The Poinçon de Genève or Hallmark of Geneva recently celebrated its 125th anniversary, and beginning this June, the requirements to earn the Hallmark will be expanded. At SIHH, Vacheron Constantin will unveil an impressive new watch that is the first to earn the new quality mark. Learn more about the new hallmark and the first watch to earn it, and find wallpaper images and complete specs inside.

Since the creation of the Genevan law of 1886, the original Poinçon de Genève criteria concerned only movements, with an emphasis on various finishing requirements and no provisions relating to timekeeping accuracy. Effective this June, the criteria to earn the Seal will be expanded, and under the new guidelines, the entire watch will be certified. The new criteria add requirements covering external case aesthetics, water resistance, accuracy, power reserve, and the performance of complications. The finished watch is tested, not uncased or individual components. Briefly stated, the new performance criteria for cased watches require:

- Minimum water resistance from -.5 to 3 ATM for all watches. Of course, greater water resistance may be offered.

- All functions are tested through one cycle. For example, a perpetual calendar might be set to February 27 and left to run to ensure all indications change correctly on March 1, or on a chronograph, the start, stop and reset functions will be tested.

- Each watch is tested under conditions simulating seven days of normal wear, and over that period, the maximum acceptable deviation is one minute. If the watch has functions beyond simple timekeeping, they must not adversely affect accuracy. For example, if a chronograph is tested, the chronograph function will be left to run for 24 hours and the watch must still operate within the one minute acceptable deviation rule.

- The power reserve will be tested to ensure it meets the figure claimed by the manufacturer.

As underlined by Daniel Favre, President of the Foundation Council of TIMELAB – the Geneva Laboratory of Horology and Microengineering that hosts the certification: “The Poinçon de Genève is undergoing a revolution that will give it even more standing. This sort of AOC1 is a true guarantee of quality whose boundaries are being enlarged so as to correspond as closely as possible to customer expectations for fine watchmaking pieces.”

Source: watch time

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