The "Swiss Made" label has become one of the most valuable in the watchmaking world, but do you know how Swiss your purchases really are?
Read the transcript of the video below:
Why is Swiss Made important and what does it really mean?
Welcome to a new video on our Iguana sell channel. I am José Gómez Zorrilla, general director of Iguana and today I have the pleasure of speaking to you about a subject that seems very interesting to me. What are the conditions for one to be Swiss Made.
They really are like four big points: the first is that 60% or at least 60% of what is known as the production costs of a watch must be linked and must be based in Switzerland. The second major condition is that the movement must be encapsulated in Switzerland itself. Because? Because what is going to guarantee is the perfect coupling of the movement, which is in the end what allows us, let's say, to maintain precision in the watch itself and in its case. The third great condition is that the final inspection of the watch and the supervision and controls that each Swiss Made watch carries out must also be carried out in Switzerland and there is one last great condition and that is the watch machinery must also be considered Swiss Made. And what is a Swiss movement?
Well, a Swiss movement is defined... there are like two large categories. But let's say: the first is that if it is an automatic movement, 80% of its production costs have to be made in Switzerland and its components. They have to be Swiss components made in Switzerland. In quartz movements it is a little less, it is 60%. Finally, there is also an additional requirement regarding the movement to be considered a Swiss movement, which is that the movement must have been designed, prototyped and the construction of the first models and its subsequent validation also carried out in Switzerland.
Today we are going to compare an Alpina, an Alpina Regulator watch, a Mondaine watch with a quartz movement as well, and a Raymond Weil watch. All three are Swiss brands, all three are historical Swiss brands.
We start with Raymond Weil, and in particular with the Raymond Weil Freelancer. Raymond Weil is a brand, it's an independent company, it's a family business and what it does is it makes watches entirely in Switzerland. They always seek to unite the design of their pieces with a love for technicality, let's say, and for the different functions that we can find in their watch. And in particular the Freelancer is a watch that we like very much, it always guarantees enormous precision and already exceptional reliability. The materials of the Freelancer are of the highest quality as always responds to Raymond Weil. The case is made of a special stainless steel that is also very resistant and perfectly maintains its characteristics over time. Obviously there is a sapphire crystal with a special resistance to scratches. And also our Freelancer has some quite special functions or that give the watch a very particular aesthetic. First we have the day, the date, the indication of the second hand, and it also has a chronograph function. In terms of resistance, it is a waterproof watch, given that it is up to 100 meters, the height of the case is a bit higher than usual, in particular to accommodate and house the chronograph function that I was telling you before. The Freelancer, being one of its flagships and flagship watches, comes in different colors on the dial, different combinations, so in the end we will always find the option that best suits our personal preferences.
Next on the list is our Alpina Alpiner Extreme Regulator. It is a watch that reflects the new design and the new aesthetic canons that Alpina is following. And for me it is a watch that I particularly love for the regulator function. The regulating function is that basically the hour hand and the minute hand are mounted on different axes, and what it does is that the precision of the watch is greater than in a conventional watch. Alpina in the end is a brand that is appreciated for being the first to develop the Swiss sports watch. In this case, the watch we have, a watch with a very sporty aesthetic. It has a large 45mm stainless steel case, which is also pvd coated. Is a watch that has a greater resistance to water since it is 200 meters. The sphere is a carbon sphere that makes it look very sporty. This is mixed with the two dials, both the second hand and the hour hand, which in this case are in matt blue, creating a very sporty effect, very contrasting, and together with the dial, which is screwed, what allows us is to have a watch that has an absolutely brutal aesthetic, in my opinion. Next to that we obviously have scratch resistant sapphire crystal, and a rubber strap that has a buckle clasp.
In third and last place we have Mondaine, the official brand of Swiss train stations. The particularity that it has is that it usually uses quartz movements and, surprise, they are not automatic movements like most of the Swiss watch industry. They are Ronda movements, they are ultra-tested movements in that sense and the very few times that he uses automatic movements are Sellita movements. This leads us to the fact that the price of the watches is a significantly lower price. In particular, this Mondaine Classic watch has a golden steel case in a matt tone, with a dial in a color like green or very dark or ash, which makes a very nice contrast in the hand. Unlike what we saw in the other two watches, the glass in this case is a mineral glass, therefore it is a glass that is less hard, we will call it the Sapphire glass. In this case, the resistance to water is much less, it is only 30 meters, the case is a 40-millimeter case and it has a case thickness of about 8 mm, therefore it is very aligned once worn and very integrated with our own wrist. If something distinguishes the Mondaine, an absolute legibility, a very clear legibility, a very easy legibility and an absolutely paradigmatic design.
This has been all. I hope you liked this video and, as always, if you liked it and if you feel like it, please subscribe to our channel. Thank you very much and at your disposal.
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