Breve história da relojoaria suíça

The Swiss watch and clock industry appeared in Geneva in the middle of the 16th century. In 1541, reforms implemented by Jean Calvin and banning the wear of jewels, forced the goldsmiths and other jewellers to turn into a new, independent craft : watchmaking. By the end of the century, Genevan watches were already reputable for their high quality, and watchmakers created in 1601 the Watchmakers' Guild of Geneva, the first to be established anywhere. One century later and because Geneva was already crowded with watchmakers, many of them decided to leave the city for the receptive region of the Jura Mountains. Watchmaking in the Jura remains indebted to a young goldsmith called Daniel Jeanrichard (1665-1741), who, for the first time, introduced the division of labour in watchmaking. In 1790, Geneva was already exporting more than 60,000 watches. The centuries were rich in inventions and new developments. In 1770, Abraham-Louis Perrelet created the "perpetual" watch (in French "Montre à secousses"), the forerunner of the modern self-winding watch. In 1842, pendant winding watches were invented by Adrien Philippe, one of the founders of the famous Patek Philippe watch company. At the same time began the production of complicated watches and the introduction of special features such as the perpetual calendar, the fly-back hand and chronographs. The Jura Mountains with its various watchmaking centres   The mass production of watches began at the turn of the 20th century, thanks to the researches and new technologies introduced by reputable watchmakers such as Frédéric Ingold and Georges Léchot. The increase of the productivity, the interchangeability of parts and the standardization progressively led the Swiss watch industry to its world supremacy. The end of World War I corresponds to the introduction of the wristwatch which soon became very popular. Its traditional round shape was generally adopted in 1960. In 1926, the first self-winding wristwatch was produced in Grenchen, the first electrical watches being introduced later in 1952. In 1967, the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH) in Neuchâtel developed the world first quartz wristwatch - the famous Beta 21. Since then, major technical developments followed without interruption: LED and LCD displays, Swatch, quartz wristwatch without battery, etc. Since more than four centuries now, tradition, craftmanship, high technologies and permanent innovation have allowed Swiss watchmaking industry to keep its leadership in the world watch market. Because or thanks to the different crisis it had to go through, Swiss watchmaking industry has always been in a position to answer the many technological, economical and structural challenges it was confronted with. Its exceptional dynamism and creative power have made it a state-of-the-art industry, and the many inventions or world records in its possession are so many evidences : the first wristwatch, the first quartz watch, the first water resistant wristwatch, the thinnest wristwatch in the world, the smallest or the most expensive watch in the world, etc. Compared to today's quartz movements (left), the Beta 21 model (right), the first quartz movement for wrist watches with analog display, seems a veritable antique

