A great horological encyclopedia is born !
The HOROPEDIA Foundation unveiled the first digital encyclopedia dedicated to the world of watchmaking
The first universal and multilingual encyclopedia dedicated exclusively to the world of watchmaking has been unveiled on Tuesday, August 30 at 10am CET (10H00 Geneva time), symbolically in Geneva, Switzerland, during a press conference in the Geneva Watch Days 2022 Pavilion.
Open to everyone, from big companies and watchmakers to the general public, neutral, and independent digital platform… At last! Twenty-one years after the birth of Wikipedia, it is now time for the watchmaking industry to create its own participative online encyclopedia. Baptized HOROPEDIA, its aim is to share all the knowledge and highlight the know-how with its technical and artistic skills accumulated by the industry over the centuries. We know that nowadays video is more appealing to audiences and in particular to the younger generations, which is why the main tools for HOROPEDIA, in addition to texts, will be visual images, and short films, to capture as closely as possible the gestures and emotions of the people involved to emphasize the human side of watchmaking.
Can be consulted simply and for FREE, as Wikipedia, with each word, each image, each component, each technique, personality, the fact of history… to be defined and described in the form of precise text, video, and image that will gradually enrich the content, which will grow organically, thanks to and with the contribution of all.
Organized as a non-profit Swiss foundation, the HOROPEDIA Foundation Board is composed of Philippe Dufour (President), Dr. Helmut Crott, André Colard, and Marc André Deschoux as Executive Director.
HOROPEDIA is more than an online encyclopedia. It defines itself as a true watchmaking eco-system, first of all through the entire watchmaking community which will contribute to the content, on a voluntary and unsolicited basis – in addition to the content produced by the Foundation itself – and, secondly, by offering students in continuing education the opportunity to pursue their studies in the watchmaking field, or by supporting projects and activities related to the preservation of the watchmaking culture.
Since general access to the platform is free of charge, funding through donations (foundations, companies, and individuals) and paid long, in-depth videos created by the Foundation, will be provided to ensure the platform’s operation. In the end, a great watchmaking encyclopedia is being created to share the magic of our industry with as many people as possible!