Get Ready For MACH: A Place To Showcase Horological Heritage, Transmit Know-How, And Raise Awareness
The world of horology is an emotional parallel universe where those who love watches can make them their livelihood. Now, it seems that watch brands, organizations, and media have realized that this universe can only continue to exist if the knowledge and appreciation of it continue to grow and evolve. Marc André Deschoux, who started TheWatchesTV on YouTube in 2011, is the founder and spiritual father of MACH — La Maison des Arts & de la Culture Horlogère. It will open its doors in a landmark building in the heart of Geneva next year. So, watch fans, you’d better get ready for MACH, a place that will showcase horological heritage.
La Maison des Arts & de la Culture Horlogère, or MACH for short, will also educate and raise awareness about watchmaking on four floors, each measuring 240 square meters. The cultural watchmaking center, neither a museum nor an exhibition center but the best of both, will be open to the public and dedicated to the art of watchmaking in all its forms. That’s the idea, and MACH — a project developed by the Horopedia Foundation, chaired by Philippe Dufour — is set to open its doors next year.
Get ready for MACH, a place to showcase horological heritage
MACH was announced during Geneva Watch Days, but the project was already underway. The idea behind MACH is to give watchmaking in its broadest sense a physical home. MACH wants to be a living space that brings people together. The foundation aims to exhibit, explain, and question. And it will do so in a former bank in Geneva’s Quartier des Banques, open to the public. It will house permanent, thematic, and heritage exhibitions. MACH will also have an educational center, which will produce content for Swiss watchmaking schools, an auditorium, a collectors’ and patrons’ club, as well as a freely accessible ground floor. Yes, there will also be a cafeteria and a boutique.
Geneva’s Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (MAH)
One of the goals of MACH is to become a hub of knowledge and exchange, where expertise, history, and passion intersect. It will also actively promote other cultural institutions that share the same values, such as the Genevan Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (MAH) and the leading institutions of the horological ecosystem, the Fédération Horlogère (FH), TimeLab, the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC), the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG), the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH), and other aligned foundations.
Fostering the culture of watchmaking in Geneva
Geneva is a watchmaking city. Yet, as a visiting watch fan, you don’t experience it that much in the non-commercial sense. The names of watch brands are all around, and so are the brand boutiques, but apart from the Patek Philippe Museum, there isn’t much that focuses on education. Earlier this year, the Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie (FHH) celebrated its 20th anniversary. As I wrote in an article on Fratello, the non-profit organization wants to bring watchmaking to a new audience. Since its inception, the FHH has been the driving force behind watchmaking events and different educational programs. These programs, such as Watches and Culture, the FHH Forum, and the FHH Academy, have trained over 40,000 people and issued more than 15,000 student certificates. Now, the FHH reaches out to a new group of watch consumers under the motto “Watchmaking Knowledge For All.”
The FHH’s strategy announced during the 20th-anniversary event aims to “bring the story of watchmaking to vibrant new audiences beyond the traditional watch industry through a wave of engaging initiatives and strategic partnerships, all designed to inspire the next generation of watchmakers and enthusiasts.” The organization’s HQ is at the Pont de la Machine in the center of Geneva. The building includes a public exhibition space, which recently housed the Watch Makers exhibition.
MACH will be a welcome addition to Geneva’s public watchmaking landscape, enriching the city’s cultural experiences for residents and visitors and complementing the institutions supporting the project. Independent and non-profit, MACH has a mission to open the world of watchmaking to a broad audience — Geneva’s community, visitors, and tourists — by revealing and sharing the skills, gestures, passion, history, and innovations behind timepieces. However, MACH also aims to inspire younger generations to take up the craft of watchmaking.
