nice post, yves, got me thinking ...
personally, i do not hold the moniker 'swiss made' in particularly high regard. i will readily recognize that switzerland is without doubt the country with the most deeply-rooted watchmaking tradition and excellence.
however, in the end my appreciation for a certain timepiece could not depend less on the 'swiss made'-criteria. would i appreciate panerai less if they were still made in italy, or rolex if they were made in britain, or is a kari vuotilainen watch inferior because it's made in finland? :o) obviously not ...
the 'swiss made'-certification is somewhat ambigious, just like the 'DOC'-moniker for italian wines. in effect it just does not say much about the item in question. to me, the most obvious expression of the ambiguity is the fact that for a 'swiss' watch, only 50% of the movement parts in terms of their value have to stem from switzerland. in other words, the movement of a watch could be entirely chinese made except for e.g. the balance, escapement and spring barrel, and it would still qualify for a 'swiss made' watch.
cheers, johannes
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