association Region Val-de-Travers, the canton of Neuchâtel, the Swiss Confederation – as well as by the Philippe Jéquier Foundation.
The certification procedure established by the Fleurier Quality Foundation
Although all Swiss fine watchmaking companies are entitled to apply for FQF certification, the procedure is as complex as it is precise. Supported by an objective technical commission, independent of the four brands that participated in its founding, it takes place as follows:
With the exception of unworked materials, the manufacture of the watch must have been carried out exclusively in Switzerland, namely: all stages of design, manufacture and assembly, until the control of the watch head and its components. components.
For its aesthetic finish, the timepiece must meet the quality criteria established by the FQF – use of banned plastic materials, decoration resulting from a sharp know-how, mechanical means of manufacture, etc. More details on the dedicated page of the official website of the FQF.
– The movement integrated into the candidate watch must have been chronometer certified by the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).
– The movement must pass a battery of aging tests (“Chronofiable”) conducted by the laboratory Dubois SA, located in La Chaux-de-Fonds: resistance tests to magnetic fields, shocks, pressure-pulling, sealing etc.
Finally, the completed watch must be controlled for 24 hours by a simulator called “Fleuritest”, which reproduces the movements of the wearer by alternating active phases and rest phases. To pass the test, the watch must display a margin of error of + 5 seconds maximum per 24 hours.
In case of success, the foundation issues a guarantee certificate “FQF, certified Haute Horlogerie”. In addition to a written document, the manufacturer has affixed a logo on the distinguished watch.
In other words, obtaining a FQF certification is like a real obstacle course, as the requirements are numerous and the prerequisites are meticulous – if only to have to cumulate the successes to the tests of the Chronofiable, the COSC and from Fleuritest. The watches that have the chance to be distinguished by the FQF embody an indisputable watchmaking perfection.