The Watch Industry in Switzerland
Wednesday, 1 August 2007
In the conquest of space or major sporting events, where time has to be measured to the millisecond, Swiss watches and chronometers will regularly be found at the forefront. The impeccable reputation of Swiss products in this sector has been founded on a high degree of inventiveness and long-standing sense of high quality workmanship.
It was Huguenot refugees at the end of 16th century whose technical expertise instigated the development of watch-making in Switzerland. Geneva was the home of the first guild of watchmakers at the beginning of the 17th century and the industry finally extended right along the Jura chain from Geneva to Schaffhausen. 1845 saw the arrival of the first machines capable of producing identical parts, thus creating the concept of mass production and turning craftsmanship into industry in one fell swoop. Thanks to mechanization, the Swiss left their competitors behind, and for more than a century dominated the world market.
In 2003, 40,000 workers employed in the industry produced 24.6 million finished watches. Of the watches exported, for a total value of CHF 10.2 billion, more than half were mechanical. In terms of numbers, however, quartz watches predominated, accounting for more than 90 percent. The 'Swiss-made' label is based both on high quality of the products and on continuous improvements to the components, as well as after-sales service. Almost all the major pioneering developments in watchmaking have come from Switzerland, which has become a synonym for timing. As early as 1921 the Swiss Laboratory of Horological Research was set up, followed by the Centre for Electronic Horology in 1962 and the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology SA, in Neuchatel, in 1983. The latter concentrated on research into the possibilities of miniaturization (microelectronics) and, in addition in 1967 it produced the world's first quartz watch. Another important element is the world's only body certifying chronometers - the highly accurate timekeepers used especially in sports.
The Swiss watch industry continued to develop the quartz watch: numerical display using liquid crystal or electrochromic display, high-frequency quartz, and combined analogue and digital display. A recent addition is the thinnest watch in the world, boasting a thickness of just 0.98mm.
Despite all these pioneering achievements, Japanese and other Asian manufacturers managed to outdistance Switzerland with their cheap quartz watches. Along with the recession that hit the country's economy in the mid '70s this upheaval brought the whole Swiss watch industry to the brink of ruin. The number of jobs shrank dramatically. A quartz watch is in fact made up of far fewer components than a mechanical watch, and assembly is often automated.
The tunring point came only when the two largest watchmaking groups, which had fallen into financial difficulties, merged in one 1983 to form what is now the Swatch Group. Swatch, a plastic watch which has become a fashion accessory and cult object thanks to ingenious advertising efforts, brought the industry high-volume sales again.
For a few years now mechanical watches, which have no battery, have enjoyed a comeback. Watches in the top ranges, in particular, are often fitted with a mechanical movement and their sales are very little affected by fluctuations in the economy. Here, and even more markedly so with richly-jeweled prestige watches which have a wide array of functions and can cost up to several million francs, the Swiss manufacturers supply almost the entire world market.
It was Huguenot refugees at the end of 16th century whose technical expertise instigated the development of watch-making in Switzerland. Geneva was the home of the first guild of watchmakers at the beginning of the 17th century and the industry finally extended right along the Jura chain from Geneva to Schaffhausen. 1845 saw the arrival of the first machines capable of producing identical parts, thus creating the concept of mass production and turning craftsmanship into industry in one fell swoop. Thanks to mechanization, the Swiss left their competitors behind, and for more than a century dominated the world market.
In 2003, 40,000 workers employed in the industry produced 24.6 million finished watches. Of the watches exported, for a total value of CHF 10.2 billion, more than half were mechanical. In terms of numbers, however, quartz watches predominated, accounting for more than 90 percent. The 'Swiss-made' label is based both on high quality of the products and on continuous improvements to the components, as well as after-sales service. Almost all the major pioneering developments in watchmaking have come from Switzerland, which has become a synonym for timing. As early as 1921 the Swiss Laboratory of Horological Research was set up, followed by the Centre for Electronic Horology in 1962 and the Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology SA, in Neuchatel, in 1983. The latter concentrated on research into the possibilities of miniaturization (microelectronics) and, in addition in 1967 it produced the world's first quartz watch. Another important element is the world's only body certifying chronometers - the highly accurate timekeepers used especially in sports.
The Swiss watch industry continued to develop the quartz watch: numerical display using liquid crystal or electrochromic display, high-frequency quartz, and combined analogue and digital display. A recent addition is the thinnest watch in the world, boasting a thickness of just 0.98mm.
Despite all these pioneering achievements, Japanese and other Asian manufacturers managed to outdistance Switzerland with their cheap quartz watches. Along with the recession that hit the country's economy in the mid '70s this upheaval brought the whole Swiss watch industry to the brink of ruin. The number of jobs shrank dramatically. A quartz watch is in fact made up of far fewer components than a mechanical watch, and assembly is often automated.
The tunring point came only when the two largest watchmaking groups, which had fallen into financial difficulties, merged in one 1983 to form what is now the Swatch Group. Swatch, a plastic watch which has become a fashion accessory and cult object thanks to ingenious advertising efforts, brought the industry high-volume sales again.
For a few years now mechanical watches, which have no battery, have enjoyed a comeback. Watches in the top ranges, in particular, are often fitted with a mechanical movement and their sales are very little affected by fluctuations in the economy. Here, and even more markedly so with richly-jeweled prestige watches which have a wide array of functions and can cost up to several million francs, the Swiss manufacturers supply almost the entire world market.