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From time to time namely in 2003 and more particularly in 2007, there are efforts made
to strengthen the definition of "Swiss made." These efforts are normally spearheaded by
the Federation of the Swiss atch !ndustry F" #F"$ a trade organi%ation. 30 companies
ha&e opposed such efforts under which the lobbying group !' Swiss made. (any are
afraid to share their identity but )onnie *ernheim, co+,-. of (ondaine, has been
outspo/en on this issue, and defends "Swissness more as a promise than a physical
manifestation." (ondaine admits that it uses non+Swiss dials and cases though *ernheim
has declined to disclose their country of origin.
atchause0There are two discrete sections of the Swiss law that pertain to the use of the
name Swiss made. The first law, which applies to all types of Swiss products, is the 1oi
sur la protection des mar2ues #13($.
,urrently the aforementioned Swiss legal standards permit watch brands or watchma/ers
to label watches Swiss (ade under certain legally defined circumstances. These
standards ha&e changed o&er time and were not always codified in the national law, so
older watches which bear the mar/ Swiss (ade may not necessarily meet the current
legal definition. .n the other hand they might well e4ceed the current legal definition of
Swiss made. !ndeed, the current law of the applicability of Swiss made was codified on
5ecember 23, 6776
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The Swiss federal ,ouncil modified the ordinance regulating the use of the "Swiss" name
for watches in (ay 6778. This was said to bring the re2uirements of Swiss watchma/ing
industry a rubric li/e those of the -uropean 9nion. !n essence, the re&ision made it
possible to affi4 indications of "Swiss made" on foreign watchcases and dials intended to
e2uip Swiss watches. : watch is considered Swiss whose mo&ement is Swiss, whose
mo&ement is encased in Swit%erland and whose final control by the manufacturer ta/es
place in Swit%erland. ,on&ersely, the Swiss manufacturers of parts destin for foreign
watches from then on were authori%ed to &isibly indicate that their products come from
Swit%erland. These inno&ations were intended to impro&e the transparency as regards the
source of products. ,onsumers were e4pected to clearly recogni%e from what countries
the &arious constituent parts of the watches came. "owe&er, the re&isions were not
intended to reduce the protection the name "Swiss made". !ndeed, the high re2uirements
which are imposed with a Swiss watch were said to remain unchanged.
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!t is not generally /nown that 2uite a few Swiss companies ha&e watches assembled in
,hina for e4port to ;orth :merica, :sia and e&en -urope, where the brand name is more
important than the <Swiss made= label. Such watches may consist of a ,hinese case and a
,hinese crystal, a Taiwan+made dial and metal bracelet and >apanese hands. !f the
mo&ement is to be considered Swiss, 86? of its &alue must be Swiss and at least the last
wheel must be added in Swit%erland. Swiss watch brands without the <Swiss made= label
are usually e2uipped with a >apanese mo&ement. The <Swiss parts= label means that the
mo&ement is assembled in :sia using /its consisting at least partially of Swiss made
components.
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