Swiss Made: law, percentages and historical evolution (EU and Portuguese framework)
We have always associated quality with Swiss watches, something guaranteed by one designation — Swiss Made. But what is a Swiss Made watch today? Let us look at the existing designations, what they mean and what has changed from 1971 to the present day.
By contrast, in the European Union and in Portugal the origin of an industrial product is, as a rule, determined by the criterion of the last substantial transformation, with no fixed percentages such as those laid down in the Swiss regime.
What for decades we understood as a “Swiss watch” no longer corresponds exactly to today’s reality. As with almost everything, the past does not remain unchanged — and watchmaking is no exception.
Swiss law — and it is important to stress that it has effect only within the legal order of the Swiss Confederation — expressly lays down the following regarding the use of the designation Swiss Made in watchmaking:
THE LAWS
This law establishes the general regime for indications of source in Switzerland and legally protects the use of the designations “Switzerland”, “Swiss” or “Swiss Made”.
It stipulates that an indication of source may only be used when the product has a real economic link to the territory.
These are the specific regulations for the watch industry, first adopted in 1971 and subsequently revised, notably under the reform known as Swissness, in force since 1 January 2017.
This ordinance sets out the concrete conditions under which a watch may bear the inscription Swiss Made.
THE PAST
1971: the first structured definition
The 1971 regulations established three cumulative requirements.
A watch is considered Swiss if:
The movement is Swiss
The movement is assembled in Switzerland
Final regulation is carried out in Switzerland
Swiss movement (original regime)
A movement was considered Swiss if:
It was assembled in Switzerland
It was inspected in Switzerland
At least 50% of the value of the components was of Swiss origin (excluding assembly)
THE PRESENT - SWISSNESS
a change that radically altered the "Swiss Made" designation
Today’s Swiss Made is an economic criterion, not merely a geographical one: it is measured by manufacturing cost, and not only by the physical production of the parts.
Globalisation and revision: the “Swissness” reform (2017)
With the growing internationalisation of supply chains, an internal debate arose as to whether the 50% rule was sufficient. After political and industry discussion, a thorough revision of the regime came into force in 2017. “Value” means the economic value of the components in the manufacturing process, not the final price to the consumer.
“Swiss origin” meant that these components were manufactured in Switzerland, or had acquired Swiss origin under the applicable rules
In other words, it was not enough for them to be assembled in Switzerland — they had to be genuinely produced or substantially processed on Swiss territory.
The focus was clearly on the movement as the technical core of the watch.
Current requirements
A watch may use the designation Swiss Made if:
The movement is Swiss
The movement is assembled in Switzerland
Final regulation takes place in Switzerland
At least 60% of the cost of the entire manufacture of the complete watch is generated in Switzerland
This last requirement is the most significant change: the percentage now applies to the watch as a finished product, and not only to the movement.
3.2. Swiss movement after 2017
A movement is considered Swiss if:
It is assembled in Switzerland
It is inspected in Switzerland
At least 60% of the manufacturing cost of the movement is generated in Switzerland
It was not just that the percentage rose from 50% to 60%. Far from it: what happened was that, although a percentage is still mentioned, it no longer relates to where the part was made, but to its cost.
Now the logic is different.
The talk is now of:
60% of the cost of manufacture generated in Switzerland
Today the question is no longer simply: “where was the part made?”
Today the question is: “where was the economic value of the production process generated?”
4. How the percentage is calculated today
The criterion is economic, not quantitative.
It is not a matter of “60% of the parts”, but of 60% of the manufacturing costs.
Included:
Technical development carried out in Switzerland
Engineering
Industrial production and processing
Assembly
Quality control
Excluded:
Marketing
Distribution
Packaging
After-sales service
This method allows certain components to be produced outside Switzerland, provided that the aggregate economic value meets the legal threshold.
Public challenge: the case of H. Moser & Cie.
In 2017, when the Swissness reform came into force, the independent brand H. Moser & Cie. presented a concept watch called the Swiss Mad Watch.
