Three Swiss watch firms have given a $500,000 grant to significantly expand the watchmaking program of Oklahoma State University-Okmulgee. The five-year grant, retroactive to January 2002, covers expansion of the program's facilities, new and additional equipment, scholarships, and faculty training.
Representatives of Audemars Piguet, Breitling, and The Richemont Group (whose many watch brands include Cartier, Piaget, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and A. Lange & Söhne) signed the agreement with school officials at Okmulgee, Okla., in August. Also present was Antoine Simonin, director of the Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Education Program (WOSTEP) in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. WOSTEP is an international watchmaker education center whose members include leading Swiss watch brands and organizations. Okmulgee is one of only three U.S. "partner schools" authorized to use WOSTEP's two-year