TIME TO TEAM UP: The Gemological Institute of America and the Fondation Haute Horlogerie are joining forces to bring their sectors closer together through a new strategic academic collaboration.

The organizations announced Thursday that the GIA School of Gemology and Jewelry Arts will offer programs from the FHH Academy, the watchmaking foundation’s training and certification arm launched in 2014, to its students.

Under the new arrangement, the Watch Advisor course, the FHH Academy’s first level of the three-step certification, will be available at GIA campuses from the first quarter of 2027, marking the first time a watchmaking program is offered by the gemological institution.

Registrations are set to open in October, with the location of the first course announced at the time before a wider rollout. The program will also be available through the GIA’s e-learning portal.

“It’s the initiation of a collaboration that we will do step by step,” said Pascal Ravessoud, who serves as vice president of the FHH alongside Aurélie Streit. “We expect really to have the first [session] and then to see how we can develop along the way.…We are confident that our both organizations are really aligned.”

Both organizations are nonprofits and present their collaboration as a pathway to making high-quality, practical watchmaking education easier to access outside traditional Swiss and specialist circles. Since its launch in 2014, the FHH Academy has trained more than 50,000 people and certified 18,000-plus across 20 countries.

“We really recognized in FHH a similar approach,” said Johanna Levy, GIA’s vice president communications and corporate affairs. “This new program will enable GIA students to discover the fascinating world of watchmaking and give them an edge in their future career.”

Founded in 1931, the GIA has educated more than 200,000 professionals and runs seven campuses in Carlsbad, Calif., New York, London, Mumbai, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Taipei.

But it had “never taught a watchmaking class on campus,” Levy added. “That’s why we are really happy to collaborate with the FHH, who is really an expert not only in horology but also in share knowledge with students.”

Ravessoud called gemology and watchmaking “sister” sectors and said the collaboration is designed to serve both. “We are really excited to bring across our FHH training programs to the GIA students because we think they will really benefit from our product offering — and maybe one day it will go the other way,” he said.

Teaming up with the GIA is “a critical step outside our traditional domain and is set to significantly enhance the recognition and global reach of our Certification program, particularly across the U.S. and internationally,” according to Streit.