Case made from Swiss cheese (Vacherin Mont d’Or), stabilised with resin
Minimalist red dial
Swiss mechanical movement
The piece formally met the legal criteria for Swiss Made.
The initiative set out to question publicly whether the 60% threshold really represented a sufficiently strong material link to Swiss production.
The name “Swiss Mad” worked as a semantic provocation against “Swiss Made”.
The gesture sparked international debate and exposed a structural tension: the difference between legal compliance and the intuitive perception of authenticity.
EXAMPLE
A watch produced in Djibouti bearing the Swiss Made designation
Fictitious brand: Helvetia Atelier SA (headquartered in Neuchâtel)
The company develops the calibre in-house, designs the entire technical architecture and carries out the following in Switzerland:
Design and engineering of the movement
Setting of tolerances and technical specifications
Hand finishing of the plates and bridges (anglage, perlage, polishing)
Full decoration of the components
Complete assembly of the movement
Regulation and fine adjustment
Final technical inspection
All the raw parts — wheels, plates, bridges, screws, pallet fork, etc. — are produced in Djibouti and sent to Switzerland in a semi-finished state.
In Switzerland there is no initial manufacture of the parts, but there is:
Significant technical processing
High-cost hand finishing
Complete assembly
Regulation and final inspection
If these operations carried out in Switzerland account for at least 60% of the manufacturing cost of the movement and, cumulatively, 60% of the manufacturing cost of the complete watch, and if the movement is assembled and inspected in Switzerland, then:
the watch could, in theory, bear the designation Swiss Made, even though the parts were produced in Djibouti.
EUROPEAN UNION
Legal framework for origin
In the European Union there is no sector-specific regime for watches equivalent to the Swiss one.
Origin is determined on the basis of customs law.
Union Customs Code
The non-preferential origin of goods is governed by:
Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 – Union Customs Code
Under Article 60:
A product originates in the country where it was wholly obtained, or
Where the last substantial, economically justified processing or working took place, in an undertaking equipped for that purpose, resulting in a new product or representing an important stage of manufacture
This is the central concept of substantial transformation.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446
This regulation supplements the Customs Code and specifies technical rules for determining origin.
It defines criteria such as:
Change of tariff heading
Specific manufacturing processes
Added value
However, it does not set a uniform percentage of national value applicable across all industrial sectors.
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447
This instrument lays down rules for applying the Customs Code, including procedures for proof and certification of origin.
PORTUGAL
In Portugal, the European framework described above applies.
The indication “Fabricado em Portugal” or “Made in Portugal” depends on verification that the last substantial transformation took place on national territory.
There is no legally fixed minimum percentage, such as the Swiss 60%.
Misleading use of origin may constitute:
Misleading advertising
Unfair commercial practice
Infringement of trade mark law
Enforcement is the responsibility of the competent authorities and the courts.
Structural comparison
The Swiss Made designation is one of the most detailed and demanding indication-of-source regimes in the industrial world.
The 2017 reform raised the minimum percentage and extended the criterion to the complete watch, but it did not end the debate over whether the 60% rule is materially sufficient.
The European Union and Portugal take a different approach: origin is determined by the last substantial transformation, with no fixed percentages.
In Switzerland, origin results from an economic calculation expressed as a percentage.
In the European Union, origin results from a functional analysis of industrial processing.
The notion of the Swiss watch has changed. The legal requirements governing designations of origin have evolved, adapting to contemporary economic dynamics, to the globalisation of supply chains and to the need to preserve industrial value in an increasingly interdependent international context.
We live in a world different from the one that shaped the classic image of Swiss Made. A world in which productive identity is no longer defined solely by geographical borders, but by cost percentages, decisive technical operations and precise legal frameworks.
This is our time. The time of those who inherited a tradition, but also of those who interpret it in the light of today’s rules — regardless of age, collective memory or a preference for the past, the present or the future.
Comments