The Museum of Counterfeiting is hosting a temporary exhibition: "Authen'Tic Tac – The exhibition that sets the record straight," focusing on the watchmaking sector.
The watch, an object born from the fantasy of mastering time, in turn becomes an object of desire, an emblem of style and luxury, a concentrate of technology sublimated by the art of the designer; today it is much more than a simple useful product, it is a symbol of elegance, a consecration for its owners. From this iconic status, copies and imitations derive, in increasingly worrying proportions.
This exhibition, created and developed by the Musée de la Contrefaçon in partnership with the brands Hermes, Hublot, Tag Heuer and the CFHM, Baselworld and the Swiss Watchmaking Federation (FHS), aims to trace the evolution of the conquest of time through the presentation of historical pieces, which will arouse questions and fascination through fiction, sport, fashion and design.
In order to immerse the visitor in the heart of the mechanisms and cogs of time and to make him discover the permanent innovations and developments of which the watch is the result; it is of course necessary to go through all the stages of manufacturing which involve long work in terms of research and development, a meticulous mastery of know-how to create and innovate in this industry. The highlighting of the current state of watch counterfeiting and the new means put in place to counter its expansion will find an echo at the end of the visit because it is important to emphasize that from this iconic status, derive copies and imitations, in increasingly worrying proportions. According to the customs report nearly 115 thousand fake products were stopped by operational agents for a value reaching more than 57 million euros.
How was the wristwatch born? Where does the ticking sound come from? What do customs officers do when they don't know if something is real or fake? These are all questions answered in the Authen'Tic Tac exhibition, which runs until July 2017.
Museum of Counterfeiting
16, pheasant street
75116 Paris
Tel. 01 56 26 14 03
Open Tuesday to Sunday from 14:00 p.m. to 17:30 p.m.
In the morning by reservation.
Patrick K.
