Swiss Made: what the label really means and H. Moser's cheese watch protest
H. Moser & Cie.
The Swiss made label, which highlights a watch's Swiss origin, is a guarantee of quality and precision. It is based on criteria defined by law. Today, a Swiss federal ordinance sets out the conditions for this world-renowned label.
The ordinance regulating the use of the name Swiss for watches includes a new definition of the Swiss watch. The main change was the specification of a minimum value criterion for the watch as a whole and not only for the movement.
Thus, in order to be stamped Swiss made, a watch must meet the requirement of a minimum of 60% “Swiss value”.
The definition of the Swiss Made label according to the law regulating the use of the name Swiss for watches (of 23 December 1971, version of 1 July 1995):
Art. 1 Definition of a Swiss watch
A watch is considered "Swiss" if:
Its movement is Swiss
Its movement is cased up in Switzerland
Its manufacturer carries out the final inspection in Switzerland
At least 60% of the production costs are generated in Switzerland.
Art. 2 Definition of a Swiss movement
A movement is considered "Swiss" if:
It has been assembled in Switzerland
It has been inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland
At least 60% of the production costs are generated in Switzerland, and
At least 50% of the value of all the components is of Swiss manufacture, excluding the cost of assembly.
Although these rules are well established in Swiss law, they are not entirely uncontroversial. H. Moser even removed the Swiss Made label from its watches in 2017, in protest against what it considered to be lax regulation that favours companies subcontracting work within the country. At the time, Moser also announced that it would launch "the most Swiss watch ever created", showing what true Swiss Made can mean. It was a watch with a case literally made of real Swiss cheese.
Swiss Mad Watch - H. Moser & Cie.'s protest
As background, before we talk about the Swiss Mad Watch, H. Moser's removal of the "Swiss Made" label came shortly after the Swiss government had begun changing the regulations on the use of the term. Today, as mentioned, 60% of a watch's value must come from within Switzerland for it to qualify, instead of the 50% previously required. Most importantly, however, this can now include things such as research and development costs, so it could theoretically be possible to have a watch made entirely elsewhere and still call it Swiss Made, if the development costs were high enough. It is easy to understand why Moser and others were concerned about these changes at the time.
In an effort to make the watch as Swiss as possible, Vacherin Mont d'Or cheese (from the same village as Moser's CEO, Edouard Meylan) was combined with a resin to create a composite material that could be used as a watch case. It is interesting, to say the least, and undoubtedly a niche object. Fortunately, it is a one-off piece priced at CHF 1,081,291 – the figure is a reference to the founding date of Switzerland, 1 August 1291 (and something of a jab at the inflated prices of the watch industry in recent years). Moser made a protest and gained visibility, which it fully deserves.
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