Big names believe in MACH
The sense of urgency is reflected in the prominent figures who support MACH. On board, among others, is François-Paul Journe. Born in 1957 in the southern French port city of Marseille, Journe once ran a restoration workshop there. And as many watchmakers will tell you, restoration is the best education. You see why he and his brand support an initiative that teaches watchmaking in the broadest sense: “F.P. Journe is proud to support the MACH project. Geneva deserves a place that celebrates its horological heritage while offering a true educational tool — to awaken vocations, to reveal the hidden crafts behind every timepiece, and finally to showcase the horological collection of the city of Geneva.”
Maximilian Büsser, the founder and CEO of MB&F, is also on board with MACH. He has the following to say about the initiative: “Fine watchmaking, through its history and its present, is one of the great assets of our city. The new generations no longer wish to simply view old objects or read historical texts. They need a place to gather, to share, and to learn. Fine watchmaking is alive — it must be showcased in a setting that is equally alive.”
“The goals are ambitious but necessary”
Philippe Dufour, whose horological journey started at age 15 at the Ecole d’Horlogerie de la Vallée de Joux, now mentors others and preserves artisanal techniques. The famed watchmaker and president of the Horopedia Foundation states: “The goals are ambitious but necessary — for the practitioners of horology determined to preserve and defend centuries-old expertise, and for the wider public who, through a visit, can grasp the complexity behind an object that some may see as anachronistic, yet is deeply meaningful and rich in substance.”
Marc André Deschoux
Marc André Deschoux, founder of MACH, concludes: “Watchmaking is a magnificent demonstration of human ingenuity, a precious testimony to our origins, a bridge between past and future. Everything must be done to ensure that contemporary watchmaking remains a shared cultural good, appreciated by as many as possible for the values it embodies and for the richness of its artisanal heritage, which are so emblematic of Switzerland.”
The MB&F Evo collection
A living space
MACH will be a living, lasting space to showcase horological heritage, transmit know-how, and raise awareness. The so-called Visitor Journey will include an instructive introduction to the basic mechanical principles of a watch movement. Inside the building, dedicated spaces will highlight specific techniques and complications. There will also be room to philosophically reflect on the impact of timekeeping on societies, talk about the history of Geneva and global watchmaking from the 15th century until today, and think about future challenges.
MACH has six key objectives. Highlighting the full breadth of horological heritage with pieces from the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire of Geneva (MAH), other museums, and private collections is one. Another interesting goal is the wish to inspire vocations among younger generations. Also, the foundation wants to strengthen Geneva’s cultural offering for residents and tourists.
The lively venue will be open six days a week, complementing existing institutions. You can expect exhibitions from the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire de Genève. But also treasures from other Swiss museums, public and private alike, as well as winners of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).
Last year, the Aiguille d’Or — GPHG’s top prize — was awarded to the IWC Portugieser Eternal Calendar
Funding MACH
If the fundraising process unfolds as planned, MACH will open to the public in 2026. It promises to offer an immersive scenography and educational hub. Outfitting it with interactive screens and models, soundscapes, macro videos, objects, tools, machines, and live workstations costs money. The initial investment is approximately CHF 4 million (€4.27 million/US$5 million), and MACH’s annual operating budget is estimated at around CHF 3 million (€3.2 million/US$3.75 million). To pursue its mission, the foundation is relying primarily on the support of institutional, public, and private donors, philanthropic organizations, patrons, and individuals. Currently, the organization has secured 60% of the budget.
There are three levels of support for those interested in visiting MACH and becoming a donor to help fund the last 40% needed to open it. You can become a part of the Friends of Horopedia, for instance. This is a form of one-time support, with a minimum contribution of CHF 50 (students pay CHF 20). You enter the Circle of Horopedians when you pay a minimum of CHF 1,000 annually. Being a Guardian of Time will cost you a minimum of CHF 5,000 and requires a multi-year commitment.
What are your thoughts about MACH? Are you interested in visiting an educational place that promotes watchmaking as a historical and cultural activity, not primarily as a commercial one? Would you make a pilgrimage to MACH in the center of the Swiss watchmaking universe? Also, would you consider contributing to it? Please let me know in the comments section.
