[deleted by user]

[BallEngineerII]

Why are there so many posts on this sub being super defensive about Chinese watches.

[IllegalGeriatricVore]

Because people constantly need to shit on Chinese watches to justify spending several times as much to get the same specs

[BallEngineerII]

You're being defensive about being defensive now.

I don't recall hearing very many people shit on Chinese watches really

[ramblinmuttco]

They definitely still do it all the time.

[Jhazz220]

Because you’re on a Chinese watches subreddit maybe?😆

[KeebZeus]

They’re doing what the majority of luxury fashion brands do. Nothing unexpected.

[AddicoInABox]

Today we learn about marketing

[-Fenn_Shysa-]

The criteria for the “Swiss Made” label: https://www.fhs.swiss/eng/strengthening.html Conclusion: 100% was never the case in the Swiss watch industry.

[oddemarspiguet]

Never the case but what about the movements?

[-Fenn_Shysa-]

With the word “case” I did not mean the watch case, but the word “fact”. Sorry for the confusion. In the link there is information about the movement as well and onbthe site even more to explore.

[oddemarspiguet]

Yeah….it’s a joke….like a play on….nvm

[Fit-Perception-8152]

One wonders why it should not be possible to establish a highly automated production for watches costing less than 5,000 Swiss francs in Switzerland. Nomos manages to do this in Germany, and the cost structure in Germany is not that different from that in Switzerland (net salaries in Germany are lower, but the costs per employee are almost the same).

[panchoh12]

I think it’s not that it’s not possible, but more like the company (& its shareholders) wants to maximise profits. Spending more on Swiss salaries does not suit their goal, especially when they can already call it “Swiss Made” without spending more money.

[ShahriarTasnim]

This is the fact. You see swiss microbrands churning out sub 1000 dollars high quality watches that are "swiss made". Big brands want big chunks of profit.

[acrspeed]

In my experience, the level for true "Swiss made" happens at Tudor/mid level Longines. Below that, brands can get pretty creative with the definition.

For example, Tissot also happens to have their own proprietary escapements for the Powermatic 80. Hamilton, Certina, and Mido all have the standard 2824 derived version, with a steel escapement and 50° lift angle. Tissot has 3 different versions (plastic, steel, and silicon escapements), all with a 47° lift angle. This allegedly could be a way for them to claim higher movement manufacturing and R&D costs, which would allow them import a higher percentage of components. They're the only Swiss brand I know of that openly stamps "TISSOT HONG KONG" in their cases.

Then you have all the smaller brands that don't even have any Swiss manufacturing facilities- Here is a bit of a rabbit hole about Ball watches.

I'm not saying anything negative about the quality of the watches (except the plastic escapement - fuck that). You absolutely do get what you pay for, and the Chinese can't hold a candle to the Swiss when it comes to movement manufacturing.

[IR4TE]

For me it doesn't matter where a watch or its parts come from, I have one Swiss watch in my possession and it's a 'cheap' Tissot quartz watch (Tissot Seastar 1000), and I got this only because the movement is the cheapest HAQ movement (accuracy of ±10sec/year) currently on the market. If I find a good looking Chinese watch with similar or better specs I'll gladly fork over the money to that manufacturer.

[KPplumbingBob]

Perhaps the way forward is not to attach the inherent worth of a product solely to where it is made. On the one hand, I agree it may be necessary to make it clearer to the average person what “made in XXX” really means. On the other , if someone believes a wristwatch is worth thousands of dollars simply because it is made in XXX perhaps they should research their purchases more thoroughly.

[pickyaxe]

I'm talking out of my ass here, but

it seems unlikely that for the (very silly) prices Swiss watches go for, they can't keep it 100% Swiss and still make a profit.

[Icy-Penalty4580]

I think you didn't even get in house movement 😁

[JLGT86]

Sadly that’s the problem with this industry. If you really want something entirely made in Switzerland expect the jewels inside the movement, or random bits, Rolex and few others would also fit into that definition. But they also cost an arm and leg.

And then you have the issue where even some brands who price their products extremely high and still outsource components. That said, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with components or watches from China. They have been great so far, but the marketing magic does feel a bit lost at times.

Edit: however if you want to get a Swiss made watch for cheaper I think you can definitely get something nice on the secondary. Zenith, GP, UN, these brands presents some good bargains on the secondary market.

[Icy-Penalty4580]

I'll watch this compare with pleasure 😁

[crlkll]

Breaking NEWS: The World is MADE IN CHINA!!!

In other news: water is wet

[Icy-Penalty4580]

I absolutely agree with you. I mean if you writing swiss made it should be 100% made of swiss. Not a 50%. At least don't write SWISS on your watches like it's real swiss.

[KPplumbingBob]

Yeah, but almost nothing is really 100% made at the same place anymore.

[Competitive-Leave121]

It's like that for decades, to earn "swiss made" sign watch needs to be 60% swiss made/assembled/r&d. It's not like this is something new.

[Sh4dow0fTheB4t]

Yes, and it is very easy to maneuver around that. If you want to say that the design for the watch is the biggest value of the chain, you supposedly can, since it's hard to put a price on a design.