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Geneva Seal
The Geneva Seal (English), Poinçon de Genève (French), or Genfer Siegel (German) is the official seal of the City and Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. When a variation of the official seal is applied to wristwatch movements, the Geneva Seal is the quality seal of the Watchmaking School of Geneva and it has an official purpose as defined by the law.
The Geneva seal in horology (watches), is a certification reserved for wrist watch movements made in the City or Canton of Geneva. Although it is concerned mainly with the finishing and decoration of the watch movement, it is considered a high accolade in the industry. Precision testing, though not mandatory, is an option in the inspection process.
The term is often mistakenly translated from the French as the "Geneva hallmark", as the word Poinçon means "punch" and is the word used for hallmark. However, a hallmark is an official mark attesting to the fineness of a precious metal object. In this context the German translation of hallmark, which is "stempel" or "stamp" may be helpful to foster an understanding of and distinguish the terms. The motif of the Geneva Seal is the seal of the Canton of Geneva. This becomes evident when one translates its name from the German. The official languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romantch (used in that order). But this issue about the translation is still a matter of debate because the term used by Timelab is the "Hallmark of Geneva". (Timelab is an organization which is composed of a centre for certifications (Hallmark of Geneva, COSC, Sport time-keeping) and a centre for Research and Development.)
The Geneva Seal is the quality seal of the City and Canton of Geneva. It is a certification reserved for wrist and pocket watch movements made in the City or Canton of Geneva. Although it is concerned mainly with the finishing and decoration of the watch movement, it is considered a high accolade in the industry. Precision testing, however, is an option in the inspection process. Among the Geneva watchmakers who regularly submit their movements for the Geneva Seal certification are: Cartier, Chopard, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, Louis Vuitton and Ateliers deMonaco.
This quality seal has been authorized since the enactment of the enabling regulation in 1886. Pursuant to the law only watches may carry the seal. The seal is concerned with the quality and finishing of the watch movement, although it also addresses the precision of the timekeeping mechanism. The seal is awarded to watches only after an "official examination" to discern whether the watch movement possesses all the required characteristics required for the accolade. The characteristics require, at a minimum, that the watch was made in or made on commission by a qualified Genevoise craftsman from the City or Canton of Geneva.
A somewhat similar certification, the Qualité Fleurier or Fleurier Quality, which was begun on June 5, 2001, includes precision testing. Participants in this certification process include: Bovet Fleurier, Chopard, Parmigiani Fleurier and Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier.
There are actually two pieces of legislation concerning the Geneva seal. The first is entitled Loi sur le contrôle facultatif des montres (law on the voluntary inspection of watches [from Geneva]). This is the enabling statute.
The second piece of legislation is entitled Règlement sur le contrôle facultatif des montres de Genève (Regulations for the Voluntary Inspection of Watches from Geneva); these are the regulations setting out the criteria for the award of the seal. These laws have undergone revisions since their initial enactments. The latest revisions were in January 1994.
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Geneva Seal
The Geneva Seal (English), Poinçon de Genève (French), or Genfer Siegel (German) is the official seal of the City and Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. When a variation of the official seal is applied to wristwatch movements, the Geneva Seal is the quality seal of the Watchmaking School of Geneva and it has an official purpose as defined by the law.
The Geneva seal in horology (watches), is a certification reserved for wrist watch movements made in the City or Canton of Geneva. Although it is concerned mainly with the finishing and decoration of the watch movement, it is considered a high accolade in the industry. Precision testing, though not mandatory, is an option in the inspection process.
The term is often mistakenly translated from the French as the "Geneva hallmark", as the word Poinçon means "punch" and is the word used for hallmark. However, a hallmark is an official mark attesting to the fineness of a precious metal object. In this context the German translation of hallmark, which is "stempel" or "stamp" may be helpful to foster an understanding of and distinguish the terms. The motif of the Geneva Seal is the seal of the Canton of Geneva. This becomes evident when one translates its name from the German. The official languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian and Romantch (used in that order). But this issue about the translation is still a matter of debate because the term used by Timelab is the "Hallmark of Geneva". (Timelab is an organization which is composed of a centre for certifications (Hallmark of Geneva, COSC, Sport time-keeping) and a centre for Research and Development.)
The Geneva Seal is the quality seal of the City and Canton of Geneva. It is a certification reserved for wrist and pocket watch movements made in the City or Canton of Geneva. Although it is concerned mainly with the finishing and decoration of the watch movement, it is considered a high accolade in the industry. Precision testing, however, is an option in the inspection process. Among the Geneva watchmakers who regularly submit their movements for the Geneva Seal certification are: Cartier, Chopard, Roger Dubuis, Vacheron Constantin, Louis Vuitton and Ateliers deMonaco.
This quality seal has been authorized since the enactment of the enabling regulation in 1886. Pursuant to the law only watches may carry the seal. The seal is concerned with the quality and finishing of the watch movement, although it also addresses the precision of the timekeeping mechanism. The seal is awarded to watches only after an "official examination" to discern whether the watch movement possesses all the required characteristics required for the accolade. The characteristics require, at a minimum, that the watch was made in or made on commission by a qualified Genevoise craftsman from the City or Canton of Geneva.
A somewhat similar certification, the Qualité Fleurier or Fleurier Quality, which was begun on June 5, 2001, includes precision testing. Participants in this certification process include: Bovet Fleurier, Chopard, Parmigiani Fleurier and Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier.
There are actually two pieces of legislation concerning the Geneva seal. The first is entitled Loi sur le contrôle facultatif des montres (law on the voluntary inspection of watches [from Geneva]). This is the enabling statute.
The second piece of legislation is entitled Règlement sur le contrôle facultatif des montres de Genève (Regulations for the Voluntary Inspection of Watches from Geneva); these are the regulations setting out the criteria for the award of the seal. These laws have undergone revisions since their initial enactments. The latest revisions were in January 1994.