Does this apply to Rolex watches? You guessed it. It has long been thought that many of the componet parts of a Rolex are actually manufactured by other companies. For example, crystals, both plastic and sapphire are produced by companies other than Rolex. From what we have learned, Rolex also does NOT produce the watch bands or bracelets nor do they produce items such as bezel inserts, gaskets, case tubes, mainsprings, stems and screws. Think about this!
The term "Swiss Made" is defined by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry as:
A Swiss watch movement
As we have seen, to be Swiss, a watch must use a Swiss movement. According to Section 2 OSM, a movement is considered to be Swiss if:
* it has been assembled in Switzerland;
* it has been inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland; and
* the components of Swiss manufacture account for at least 50 percent of the total value, without taking into account the cost of assembly.
The Federation also goes on to say that the case, crystals, dial (face), hands, crown, strap, or buckle need to be manufactured in Switzerland for the watch to be legally called "Swiss Made."
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The information above can be found at the fhs.ch website under the heading "Swiss Made." This means that an inexpensive watch movement produced in the far east can be shipped to Switzerland and assembled using only one Swiss manufactured component like a screw for instance and as long as that screw cost the same amount as the rest of the movement, the movement can then be called Swiss Made. A WISE attorney who goes by the name of Luger has written a great deal about this on the web and has exposed many secrets of the Swiss watch industry.
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The point is that many of the brands that read "Swiss Made" on the dial are not entirely manufactured in Switzerland and that many of the components that are good enough to be used in high dollar "Swiss Made" watches are produced in the far east and elsewhere, so the country of origin on a watch is not as important as the overall finishing and detail and the rareness of the watch.
Is this a big let-down or what? Not really, we all knew that Rolex was doing this for years.
The term "Swiss Made" is defined by the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry as:
A Swiss watch movement
As we have seen, to be Swiss, a watch must use a Swiss movement. According to Section 2 OSM, a movement is considered to be Swiss if:
* it has been assembled in Switzerland;
* it has been inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland; and
* the components of Swiss manufacture account for at least 50 percent of the total value, without taking into account the cost of assembly.
The Federation also goes on to say that the case, crystals, dial (face), hands, crown, strap, or buckle need to be manufactured in Switzerland for the watch to be legally called "Swiss Made."
----------------
The information above can be found at the fhs.ch website under the heading "Swiss Made." This means that an inexpensive watch movement produced in the far east can be shipped to Switzerland and assembled using only one Swiss manufactured component like a screw for instance and as long as that screw cost the same amount as the rest of the movement, the movement can then be called Swiss Made. A WISE attorney who goes by the name of Luger has written a great deal about this on the web and has exposed many secrets of the Swiss watch industry.
--------------------
The point is that many of the brands that read "Swiss Made" on the dial are not entirely manufactured in Switzerland and that many of the components that are good enough to be used in high dollar "Swiss Made" watches are produced in the far east and elsewhere, so the country of origin on a watch is not as important as the overall finishing and detail and the rareness of the watch.
Is this a big let-down or what? Not really, we all knew that Rolex was doing this for years.
