History of the Swiss Watch
July 1st, 2010
Swiss watchmaking and watchmaking in Geneva in the mid 16th century. In 1541, reforms implemented by Jean Calvin and banning the use of jewels, forced the goldsmiths and other jewelers to become a new art, independent: watchmaking. At the end watches from Geneva and had a reputation for high quality, and watchmakers created in 1601 Geneva Watchmaking Guild, the first to settle in any part.
Switzerland has long been associated with high quality watches. The clocks are the country’s exports after the third chemical and engineering industries in terms of value.
well Accuracy is important for us today, has not always been so. For centuries, clocks were very expensive and were status symbols for the rich. The clock is an invention of the 20th century, before that date which have been used in different ways, often in the form of jewelry, and decorated accordingly.
The Swiss watch market focuses on three continents. The two main customers are the U.S. and Hong Kong. (Hong Kong is an important center: most of its imports re-exported.)
Italy, Germany and France are the main customers in Europe.
watches in the Jura is indebted to a young goldsmith called Daniel JeanRichard (1665-1741), who introduced the division of labor in watchmaking. In 1790, Geneva was already exporting more than 60,000 clocks.
Swiss success is not only the quality of its production, but also the wide range of watches produced, both in terms of technology and appearance. Nearly 90% of watches produced in Switzerland are electronic, but mechanical watches, the remaining 10%, which represents more than half of export value. Some of these watches in the upper price range is between more complex in the world.
Regarding the appearance, this is the classic sober through diamonds cheap and gay. The watch industry has been one of constant innovation, requiring ingenuity, skill, and design skills, patience and business acumen – all qualities that the Swiss pride themselves.
The challenges continue: how to reconcile the small size of the complexity of the function, or at low cost with high accuracy and reliability, and how to deal with competition from world.
The timer is not stopped, nor the manufacturers of watches.
Categories: Swiss Watch
