World Business History Conference, Frankfurt, 17 March 2014

From nation-based to global competition in the watch industry

(1950-2010)
Pierre-Yves Donz (Kyoto University)

Work in progress dont quote without permission

Introduction
Literature in business history offers two main interpretations for tackling the issue of sources
of competitiveness. On the one hand, there is big business, whose resources and
organizational facilities make it a key actor in the world economy, as has been emphasized by
Chandler and his followers.1 On the other hand, there is the perspective of industrial districts
and clusters, which attaches greater importance to resources anchored in a region and to
territorial economies.2 However, there are also works which tend to transcend this opposition,
one of the first being Porters Competitive Advantage of Nations, which underscored that the
competitiveness of multinational enterprises (MNEs) is also related to their localization in
specific clusters and nations.3 Moreover, since the mid-1990s, several scholars working on
industrial districts have researched the role of leading firms and MNEs within districts, and

Chandler Alfred D., Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism, Cambridge: Harvard University
Press, 1994.
2
Sabel Charles and Zeitlin Jonathan, Historical alternatives to mass production: Politics, markets and
technology in nineteenth-century industrialization, Past & Present, Vol. 108, 1984, pp. 133-176 and Piore
Michael and Sabel Charles, The Second Industrial Divide: Possibilities of Prosperity, New York: Cambridge
University Press, 1984.
3
Porter Michael E., The Competitive Advantage of Nations, New York: The Free Press, 1990.

their role on overall regional dynamics.4 In addition, other scholars stress the importance of
geographically localized resources for MNEs.5 The objective of this paper is to contribute to
this discussion on the importance of localized resources for the competitiveness of firms, as
well as on the concept of national industry, using the case of the watch industry during the
years 1945-2010 and focusing on the four main players (Switzerland, Japan, USA and Hong
Kong).
According to most scholars, the watch industry is a typical case where competition has been
and still is based on nations and regions rather than enterprise, a strong focus having been
placed on the struggle between the Swiss watch industry and its Japanese or even Asian
rivals. The association of Hong Kong and Japanese watchmakers as firms specialized in the
production of cheap quartz watches, in comparison with the Swiss, is a common view shared
by the majority of Western scholars. Indeed, many of them make no distinction when referring
to Asian manufacturers.6 For example, Tajeddini and Trueman maintain that the Swiss
watch industry had been almost completely driven out of the low and mid-range sector of the
market by low-cost, highly accurate quartz watches made in Hong Kong and Japan.7 Yet
even if competition in this industry was mainly based on nations back in the 1950s, this paper
argues that major changes occurred in the following decades and resulted in a sweeping
change towards competition between global firms. Accordingly, this paper analyses the nature
and the process of these changes and questions the current meaning of nations, regions and
localization in the industry.

Markusen Ann (1996), Sticky Places in Slippery Space: A Typology of Industrial Districts, Economic
Geography, Vol. 72, No. 3, pp. 293-313, Colli Andrea (2002), Pocket Multinationals: Some Reflections on
New Actors in Italian Industrial Capitalism, in Hubert Bonin et al. (eds.), Transnational Companies 19th-20th
Centuries, Paris: Plage, pp. 155-178 and Catalan Jordi and Ramon-Muoz Ramon (2012), Marshall in Iberia.
Industrial Districts and Leading Firms in the Creation of Competitive Advantage in Fashion Products,
Enterprise & Society, Vol. 14, No. 2, pp. 327-359.
5
Dunning John H. and Lundan Sarianna M., Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy,
Cheltenham/Northampton: Edward Elgar, 2008, pp. 594-597.
6
For example, see Stephens Carlene and Dennis Maggie, Engineering time: inventing the electronic
wristwatch, The British Journal for the History of Science, vol. 33, 2000, p. 496.
7
Tajeddini Kayhan and Trueman Myfanwy, The potential for innovativeness: a tale of the Swiss watch
industry, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 24, no. 1-2, 2008, p. 171.

The choice of sources to tackle competitiveness in the watch industry is not neutral and
greatly influences the output of the analysis. Two main kinds of data are available to scholars:
foreign trade and production statistics for the various countries involved in this industry, and
the ranking of the worlds leading watch companies.
First, the use of statistics sheds clear light on competition between the main watchmaking
nations of the world between 1950 and 2010 (see figure 1). This source makes it possible to
identify three phases of development. First, the years 1950-1975 featured great stability, with
the United States being the leading producing country but nearly absent from the world
market (its exports amounted to a paltry 1.8% of production between 1950 and 1973) and thus
not very competitive. Switzerland and Japan experienced steady growth and began to compete
head on in the late 1960s. As for Hong Kong, its presence on the world market was still
insignificant.
Second, the years 1975-1985 were a decade of deep upheaval, against the backdrop of the
emergence of electronic watches. Whereas Switzerland was in stagnation, the American
watch and clock industry entered a period of gradual decline which was to continue until 2010.
This period marked the triumph of East Asia, with Japan establishing itself as the No. 1
producing and exporting nation, and of Hong Kong, which made a noteworthy entry on this
market.
Third, the years 1985-2010 were devoted to the restructuring of international competitiveness,
as reflected by the successful comeback of Switzerland, which repositioned its watch industry
towards luxury, and the remarkable growth of Hong Kong, no longer as a basis for production
(which collapsed in 1990) but for the re-export of watch products to neighboring China,
where Hong Kongs entrepreneurs located their plants. As for the US, it continued to slide, as
did Japan, which started to go under.
Figure 1: Production and export of watches and clocks, in millions of USD, 1950-2010

