Roger Dubuis

Horloger Genevois

Geneve_seal_hero

The Hallmark of Excellence: The Seal of Geneva

Geneva’s Society of Watchmakers created The Hallmark of Geneva, or Poinçon de Geneve, in 1886. Its purpose was to formally delineate exacting standards for watchmaking, a craft that lay at the heart of Geneva’s industry. Conferred on deserving movements only, this Seal was an official affirmation that a movement was made, assembled, and adjusted by hand in Geneva. These traditional standards of craftsmanship are so specific and stringent that they still remain the highest benchmark for watchmaking excellence: a watch must fulfill 12 very difficult requirements for consideration. Today, only a select few haute horlogerie manufactures are still based in Geneva, and only a few make and assemble their movements by hand. Roger Dubuis is one of the rare manufactures who adhere to every demand of the Hallmark of Geneva throughout every watch’s design and production, with a spectacularly impressive result: a Seal of Geneva on every finished product.

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Every Movement Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva

From the manufacture’s beginning, Roger Dubuis made the radical decision to ensure that every one of its movements, without exception, is certified by the Hallmark of Geneva. This mandate sets a marvelously high standard of excellence in the Dubuis manufacture process, and the difficulty of fulfilling the Hallmark’s requirements only fuels the fires of Roger Dubuis’ ingenious design. For the Dubuis manufacture, the Hallmark of Geneva is not an end in itself—it is a standard along the path to the highest possible innovation and excellence.

To qualify for the Hallmark of Geneva, a mechanical movement must be assembled and adjusted within the Canton of Geneva, numbered, and in adherence to the finest practices of watchmaking. It also must comply with the 12 criteria as defined by Geneva’s Technical Commission:

  1. All steel parts must have polished edges and drawn flanks, and all visible surfaces must be smoothed.
  2. The gear-train and the escapement must have ruby jewels in polished holes. Jewels on the bridge side must be olive-drilled and their sinks polished.
  3. The pivot shanks and pinion leaves must be polished.
  4. Gear-train wheels must be chamfered on their top and bottom sides and their sinks must be polished. For wheels 0.15 mm thick or less, bevelling is tolerated on the bridge side only.
  5. The ratchet and transmission wheel must be finished according to registered models.
  6. The balance spring must be secured by a sliding stud cap with a round head and neck. Mobile stud holders are accepted.
  7. Fitted or slit indexes are accepted with a fastening system.
  8. The escape wheel must be light. Its thickness must not exceed 0.16 mm for large components and 0.13 mm for components under 18 mm. Locking faces must be polished.
  9. The angle traversed by the pallet lever must be contained within two solid bankings. Pins or studs are not permitted.
  10. Wire springs are not permitted.
  11. Regulating systems having a balance wheel with variable radius of rotation are permitted on condition they comply with point one above.
  12. Movements with shock absorbers are permitted.

The Hallmark of Geneva is a clear, recognizable symbol that connoisseurs and experts can implicitly trust: a guarantee of quality and excellence. And, impressively, Roger Dubuis is the only manufacture to fulfill all of these requirements with every single part in every single movement it produces.

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