A prestigious recognition in terms of quality, the Hallmark of Geneva or Poinçon de Genève examines the manufacture and finishing of all the components that make up a watch. Legally established as long ago as 1886, it adopts a very rigorous procedure that goes through several stages: approval of the movement, additional modules and non-mechanical parts; hallmarking of the movement; certification of the movement, additional modules and habillage; and certification of the "head only" watch (watch assembled and mounted in the case, according to criteria that came into force in 2011, without a strap or bracelet). Responsible for the certification is Timelab, the Swiss Research and Development Centre, which is also entrusted with the inspection activity, following the issue of the certification, that allows it to test - in the manufacture and by means of a special machine coded by Timelab itself - the production of the watches according to the different criteria and to establish, if necessary, to repeat the controls. In order to obtain the Hallmark of Geneva, the first step for a brand is the submission of a letter of intent stating its willingness to commit to a long-term strategy involving the Hallmark (Timelab does not accept requests to certify a single piece or a single collection). Currently, the watch brands awarded the Hallmark are: Cartier, Vacheron Constantin, Roger Dubuis (for all production), Chopard and, most recently, Louis Vuitton.