16000
Switzerland, export

14000

USA, production
USA, export

12000

Japan, production
10000

Japan, export
Hong Kong, production

8000

Hong Kong, domestic export

6000

Hong Kong, export total

4000
2000
0
1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Source: Statistique annuelle du commerce extrieur de la Suisse, Berne : Administration fdrale des douanes
(19602010); Annual Survey of Manufactures, Washington: U.S. Bureau of Census (1950-2010); U.S. Exports,
Washington: U.S. Bureau of Census (1950-2010); Kikai tokei nenpo, Tokyo: MITI/METI (1950-2010); Nihon
gaikoku bokei nenpyo, Tokyo: Ministry of Finance (1950-2010); Hong Kong Trade Statistics Export &
Re-Export, Hong Kong: Census Department (1950-2010); Hong Kong's Manufacturing Industries, Hong Kong:
Hong Kong Trade Development Council (1994-1996).
Note: Production for Switzerland is unknown.

Export and production statistics thus make it possible to highlight overall trends for the world
watch industry and to differentiate between the development paths of different nations. Yet
these data give an inaccurate overview, which only partially reflects the way in which
competitiveness in this industry has actually evolved. This is because they were compiled by
national authorities focusing on nation-based issues, as a result of which they offer a national
vision of competitiveness. Using other sources gives a fundamentally different view.

The global ranking of the largest watch enterprises is another way to approach
competitiveness in the industry. Owing to a lack of data for numerous enterprises not listed
especially in Switzerland it is not possible to arrive at exact figures. In any case, some
investment banks have compiled such rankings based on their own estimates. This paper uses
the ranking of watch companies established by the bank Vontobel, the most widely used by
watch industry analysts. Table 1 shows the worlds 20 largest watch companies, giving the
production sites for their products. Two main features can be highlighted. First, this ranking
shows that a very large share of manufacturing is in the hands of a very few firms. The top 20
companies have a combined 78.4% share of world markets, while the three largest have
nearly half (45.8%).
Second, there is wide geographical diversity of firms. Most are headquartered in Switzerland
(9), Japan (3) or the United States (2), but some are also based in countries where the watch
industry is not particularly flourishing, like France (2), Italy (1), Spain (1) and Greece (1).
What is more, only one firm is based in Hong Kong, whereas this city has become one of the
leading watch exporters. Accordingly, a significant distinction may be made between
producing and exporting nations, on the one hand (figure 1), and the nationality of the worlds
largest watch companies, on the other hand (table 1). This can be explained by the fact that
most of the watch companies do not produce their own parts in-house, but rather source their
supplies from other companies. Among the top 20, those companies which produce their own
watches are in a minority: Swatch Group, a few Swiss companies specialized in luxury goods
(Rolex, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, as well as some of the companies held by the
Richemont, LVMH and Kering groups, but only for some specific products) and the three
Japanese watchmakers. All of the other companies in the top 20 distribute and sometimes
assemble watches bought from Swiss, Japanese and Hong Kong watchmakers.
Competitiveness no longer relies on the mastery of production technology, but rather on the
ability to make effective use of global supply chains, as can also be seen today in other
5

consumer goods industries like textile and fashion.8

Table 1: Worlds 20 largest watch companies, 2012

Company

Country

Production centres

Watch sales

Market

(CHF

share (%)

millions)
Swatch Group

Switzerland

Switzerland, France, Germany, Hong

6,955

18.3

Kong, Thailand, China

Richemont

Switzerland

Switzerland

5,960

15.7

Rolex

Switzerland

Switzerland

4,500

11.8

Fossil

USA

Hong Kong, Switzerland

1,970

5.2

LVMH / Bulgari

France

Switzerland, Hong Kong

1,785

4.7

Citizen

Japan

Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, China,

1,490

3.9

1,295

3.4

1,150

3.0

Switzerland
Seiko

Japan

Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, China,

Singapore

Patek Philippe

Switzerland

Switzerland

Casio

Japan

Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, China

800

2.1

Audemars Piguet

Switzerland

Switzerland

640

1.7

Chopard

Switzerland

Switzerland

600

1.6

Movado Group

USA

Switzerland, China, Hong Kong

465

1.2

Breitling

Switzerland

Switzerland

350

0.9

Franck Muller

Switzerland

Switzerland

300

0.8

China Haidan

Hong Kong

China, Hong Kong, Switzerland

280

0.7

Morellato & Sector

Italy

Switzerland, Hong Kong

250

0.7

Kering

France

Switzerland

250

0.7

Folli Follie

Greece

Hong Kong

250

0.7

Festina

Spain

Switzerland, Japan, Spain

250

0.7

Ulysse Nardin

Switzerland

Switzerland

220

0.6

Source: Watch Industry, Zurich: Vontobel Equity Research, 2013 and authors estimates for production centres

