Mitch K
2843
Having been to the Fleurier Quality Foundation I was impressed by the rigorous nature
of their testing protocol. It is as good as it gets. The COSC certification only looks at a selected number of movements prior to encasement and certainly in that process the accuracy of the movement can be affected. The QF testing does assess each certified watch in case and mimics the typical use of the watch by a computerized simulation. It is a foundation established by several watch companies (Parmigiani, Chopard and Bovet). At the time of my visit, it was interesting that one of the founding companies had yet to have one of it's watches certified by QF thus testifying to the independence and rigorousness of the testing protocol.
In the end, do I care about the QF certification? Sure within limits. I have a QF certified watch, when originally brought home it had significant problems and had to take several trips back to Switzerland until the movement had to be replaced and the re-certified. Since then the watch has worked fine. Is it within tolerance? Yes. Is it significantly different than other of my watches, not for some. Would the QF certification seal the deal on a watch, not if I there was nothing compelling about the watch. It is just an added benefit but in the end, the watches I collect are not just about time, it's about art and mechanics.
The other thing about the QF certification, it is only meaningful when the watch is brought home. Over time I am not convinced that it does. Certainly when and if the watch goes in for service the certification is probably meaningless unless it is sent back to QF for retesting.
Mitch
Independent accreditation and certification
How important is independent certification of a Swiss watch to you, and would it address your concerns about Swiss Made and the quality (in its broadest sense) of the final timepiece? I thought about this issue when I visited the Fleurier Quality Founda...
Patek Philippe Seal vs the Independent accreditation
As much as I like the claim that the 'PP Seal' is more rigorous and of a higher standard than the Geneva Seal, or the Qualite Fleurier Standard, I fell that having a independent / 3rd party test is better and most importantly fairer . However, I don't thi...
Today's certifications are usually not satisfactory (marketing purposes)
Hi Andrew, First, I'd like to mention that these certifications (indpendant or not) are not a major creteria for me. I know the watch I'm looking out, I study them and I know if they are of high quality standard or not, enough to make a selection. But, I ...
Well said Mark....+1+1+1
Smoke in the eyes my friend...I am ,like you,my own certificate,and that suits me fine and its more than enough.... Mo
+2...
There are as many 'certifications', 'seals', 'hallmarks' and 'brands' as there are lemmings. An Observatory certificate is a bit of fun; other than that, Mark and Mo are on the money. Cheers, pplater.
It is about passion...
I agree with your remarks. But even if there is an independent organism that would do test or judge on a specific seal...would it change my mind? We would perhaps all drive the same car if we would follow results from crash tests, breakdown figures. In re...
Once again, the Watch Snob has the answer
Here's what he had to say about it recently (edited for brevity and forum rules) I am looking at several different watches in the $8-$10K retail range. One ... model has the features that I want. Yet for virtually the same price, but with less features, t...
Certificate tests should not be designed to allow passage.
As far as I can tell, all existing certification tests are designed to allow a favored group of watches to pass. When the Poincon de Geneve decided that wire springs would be prohibited, you had better believe that first they checked to be sure their clie...
Pushing improvement
Perhaps a good certification process might actually push improvements in the final product? What if COSC said that from 2015 they were going to decrease their tolerances to -1 to +3 seconds per day? Would that lead to a better, more robust, more accurate ...
The ISO 6425 printed on my Certina diver is a superfluous detail
but as a "diver's watch" I'm glad that it conforms to and tested to pass an agreed upon international standard. I am sure that it is part of Certina's marketing str ategy for this wa tch and I bet there are a lot of other "diving watches" that cannot meet...
Bear in mind these test are "as at", which means that x months into ownership,.........
It has no residual value. If you go diving, say 6 months after you have bought the watch, and you found water seepage, ISO is not "accountable".Certina might repair or offer a new watch to you, if it is within the warranty period. Best, Horo
yes, I understand. What is important to me is that when Certina
designed the watch, the engineers incorporated elements which allowed the Action Diver to pass ISO 6425. Plus the deepest I know I will go is to the bottom of the 12 feet pool at the local Y :-) Cheers, Mike
I rather no accredition or industry wide level accredition, not bullshit like PP seal
COSC is pure commercial, easily obtainable and fairly low standards...how many standard mechanized issued Rolex Submariner movements need to be certified?? PP seal is but a self aggrandizement exercise and branding given to in house QC...one industry insi...
It is certainly akin to ...
... putting the Big Bad Wolf in charge of the children's nursery and the piggery. So I see that you agree with external, independent accreditation of a facility. For this to work we have to have defined standards that the facility must be audited against....
Having been to the Fleurier Quality Foundation I was impressed by the rigorous nature
of their testing protocol. It is as good as it gets. The COSC certification only looks at a selected number of movements prior to encasement and certainly in that process the accuracy of the movement can be affected. The QF testing does assess each certif...
The FQF is on the right track ...
Thanks for your comments, Mitch. I like the concept of the FQF and the fact that it covers issues like performance on the wrist (Fleuritest), robustness and build quality (Chronofiable test), parts finishing and addresses the Swiss Made fallacy. But of co...