The Swiss watch industry today

The watch and clock industry, Switzerland's third largest exporter after the machine and chemical industries, has only one market : The World. Swiss made timepieces are to be found in all the countries of the globe. And, what is no less surprising, to suit all pockets, or almost so : from quartz fashion watches for a modest price to mechanical masterpieces, made of gold and decorated with precious stones, costing several million francs. It is this wide variety and its worldwide vocation which together have ensured the survival of the industry over the course of centuries. Structures Historically, the Swiss watch and clock industry has always had a specialized horizontal structure in which suppliers, craftsmen and sub-contractors supply movements and external parts to assemblers called "établisseurs", who put the final product together. However, to a lesser extent, the industry has also developed a vertically integrated structure in which watches and clocks are sometimes made entirely by the same company, in this case called a "manufacture". During the 1970s and early 1980s, technological upheavals (appearance of the quartz technology) and the difficult economic situation resulted in a reduction in the size of the industry : the number of employees fell from some 90,000 in 1970 to a little over 30,000 in 1984, a figure which has remained stable over the last thirteen years (40,000 employees in 2004) while the number of companies decreased from about 1,600 in 1970 to about 600 now. The average number of employees per company has remained constant, at just under 70 people per company in 2004, as in 1970. The great majority of watch companies are small sized companies (employing less than 100 people) while a very little number (less than 10) are each employing over 500 people. Products One of the great strengths of the Swiss watch and clock industry, by comparison with its foreign competitors, is its ability to offer the consumer a genuinely comprehensive choice of products. Would you like a mechanical watch (handwound or automatic) or a quartz watch (with analog or digital display) ? Do you prefer a diamond-set watch of precious metal or one made of stainless steel, wood, plastic or even high tech ceramic ? Are your more attracted by a sober classic appearance, a sporty look or a fashionable and trendy design ? Whatever you want, you will always find something to satisfy you amongst the products of the Swiss watch industry. And if you prefer an alarm or other type of clock to a wristwatch, you will have difficulty in choosing from amongst the vast range of models offered by the Swiss manufacturers of this type of product. Markets and Competition While the Swiss watch industry is present all over the world (it exports nearly 95% of its production), it does not carry equal weight everywhere. Asia and Oceania take 56% of Swiss watch exports in value, Europe 29%, Americas 14% and Africa 1%...and the top fifteen countries represent over 82% of these exports. With their worldwide reputation for quality and styling, Swiss watches are not however the only ones to compete for the favours of customers. They have many competitors in the markets, the most serious of these being the Japanese and Hong Kong producers. In Short According to a number of economic analysts, the Swiss watch industry was moribond in the middle of the 1970s, having missed out the electronic revolution and being strongly affected by the economic crisis. But what is the situation now, thirty years later ? Having successfully completed its structural reconversion, the watch industry is today, as it was yesterday, one of the brightest stars in the Swiss economic firmament. Better still, during the last five or six years, it has taken the leading position amongst the country's most successful industries, breaking its own records in exporting each year and going from 4.3 billion francs in 1986 to 19.3 billion in 2011. By FIHS

WATCH EXPORTS - Marked increase in 2012

The Swiss watch industry recorded another vintage year in 2012 following its excellent showing in 2011. The value of watch exports rose to 21.4 billion francs last year. This represents an increase of 2.1 billion francs, or +10.9%.

Press release

The very strong growth of 2011, being unsustainable in the long term, gave rise to a uniform and welcome slowdown in the summer of 2012. While most monthly results were very dynamic, a number of more moderate variations held back growth in the second part of the year. This resulted in a below-average increase in November (+4.7%), while September (-1.4%) and December (-5.6%) recorded downturns. However these one-off fluctuations did not prevent the industry from ending the financial year with a remarkable increase.

In an often unfavourable economic climate the Swiss watch industry clearly managed to hold its own, while other export sectors unfortunately experienced more difficulties. The foundations of watch industry growth are strong and offer encouraging development prospects. Widespread investment to develop production in Switzerland is intended to meet growing demand and the sales potential of a number of still emerging markets. From this perspective, the year 2013 shows promise and should see watch exports continue to rise.


Products

Watch industry exports were comprised mainly of wristwatches. The latter recorded a value of 20.2 billion francs, an increase of 11.5% compared to 2011. The corresponding number of timepieces for its part fell slightly to 29.1 million units (-2.2%). However this level remains well above the average of recent years, situated at around 25 million timepieces. The increase in the average price to 693 francs is due mainly to the ever-larger share of the most expensive watches.

Gold timepieces (+20.5%) contributed greatly to the increase in value. The other main materials, namely steel (+8.2%) and bimetallic (+5.3%) recorded a significant but more moderate increase. In terms of the number of timepieces, upturns in several important materials such as steel, gold and bimetallic failed to compensate for the decline in the categories of other materials (-4.5%) and other metals (-7.9%). In the final analysis, Switzerland exported 640,000 fewer watches than in 2011.
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Timepieces costing less than 200 francs (export price), which accounted for 68% of total volumes, showed a negative trend in terms of the number of timepieces (-5.9%), while their value remained stable. Other price segments were more buoyant. Between 200 and 500 francs, the number of timepieces increased by 9.3%. The 500-3,000 francs range slightly exceeded its 2011 level: +0.3% by value. Watches costing more than 3,000 francs stood out by their very strong growth. Their value increased by 18.0% and the number of timepieces by 13.1%.

