15th Anniversary Special
Fifteen years. That’s how long I’ve been talking watches and watchmaking on WATCHES TV, and in this special edition I take a moment to look back — and to explain where my time has been going lately.
When I launched the channel, we were the first on YouTube covering this world. Print was still king, brands kept a tight grip on who could appear on camera, and more than a few people told me I was an utter fool. Being MAD, I took it as a compliment. Others saw where media was heading and opened doors for us, and I’ll always be grateful for that. I never intended to step in front of the camera myself, but the stories needed telling — and I ended up rather enjoying it.
The idea was always edutainment: spend a good moment watching, learn something along the way. From the beginning I wanted to build a proper video watchmaking glossary, a systematic way to document crafts and techniques. I never had the time or resources — but the idea never left me. At our 10th anniversary party in Geneva, I announced it out loud, in front of far too many witnesses to back out.
That promise became the Horopedia Foundation, created in February 2023 with Philippe Dufour as President, alongside Dr. Helmut Crott and André Colard, and quickly recognised as being of public interest. The encyclopedia is now live in six languages — French, English, German, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese — with thousands of pages, animations, graphics and films that go deep into watchmaking technique. Nearly two million visits since the start of 2026, and Swiss watchmaking schools now use it to train their students. We cover the entire ecosystem, but never brands: impartiality is central to the mission.
The second pillar is the MACH — the Maison des Arts & de la Culture Horlogère — a physical home for all of this in the centre of Geneva, opening during 2027. Historical building, everything rebuilt from scratch, and designed to be fully didactic: interactive, immersive, and hopefully magical.
So if you’ve noticed fewer videos on WATCHES TV lately, now you know why. The two projects feed each other, and the channel isn’t going anywhere — more reports are coming.
To every patron who has supported this mission, and to every person who has worked alongside me over these fifteen years: thank you, from the bottom of my heart. The highlights and the bloopers? We’re saving those for the 20th.
A massive Viva Watchmaking your way.
Marc André (aka MAD)
