The words 'Swiss made' are generally found at six o'clock on watch dials. They signify the remarkable fact that Switzerland has achieved something that no other country has managed: it has branded itself in law.
Back in 2001, the Texas-based watches and fancy goods Fossil Group announced its purchase of Zodiac, an established Swiss watchmaker, after failing to acquire Universal Geneve, another old Swiss brand. Why that acquisition? Because Tom Kartsotis, Fossil's founder, had global ambitions, and wanted to embellish his catalogue with a Swiss-made wristwatch brand.
Until then Fossil had been doing well, producing its watches in its own factories in China, mostly under licence, for labels such as Adidas, Diesel and DKNY. In 2000 they amounted to about 15 million.
But a vital ingredient was missing, and Kartosis found it with Zodiac, which had been established in 1882 in the watchmaking town of Le Locle, Switzerland, and registered in 1908 in Neuchatel. Now he could use the two magic words on dials of his own. But there were rules to be obeyed.
A Federal Council decree on December 23, 1971 embodied a concept of quality that the Swiss watch industry has garnered for itself over more than 150 years. It was reinforced by a further decree passed in August 1992, which introduced additional criteria. As the law now stands, a watch may carry the indications 'Swiss made' or 'Swiss' only if its movement is Swiss and it has been cased in Switzerland, and if the final inspection of the watch has been carried out by the manufacturer in Switzerland.
One section of the decree even requires that the word 'movement' after 'Swiss' must not be abbreviated. In addition, the words 'Swiss made' may only appear on a bracelet if it is of Swiss manufacture and if the watch to which it is attached is also Swiss, in accordance with the law. Two capital Ts featured either side of 'Swiss Made' on a watch dial indicate that tritium has been employed for luminosity on its time markers and hands; two Ls also denote that a similar agent has been used.
These and other regulations could soon be tightened at a general meeting to be held by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry on June 28.
The new law is intended to ensure that 80 per cent of the total production cost of a Swiss-made mechanical watch is attributable to manufacturing operations carried out in Switzerland. For electronic watches the minimum cost would be 60 per cent. In both cases, raw materials such as gold, precious stones, and components such as batteries, would be excluded from production costs, but prototype development and construction must be carried out within the Swiss borders.
The Swiss watch industry is closely integrated in a number of ways. One of its universally recognised support systems is the Official Swiss Chronometer Inspectorate (COSC), which certifies accuracy and excellence in both mechanical and quartz timekeeping. Just over one million certificates were issued in 2005. The leading recipients were, in descending order: Rolex (by far the highest figure), Breitling, Omega, Panerai, Chopard and Ulysse Nardin.
Further statistics go a long way to explain why and how the watch industry is Switzerland's third largest exporter by value. They constitute the clearest evidence for the universally recognised value of the words 'Swiss made' and are supplied by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry. This highly effective 'voice of the industry' (commonly referred to as the FH) represents about 90 per cent of Swiss watchmaking concerns.
One of the founding fathers of the FH was one Louis Ariste Calame (1875-1955). Curiously, it was his father who established Zodiac.
