Movement Certifications - Accuracy and Quality Guarantees

Although watch movements have been around for centuries, creating one from scratch remains an incredibly difficult and complex process. Even the simplest Swiss movements are engineering marvels and include hand-wound and automatic variances. You’re not going to find a “bad” Swiss movement today as production standards and consumer expectations have never been higher. To reinforce this, there are both third party and in-house certifications to guarantee both accuracy and quality, and Horage has many COSC-certified models. Let’s take a look at the most recognized certifications and what they mean for both movements and specific brands.

COSC (Contrôle officiel suisse des Chronomètres)

Founded in 1973, this independent, non-profit organization verifies Swiss movement accuracy with locations in Biel, Geneva and Le Locle. In short, it certifies that movements are chronometers, meeting a minimum accuracy rating of -4/+6 seconds per day. Testing involves a strict 15-day period and uncased movements are placed in five different positions at temperatures of 8°C, 23°C and 38°C. The standards are defined by ISO 3159 and/or DIN 8319, the latter being a German equivalent.

Seven criteria must be met during testing - average daily rate, mean variation in rates, greatest variation in rates, the difference between rates in horizontal and vertical positions, largest variation in rates, variation in rate depending on temperature and rate resumption. A small handfull of luxury brands have all of their movements COSC certified, like Rolex and Breitling, while others have their own in-house testing methods. Rolex, for example, first certifies their movements as COSC chronometers before bringing them in-house and certifying them as “Superlative Chronometers.” This secondary certification has a much stricter accuracy rating of +/-2 seconds per day.

Horage has several models with COSC certified movements, but all Horage movements (K1 automatic, K2 micro-rotor and K-TOU tourbillon) meet chronometer accuracy standards of -4/+6 seconds per day. We offer COSC certifications as an additional, independent guarantee for some of our high-end models (Supersede, Lensman 2 and Tourbillon 1), but that doesn’t imply that they’re more accurate than the others. It’s simply a third-party verification as many connoisseurs prefer COSC certificates for peace of mind. Although over a million Swiss watches are COSC certified each year, it only represents approximately 3% of total annual production. There are similar testing organizations like the French Besançon Astronomical Observatory and German Glashütte Observatory, but these are more limited in scale.

METAS

Omega has an in-house certfication called METAS (Swiss Federal Institute of Metrology), introduced in 2015. This involves eight additional tests to become a “Master Chronometer,” but it differs from Rolex as METAS is an independent Swiss organization with a dedicated office within Omega headquarters. So, tests are done in-house, but by independent METAS personnel, not Omega. A Master Chronometer is both a COSC and METAS certified Omega watch, again with both tests being performed by independent organizations. METAS watches are tested fully encased with accuracy tightening to 0/+5 seconds per day with additional guarantees for water and magnetic resistance (to 15,000 gauss).

Geneva Seal

Unlike a COSC or comparable certification, the Geneva Seal (Poinçon de Genève) is an overall measure of quality with an emphasis on finishing and decorations. It’s also limited to watches specifically from the City or Canton of Geneva - as in all parts must be made and assembled in Geneva. It’s among the oldest of certifications (1886) and reserved for the most high-end, luxury timepieces. Standards are predictably strict, down to requirements that all screw heads are hand polished with chamfered slots and rims. Certified movements receive the coveted Geneva Seal stamp, which is the city of Geneva coat-of-arms. It’s rare to say the least and only 0.008% of Swiss watches receive it annually, about 24,000 out of 30 million. This is due to incredibly strict standards and limitation to the City or Canton of Geneva. Since late 2011, standards expanded a bit to cover parts of the entire watch, not just the movement, and testing is done at the TimeLab Geneva Laboratory. Among the brands most associated with the Geneva Seal are Vacheron Constantin, Cartier, Roger Dubuis, Chopard and Louis Vuitton, but there are others.

Patek Philippe Seal

Patek Philippe also embraced the Geneva Seal until 2009 when, like Rolex, it created an in-house certification. The Patek Philippe Seal is broader and includes movement performance, creating a hybrid of the Geneva Seal and COSC certification, although Patek’s standards are much stricter across the board. Accuracy was tightened to -3/+2 seconds per day and overall finishing/artisanship includes the case, dial and so on. Interestingly, the brand includes a Lifelong Service guarantee that covers both service and restoration of all timepieces since its founding in 1839.

1,000 Hours Control

Jaeger-LeCoultre has its own certification that surpasses COSC standards. Unlike the Geneva Seal, it’s performance based like COSC and includes temperature fluctuations along with shock, magnetic, water and pressure resistance. Although not an emphasis, aesthetics/finishing are part of the certification process. Unlike COSC, movements are tested within the watch cases and receive the 1,000 Hours Control stamp at the end of six weeks. It is currently the longest certification process of any independent lab or manufacturer.

Fondation Qualité Fleurier Certification

Established in 2001, this is a very rare and arguably the most comprehensive certification that covers both performance and aesthetics. For starters, all watches must be 100% Swiss and COSC certified, and accuracy must fall within 0/+5 seconds per day. It was founded by local luxury brands Chopard, Parmigiani Fleurie, Bovet and Vaucher, and covers all aspects of the watch, from movement performance/finishing to finishing of the case and bracelet. If a timepiece passes this quality standard, it gets a stamp of “QF” and as with many others, a very high price tag.

This doesn’t cover all performance and aesthetic certifications, but highlights the most common and recognized. As a performance watchmaker, Horage finds a perfect balance of performance with chronometer accurate watches (many are COSC certified) and impeccable yet sensible finishing. We offer in-house Swiss pieces at incredible prices, including the most attainable micro-rotor and tourbillon Swiss watches on the market. Therefore, our focus is on accuracy, performance, durability and design, not over-the-top finishing to meet the Geneva Seal standards. Hand finishing is still a priority and our entire portfolio punches well above its weight class, regardless of third-party certifications.

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Erik Slaven