When you think of Switzerland, you probably think of a few of these things: snowy
nature scenes, scenic railway routes through the mountains, chocolate, cheese, and
perhaps watches. If you Interrupt someone to ask for the time, it's very possible that
person is wearing a Swiss watch.
The Swiss have a long history of making watches. Today, watches are the country's
third largest export. But how did a small country known more for its culture of efficient
transport and being on time become a leader in watchmaking?
Clockmaking and watchmaking in Switzerland started in the 16th century, but the
Swiss were not the first. The French, Germans, and Dutch were making plenty of
watches before then. The earliest watch dates to 1530. Around this time in the Swiss
city of Geneva, a leader named John Calvin decided that people should wear no
jewelry. The jewelry makers knew they needed to be flexible and make a change
right away, so they turned to making watches. Other countries made watches, but the
Swiss quickly became known for their timepieces. These early watches were known
more for their beauty than for keeping time.
Over time, Geneva became very crowded with watchmakers. It was not unusual for
one watchmaker to work on one part of a watch and then pass it on to another
watchmaker in a different area of the city to work on another part. There could
therefore be long delays before someone got the watch they ordered.
In the mid-1700s, a man named Daniel JeanRichard introduced the idea of "division
of labor" to watchmaking. This meant that different stages of watchmaking were done
by different people, each trained to do that particular job. He also introduced new
watchmaking tools and created a set of rules to Follow. By 1790, Geneva was
producing more than 60,000 watches a year. After a brief period of time, the Swiss
became the world's top producer of watches. By 1850, Switzerland was producing 2
million watches a year. For many people, a fine Swiss watch was an essential item to
own.
In the late 19th century, there was a huge demand in the United States for cheaper
watches. The Swiss tried to sell low-priced copies of watches in the US, but were not
successful. The Americans found the quality too low. As a result, the Swiss started
producing more mid- to high-end watches. This led to Switzerland being known for
their high-quality watches.
The wristwatch we know today only goes back a little over a hundred years. During
World War I, soldiers had pocket watches, but they were not practical. Many of them
began to tie their pocket watches around their wrists. The end of the war saw
wristwatches become popular. In 1926, the Swiss produced an even more practical
watch: the first self-winding wristwatch. Before this, people had to remember to turn a
small part of the watch to wind it and power the watch. The self-winding wristwatch
didn't need you to remember to wind it. In the 1950s, when the Swiss invented the
world's first electrical watches, other companies hurried to start producing these new
types of watches.
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Since that time, the number of Swiss watchmakers has fallen from several thousand
to around 500, mainly because of competition from East Asia. At number three, it may
seem that the good old days of Switzerland being the top watch producer in the world
are over. However, the Swiss remain the top producer of expensive, high-end
watches. Will Switzerland come full circle and one day be the world's top producer of
all watches? Only time will tell.
