Are Swiss watches still the best?

The Swiss watch is known for its good reputation in terms of quality and durability. Switzerland is therefore the most famous watch country. Well-known Swiss brands are Tag Heuer, Glycine, Cornavin and also Swiss Kubik that produces watch winders. The label 'Swiss made' stands for a guaranteed high quality and that has been worked with great precision according to tradition. But when can a watch wear this label? Because only the fact that a watch comes from Switzerland is not enough to provide the watch with this famous predicate. There are different requirements for this. Although it does not mean that every watch with the label 'Swiss made' is of the best quality. These requirements have not always been written in a law and, apart from that, these standards have been adjusted over the years. Older watches with the label 'Swiss made' do not necessarily meet these requirements. However, it is also possible that these watches are of even higher quality.

The current law applicable to the 'Swiss made' label was codified on December 23, 1971, followed by a further revision in 1995. But the conditions in this law are a minimum standard, which means that a 'Swiss made' watch must comply to this minimum. So other than this the label, the quality of the different brands that carry this label depends in particular on the brand, production, philosophy and its reputation. Where one brand goes for the highest quality, the other goes for cheaper parts from other countries as long as this is possible within the norms of the law.

In short, a Swiss-made watch must at least have the movement come from Switzerland and also be built into the watch case. Beyond that, the last inspections of the watch in Switzerland must be carried out and at least 60% of the development costs of the watch must be made in Switzerland. However, some of these standards are open to interpretation and there is discussion about them.

The Swiss watch now gets serious competition from both the German and the French watch. The stamp 'made in Germany' is now a firm predicate as well in the watch market and the difference with the Swiss brands is getting smaller and smaller. The German watchmakers have developed considerably over the years in the field of technology, quality and design. The German watches are also provided with high-quality movements, whether they are of Swiss origin or not, and they are made by watchmakers who understand their profession.

To conclude, Swiss watches with the predicate 'Swiss made' are still very respectable and the most famous watch brands (such as Tag Heuer, Rolex, IWC, Breitling etc etc) are from Switzerland. However, this does not alter the fact that countries such as Germany and France also have very good watch brands, such as Fortis, Junkers, Zeppelin and Davosa. Often these brands are also a bit cheaper while offering comparable quality.