World Watch Day is back after an inaugural edition in 2025 that reached more than six million people. Its aim is to bring together the global watchmaking community and for the first time this year the cerebration is being built around a central these: “Time as Living  Heritage”. Celebrations and events are taking place throughout the world. And living heritage it is. « The craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics of France and Switzerland” is on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, with the organization stating,  « At the crossroads of science, art and technology, the skills related to the craftsmanship of mechanical watchmaking and art mechanics are used to create watchmaking objects designed to measure and indicate time (watches, pendulum clocks, clocks and chronometers), art automata and mechanical androids, sculptures and animated paintings, music boxes and songbirds. »

For World Watch Day, the Fédération de l’Horlogerie (Federation of Watch and Clockmaking) released a short film celebrating this craftsmanship shared between France and Switzerland.  The film is a  journey into places in France associated with watchmaking including Morteau, Besançon and Paris. Notable stops include a look inside the Breguet Museum on the Place Vendôme in Paris, Breitling’s Customer Service enter in Besançon and into the heart of the Pequignet manufacture in Morteau. The film which was created by Figures Studio and directed  by Brice Garcia  can be seen on the social media of the Fédération de l’Horlogerie whose mission is to support and represent watch brands distributed in France. The film will remain visible on the Federation’s website and can be viewed at: https://federationhorlogerie.fr/patrimoine/

The house of Bucherer in Paris is celebrating World Watch Day with a full day dedicated to the art of watchmaking, featuring six talks and workshops on topics ranging from Masterworks, military watches and complications to watch care and the role of time in gastronomy. The house is also presenting major creations of Haute Horlogerie with its Masterworks event presenting a selection of exclusive pieces on its first floor (one up from the ground floor) by  Armin Strom, Blancpain, Breguet, Czapek, Hautlence, Hublot, Girard-Perregaux, Jacob & Co. and Ulysse Nardin unit October 31st. https://www.bucherer.com/fr/en/masterworks

Meanwhile In New York, the Horological Society of New York opens its doors to the public on October 10 for World Watch Day. Visitors are invited to explore its library and its watchmaking classroom, offering a glimpse into the transmission of horological knowledge and skills. Librarians are available to give tours and answer questions. https://hs-ny.org/

©Trish Valicenti for The Gourmet Gazette

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