LVMH launches its own watchmaking school

Luxury timepiece brand Tag Heuer and heritage watchmaker Zenith have joined forces to create an apprenticeship-based training programme in partnership with LVMH’s Institut des Métiers d’Excellence, the luxury conglomerates vocational training programme.

The LVMH Ecole d’Horlogerie watchmaking school will be based in the workshops of the Tag Heuer manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds, and will welcome 12 apprentice watchmakers this year.

Each apprentice will undertake training with both manufacturers, which both LVMH states have “distinct cultures, products and DNA”. They will also have access to other watch brands within the group, such as Bulgari, Dior, and Louis Vuitton via masterclasses organised by the Institut des Métiers d’Excellence.

The school was launched with a ceremony attended by Jean-Claude Biver, president of the Watch Division of the LVMH group, and Chantal Gaemperle, group executive vice president human resources and synergies, and member of the executive committee.

The Institut des Métiers d’Excellence was founded by the LVMH group in 2014 and offers work/study courses that have an emphasis on craftsmanship, design and retail in partnership with vocational schools, such as the École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture and the École Boulle applied arts and design school. The third class, featuring 178 apprentices, started the school year in October.

Image: LVMH