Anyone who knows anything about quality watches and timepieces will tell you that Swiss movement watches are some of the bests in the world. They are known for their superior precision and detailed craftsmanship, making them treasured additions to any watch collection. But what really qualifies as a Swiss movement? What makes them different from normal watch movements? Are they really as good as people make them out to be? This is your comprehensive guide on what makes your beloved watch tick!
What is a watch’s movement?
While people call a watch’s movement its heart, it would be more accurate to call it its brain. A watch’s movement makes it tick and keeps track of the time, calendar, and chronograph.
What is a quartz movement, and what makes it so popular?
Quartz movement watches are the most popular in the world and make up more than 90% of all the watches available in the market. A quartz movement watch uses a battery as the primary source of power and generates an electric current through the quartz crystal. The quartz crystal vibrates about 33 times per second. These vibrations are turned into oscillations by the movement, driving the motor to move the watch hands.
The main factor that makes quartz movements so popular is that they are very accurate and reliable when it comes to telling time. They also require very low maintenance and have fewer moving parts.
What is Swiss movement?
The term “Swiss-made movement” is protected by law and has to meet certain strict standards of quality. A watch is considered to be a Swiss movement watch if the movement was assembled in Switzerland and has been inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland. The components of the movement also have to account for 50 per cent of the total value of the timepiece, without taking into account the cost of assembly. This was later updated to a minimum of 60 per cent of the cost in 2017.
History of Swiss watches
The Swiss were not the first to make timepieces that were small and compact enough to carry around. That honour belongs to the Germans. The first official documentation of a compact and portable timepiece was made in 1530 by Peter Henlein in Nuremberg, Germany. However, these models were too big to fit in a pocket and were so expensive that only the nobility could afford them.
The 16th century saw a boom in the Swiss watchmaking industry as religious refugees from western Europe, especially from the French Huguenot, travelled to Switzerland. These refugees brought their superior watch and clockmaking skills with them, and within a century, Switzerland gained a reputation as the finest watchmakers in the world.
The first signs of trouble in the swiss watchmaking industry came in the 1970s, as they began to face competition from Seiko, a Japanese watchmaking company, that came up with the world’s first quartz watch. The Swiss, who were proud of their mechanical and automatic watches, were unable to cope with the rising demand for quartz watches and suffered major economic losses and a massive unemployment crisis due to their inability to quickly adapt. Thankfully, with swiss watchmaking industry was able to bounce back and regain its position as the most sought out watchmakers in the world with new innovations and financial rescue packages.
Swiss movement vs. Japanese movement
If there is one type of movement that can even complete with the swiss watch movement, it is the Japanese. There are two schools of thoughts when it comes to the question of Swiss movement vs. Japanese movement. From a technical view of the product, both Swiss movement and Japanese movement are very similar to each other. What makes the two different is how they are crafted and what features the watchmakers give more emphasis to.
Japanese movement revolves around efficiency and functionality at affordable prices. While they are well-known for their precision, they cannot compete with the Swiss when it comes to quality and reliability. They also give less emphasis on aesthetics and are generally less expensive when compared to their swiss-made counterpart.
Watches are not just a piece of machinery that tells the time, but a symbol of luxury and high-living. While the production of Japanese movements is automated with the use of robots, the swiss still recognises the value of intricate and handcrafted movements. The swiss put intricate décor and hours of work on their movements that not only make them more expensive but also a treasured item in any collection.
CHAIROS brings the world-class Swiss Ronda movement to India
When it comes to watches, CHAIROS believes in only providing the best of the best. That is why CHAIROS uses Swiss-made Ronda movements in their watches. While there are watches in the CHAIROS collection that utilises a Japanese movement, most of the watches from CHAIROS uses a Swiss Made Ronda Movement to make sure that it is the epitome of style, precision, and functionality. There are also watches in the CHAIROS collection that uses a Swiss Made Ronda automatic machine for improved style and functionality. Unlike conventional battery-powered quartz movements, Swiss Made Ronda automatic machines convert the energy from the motion of the user’s hand to function and keep track of time.
When choosing a luxury watch, there are many things that one should keep in mind, chief among them being the movement. If you are looking for high-quality, handmade movements with a rich history behind them, then you will never go wrong with a Swiss-made movement. And when it comes to a watch manufacturer that fully understands and embodies, CHAIROS is always on the top of the list.
Want to own a CHAIROS swiss movement watch, but do not know which to choose? Read about the top 15 CHAIROS models you should know about!
