Swiss made watches explained

How does a watch become 'Swiss made'?

 

I recently bought a Luminox Navy Seal 3001, knowing that the watch was Swiss made was a big plus for me when deciding to buy it. But apart from naively knowing "it's made in Switzerland" I wasn't sure exactly what this meant. So, if you're like me you've probably wondered at some point why Swiss made watches are seen as being more desirable and quite often followed by an increase in price.

Manufacturers such as Bell & Ross, Breitling, Cartier and IWC (to name a few) all produce Swiss made watches and are considered as creating some of the most iconic and well built watches to date.

However, it's easy to get confused with what the term Swiss made actually means, especially as some watches contain Swiss made movements but don't adhere to the other criteria that allow them to state it on the watch face.



For a watch to be called 'Swiss made' and to actually print it at the six o'clock position of watch dial the manufacturer must follow four strict rules created by the Swiss Federation.


1. Movement must be made and assembled in Switzerland

The first rule is a pretty obvious rule, however, it is important to be stated that the movement must be made in Switzerland. As touched upon earlier, it's possible to buy a Swiss movement that contains Swiss made components but that isn't made in Switzerland, thus saving on costs after being sent off to another country to be assembled. However, this is no longer really a Swiss movement.



2. Movement must be encased in Switzerland

This rule is set in place to prevent manufacturers from paying a lot of money for a Swiss made movement and then saving money by sending it out of the country to save on labor costs. After all Swiss labor (like everything else Swiss) comes at a much higher price but is also the most precise.


3. Quality control must be carried out in Switzerland

This could be the most important of the four rules stated by the Swiss Federation. For example, a production line in India may assemble 500 watches, of those watches five may fail quality control due to huge glaring issues. If the same number of watches at the same quality went for inspection in Switzerland perhaps only half would pass due to much smaller, minute defects due to their stricter standards.

The costs are increased due to the skill of the people inspecting the watches and for the watches that are bounced back and re-touched.


4. Swiss made components must make up at least 60% of the watch price.

The final rule is a rule that changed relatively recently, the rule previous stated that only 51% of the value of the watch must consist of Swiss made components. However, this has been raised and now stands at a much more substantial 60%, this will undoubtedly change a lot of things over the next few years in the watch industry.

Swiss parts carry a larger price tag but are made to a much higher standard compared to parts from say, Hong Kong, as a result you can rest assured you have a quality made watch.


If all of these rules are followed exactly then a manufacturer will have have the privilege of stating that their watch is Swiss made and as a result, created by expertly skilled craftsman to the highest of standards.