The value of other products exported by Swiss watch manufacturers totalled 1.2 billion francs, an increase of 2.0% compared to 2011. Among these products, watch movements posted a value of 223.4 million francs (+1.2%), with alarm clocks and other clocks recording a value of 50.3 million francs (+27.5%).


Markets

During the year 2012, the fifteen main markets showed the following trend (total value in million francs and % variation by comparison with 2011):

1. Hong Kong 4,370.7 +6.8%
2. USA 2,186.9 +10.1%
3. China 1,647.6 +0.6%
4. France 1,317.2 +1.3%
5. Germany 1,198.6 +33.1%
6. Italy 1,173.9 +16.0%
7. Singapore 1,124.7 - 1.9%
8. Japan 1,092.4 +19.7%
9. United Arab Emirates 855.2 +25.2%
10. United Kingdom 806.7 +22.4%
11. South Korea 482.2 +21.7%
12. Taiwan 435.8 +18.4%
13. Spain 418.0 +17.4%
14. Saudi Arabia 330.5 +15.4%
15. Russia 277.4 +9.0%

The main markets for Swiss watch exports showed a positive trend in 2012, with the exception of Singapore, where the decline was however modest (-1.9%). The leading market, Hong Kong, saw growth fall from more than 30% to 6.8% over twelve months, but finished with a particularly high value. China, in third place, recorded an even more spectacular slowdown, dropping from an increase of 50% to virtually zero growth at the end of 2012. These changes reflected a cooling of consumer demand in China, due in particular to political factors. The Chinese however remained important clients for the Swiss watch industry, particularly tourists on their travels abroad. In second place, the United States also lost ground, albeit in a much less marked fashion, ending the year with an increase close to the global average (+10.1%). Europe bounced back strongly from the spring, even though not all markets contributed to the same degree. After a major slowdown, France recorded virtually zero growth from the spring and ended the year with a variation of +1.3%. Germany's performance was in stark contrast however and improved steadily, ending the year with an increase of +33.1%. Italy also picked up the pace, albeit later and to a more modest extent, to end the year with an upturn of +16.0%. Other markets in Europe and the Middle East all recorded strong increases in value terms compared to 2011.

Livro - George Daniels, A Master Watchmaker & His Art

George Daniels, A Master Watchmaker & His Art

by Michael Clerizo

‘The watch must be original in design and conception and, when completed, beautiful in appearance.’
George Daniels, Watchmaking

Master watch designer and inventor George Daniels (1926–2011) was regarded as the finest exponent of his craft in the world. Over the course of his career he laboriously constructed just 25 unique mechanical watches using antiquated tools, creating almost every component by hand. Each is a work of great originality and exceptional beauty, and his creations are appreciated as milestones in the art of watchmaking.
While admired for their lucidity of appearance and unadorned dials, Daniels’s watches often house a raft of exquisite complications, such as tourbillons, thermometers and power reserve indicators. His more intricate designs also incorporate perpetual calendars and minute repeaters, as well as indictors displaying mean solar and sidereal time, the age and phases of the moon, and the equation of time.
Most significant of all Daniels’s contributions to the field of mechanical horology was a revolutionary invention of his own: the co-axial escapement. This, the first noteworthy advance in practical watch design since Thomas Mudge’s lever escapement of 1754, saved a mechanical watch industry in danger of being overwhelmed by mass-produced, quartz-controlled wristwatches.
Within this elegant volume, detailed photographs of all Daniels’s unique watches (both dial and movement) can be seen, alongside rare and previously unseen images from Daniels’s own archive of photographs and working drawings.
Michael Clerizo worked closely with George Daniels in the preparation of this book, the craftsman recounting episodes from his life and career over their innumerable conversations at his home on the Isle of Man. That ample biography is also contained herein, ensuring that the book is a fitting and authentic tribute to the greatest watchmaker of the modern era.

Publication date: end of February 2013.

216 Pages • 240 ill. • Format : 29.5 x 29.5 cm.
Prix : CHF 105.00 • € 93.00

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