“Swiss Made” Watches
Everybody knows that Swiss Made watches are the best and are made in Switzerland, right? Are you sure?
Ah, if it were only that simple. There are two big myths about Swiss watches: Swiss watches are made in Switzerland and “Swiss Made” means made in Switzerland. Both these beliefs are wrong.
First, Swiss watches are not necessarily made in Switzerland. Big multi-national Swiss watch companies are just like any other multi-national. The products, watches in this case, are made all over the world. Just because a brand is Swiss does not mean that their watches are “Swiss Made”. The TechnoMarine Cruise product line is a prime example. TechnoMarine Cruise watches are made in Asia using Chinese-made components and Hong Kong-made bands with Japanese movements (OS60). There is nothing wrong with this arrangement: the watches are still very well made and are still real TechnoMarine, but no part of the manufacturing process happens in Switzerland for these watches.
Second, “Swiss Made” does not mean made in Switzerland. “Swiss Assembled” would probably be more accurate. The (current) definition of “Swiss Made” in regards to watches is: the movement is Swiss, the movement is cased up in Switzerland, and the manufacturer does the final inspection in Switzerland. In addition, the movement is considered “Swiss” if it has been assembled and inspected in Switzerland and the movement components are at least 50 % Swiss by value. That is it.
The definition of “Swiss Made” obviously leaves a lot of wiggle room. One thing that the Swiss watch industry really does not like to talk about is the fact that a lot of components used in “Swiss Made” watches are actually Chinese, even in the movement. For example, a watch with the case made in China, the band made in Hong Kong, and 48 % of the movement by value made in China is still considered Swiss Made if it assembled and tested in Switzerland. This is a result of simple economics - making things in Switzerland is expensive. “Swiss Made” is misleading and confusing, but by no means a problem: the foreign parts are still made to Swiss specification.
And it gets more complicated. “Swiss Made” is a minimum standard. This means that Swiss Made can be applied to a watch that is 100 % made in Switzerland or, as in the example above, mainly assembled in Switzerland. This results in a lot of argument in the industry over what “Swiss Made” means and each manufacturer takes its own approach.
In general, if your goal is to buy a high-quality Swiss Made watch that is as Swiss as possible, go with one of the smaller manufacturers (Angular Momentum is a prime example). If your goal is to buy a high-quality watch, then buy the watch you like and do not worry about where it was made.
Time Eclectic