Swiss - The Finest Of Watches
Swiss watches and Swiss clocks first appeared in the city of Geneva in the mid 1500's. When Jean Calvin implemented the reform movement of 1541 that banned jewelry, jewelers and goldsmiths had to turn elsewhere to make a living. They turned to making watches and clocks. By the end of the 16th century, Swiss watches made in Geneva were renowned for their top quality. The first watchmaking guild, the Geneva Watchmakers' Guild, began in 1601.
A century later watchmakers crowded Geneva and so many of that craft made their way from the big city to the Jura Mountain region. Daniel Jean Richard introduced the early assembly line concept of making watches in Jura during the early 1700's.
By 1790 Geneva exported 60,000 watches annually. In 1770, the precursor of the self-winding Swiss watches, the perpetual watch design by Abraham Perrelet, was introduced.
Adrien Philippe invented the pendant winding watch in 1842, and went on to become a co-founder of the well-known Patek Philippe Watch Company. Simultaneously other innovations and features in Swiss watches were introduced, such as the chronograph, the fly-back watch hand and the perpetual calendar.
The start of the 20th century saw the beginnings of mass production of Swiss watches, thanks to Georges Lechot and Frederic Ingold, innovative watchmakers, researches and technology gurus. Swiss and other fine watches were able to increase production by leaps and bounds, interchange parts with ease and standardize their products. Swiss watches soon reigned supreme.
In 1926 Swiss wristwatches became self-winding, after which, in 1952, electrical watches were an option as well.
The wristwatch became popular at the end of the First World War. In 1960 it took the shape that we know now as standard - the round face.
The world's very first quartz watch, the Beta 21 was introduced in 1967. After this Swiss watches evolved continually, with such technological upgrades as LCD and LED displays, quartz watches that needed no batteries and Swatches.
Swiss watches are now more than four centuries old. Their tradition is one of quality crafting, high technology and ongoing innovation. Swiss watches still take the lead in the timepiece market. Swiss watches stand for dynamic ingenuity and creativity, economy, elegance, reliability and state of the art products and processes.
Swiss watches and their creators heralded in so many first - the first wristwatch, the first water resistant watch, the first quartz watch, the world's thinnest wristwatch, the most expensive watch anywhere on the globe as well as the world's smallest watch.