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FHH and GIA take Watch Advisor to campuses in 2027

GIA students will gain campus and online access to FHH Academy programmes from early 2027, beginning with the first level of FHH Certification.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 3 min read · 22 September 2026

Watchmaking tools and small parts arranged on a wooden bench — Photo: Ryan Ashby

The Fondation Haute Horlogerie and the Gemological Institute of America are building a new academic route into watch education. On 17 September 2026, they announced a collaboration that will take FHH Academy programmes to GIA students on campuses and online, beginning in early 2027 with Watch Advisor.

Watch Advisor is the first step

FHH Watch Advisor is the first level of the FHH Certification. The collaboration includes the dedicated training programme as well as access to the certification, so students are not being handed only an assessment at the end of an unrelated course. The FHH says its Academy is responsible for training, assessment and certification of watchmaking knowledge worldwide. GIA brings an existing international learning network and a student group already engaged with gemmology and jewellery arts.

The immediate scope is narrow and easy to understand. This is not presented as a watchmaking bench qualification or a course in servicing movements. It is the first level of the FHH's certification structure, supported by training and open sessions with a dedicated tutor. Making that entry point available through GIA gives students a route into horology without requiring watchmaking and jewellery arts to be treated as separate areas of study.

The partners describe the collaboration as a way to combine their expertise in watchmaking and gem and jewellery education. Their first-party release says FHH Academy has trained more than 50,000 people and certified more than 18,000 across 20 countries, while GIA has educated more than 200,000 professionals and teaches on seven campuses. The same announcement says Academy programmes span watchmaking fundamentals, culture and heritage through to advanced technical courses for industry professionals and enthusiasts. Whether joining those networks creates a common baseline for learners is an editorial question, not a result the partners have yet demonstrated.

Exposed clock gears and mechanical components — Photo: Aiden Rosewell

Campuses and online study begin in 2027

The GIA says FHH Academy programmes will be offered across its global campus network and online, beginning in early 2027 with Watch Advisor. Before that, the first initiative marking the collaboration will take place in October 2026, with details still to come. The release does not give an exact enrolment date, tuition or course duration. Those omissions matter to anyone deciding when and how they can participate, but the broad delivery channels and opening year are confirmed.

There is also a difference between widening access and proving educational value. The credential will be useful only if its assessment is consistent and employers understand what passing it represents. The FHH's role in assessment and certification provides a structure for that work, but this announcement does not publish pass standards, independent evaluation or employer adoption. The partnership puts the course within easier reach; its value will become clearer once students can take it and use the result.

For GIA, the addition broadens its jewellery-arts education into a neighbouring specialist subject. For the FHH, it places an entry-level credential in front of students who may not already be inside the Swiss watch industry's training network. The commitment is to FHH Academy programmes in the plural, beginning with Watch Advisor. The partners have not named the programmes that follow or given a timetable for them, so the wider sequence remains open.

The useful conclusion is therefore modest. This agreement creates a bridge between two established areas of luxury-product education and names the first course that will cross it. It does not yet show the size of the audience, the cost of entry or how employers will regard the certificate. Those details will decide whether the collaboration becomes a meaningful route into watch knowledge or remains an interesting addition to a broader study programme.