At its board meeting of 17 December 2014, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry outlined the principles governing the revision of the "Swiss made" ordinance which regulates the use of the name “Swiss” for watches since 1971.
At its board meeting of 17 December 2014, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry outlined the principles governing the revision of the "Swiss made" ordinance which regulates the use of the name “Swiss” for watches since 1971.
At present, in order to be defined "Swiss made", a watch must satisfy the following three conditions: be equipped with a Swiss movement, and be assembled and inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland.
Two other requirements will be added to the above, namely the introduction of a minimum rate of Swiss value of 60% for the movement and the watch, and the obligation to carry out technical development in Switzerland.
The stipulation that technical development must be carried out in Switzerland, in particular design work and prototyping, has been introduced to comply with the new requirement of the law on trademarks, whereby "Swiss made" must correspond to the place where the activity which gave the product its characteristics was carried out. Since watches are a blend of the technical and aesthetic, it follows that design work and prototyping do indeed confer the characteristics of the Swiss product.
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry adopted a draft revision back in 2007, but had to wait for the conclusion of parliamentary proceedings devoted to the Swissness bill, in June 2013, before formally commencing a revision of the Swiss made ordinance. It is expected that all ordinances relating to the Swissness bill will be adopted by the Federal Council at the end of 2015 and that they will enter into force on 1st January 2017.
The future "Swiss made" label for the watch industry in brief:
• Minimum 60% Swiss value for the movement
• Assembly and final inspection of the movement carried out in Switzerland
• Minimum 60% Swiss value for the watch, which must also incorporate a Swiss movement
• Assembly and final inspection of the watch carried out in Switzerland
• Technical development of the movement and watch carried out in Switzerland
At present, in order to be defined "Swiss made", a watch must satisfy the following three conditions: be equipped with a Swiss movement, and be assembled and inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland.
Two other requirements will be added to the above, namely the introduction of a minimum rate of Swiss value of 60% for the movement and the watch, and the obligation to carry out technical development in Switzerland.
The stipulation that technical development must be carried out in Switzerland, in particular design work and prototyping, has been introduced to comply with the new requirement of the law on trademarks, whereby "Swiss made" must correspond to the place where the activity which gave the product its characteristics was carried out. Since watches are a blend of the technical and aesthetic, it follows that design work and prototyping do indeed confer the characteristics of the Swiss product.
The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry adopted a draft revision back in 2007, but had to wait for the conclusion of parliamentary proceedings devoted to the Swissness bill, in June 2013, before formally commencing a revision of the Swiss made ordinance. It is expected that all ordinances relating to the Swissness bill will be adopted by the Federal Council at the end of 2015 and that they will enter into force on 1st January 2017.
The future "Swiss made" label for the watch industry in brief:
• Minimum 60% Swiss value for the movement
• Assembly and final inspection of the movement carried out in Switzerland
• Minimum 60% Swiss value for the watch, which must also incorporate a Swiss movement
• Assembly and final inspection of the watch carried out in Switzerland
• Technical development of the movement and watch carried out in Switzerland
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