Lane Christel and Probert Jocelyn, National capitalisms, global production networks: fashioning the value
chain in the UK, USA, and Germany, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009 and Campagnolo Diego and
Camuffo Arnaldo, Globalization and low-technology industries: the case of Italian eyewear, in Paul L.
Robertson and David Jacobson (eds.), Knowledge Transfer and Technology Diffusion, Cheltenham/Northampton:
Edward Elgar, 2011, pp. 138-161.

This difference between production sites and the main players explains the presence within
the top 20 of watch companies established in countries with a watchmaking industry which is
apparently not competitive in terms of export data. The case of the United States and Fossil is
undoubtedly one of the most revealing (see figure 2). This Texas-based American company
was founded in 1984.9 Even though the US has a long and rich history of watchmaking,
Fossil does not have not a single link to American know-how in this field or to former watch
producers. Since its foundation, it has sourced its supplies from watch companies in Hong
Kong, where it opened a subsidiary in 1992, Fossil (East) Ltd., and in Switzerland, where it
opened another subsidiary in 2001 (Swiss Technology Holding) in order to secure its supply
of Swiss Made watches for its luxury brands. Fossil develops and distributes watches for its
own brands (Fossil, Zodiac) and for partners from the fashion business (Burberry, Diesel,
DKNY, Emporio Armani, etc.). Since the mid-1990s it has experienced breathtakingly fast
growth, with gross sales reaching USD 362 million in 2000 and 1.4 billion in 2010, becoming
the worlds fourth largest watch company in 2012. Yet despite this success, American watch
and clock production has collapsed, plummeting from USD 1.2 billion USD in 2000 to 334
million in 2010. Consequently, even though the US has one of the largest watch companies in
the world, it was unable to prevent the decline of its own watch industry.

Figure 2: American watch and clock production and gross watch sales for Fossil Co., in
9

Source: Fossil Co., annual reports, and Fossil, International Directory of Company Histories, Detroit Mich.
[etc.]: St. James Press, Vol. 17, 1997, pp. 189-191.

millions of USD, 2000-2010

1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Fossil, gross sales (watches)

US watch production

Source: Fossil Co., annual reports, and Annual Survey of Manufactures, U.S. Census Bureau,
http://www.census.gov/manufacturing/asm/ (last accessed: 30 August 2013).

The fundamental distinction between production sites and the nationality of the most
competitive companies, which can be seen in the global watch industry at the beginning of the
21st century, is the outcome of a particular historical development. Indeed, this industry was
largely organized on a national basis at the end of World War II. In the following sections, this
article offers an analysis of the dynamics of this industry between the 1950s and 2010, with a
view to identifying those factors which led to a radical change in the basis for competition.

1. The global watch industry in the 1950s

At the end of World War II, the global watch industry was, broadly speaking, structured along
national lines. The volume of Swiss production for the 1950s amounted to nearly half of the
total, while the top five nations taken together represented more than 80%. However, the
8

figures published in table 2 are for production volume and thus do not accurately reflect the
competitiveness of each nation, due to the large variety of products, with some countries like
the US specializing in the production of inexpensive, low-quality mechanical watches (called
pin-lever watches or Roskopf watches); others like Japan opting for quality watches; and
European countries, Switzerland included, producing both kinds of watches. Nevertheless, the
key point highlighted by this table is the high concentration of production in a small number
of countries, where this business was considered to be a national industry at the time. The
national roots of watchmaking are essentially due to institutional factors.

Table 2: World production of watches and watch movements, millions of units and %,
1950-1959
Millions of
units

Switzerland

348.4

48.2

USA

92.4

12.8

USSR

84.1

11.6

France

39.6

5.5

Japan

24.7

3.4

Other

134.1

18.5

World

723.3

100

Source: Estimates of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry published by Landes David S., Revolution in
Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2000 (second edition),
p. 423.

At first, as far as Switzerland was concerned, the national character of the watch industry was
a direct consequence of the cartel set up in the 1920s and recognized by the federal
government in 1934. 10 Within this system, all enterprises involved in watchmaking in
10

Koller Christophe, De la lime la machine. Lindustrialisation et lEtat au pays de lhorlogerie.

Contribution lhistoire conomique et sociale dune rgion suisse, Courrendlin : Communication suisse et

Switzerland were obliged to source their supplies of parts exclusively from other Swiss
enterprises at price conditions defined by the cartel. The import of parts was strictly forbidden,
except for a few French and German enterprises which had long-standing business relations
with Swiss watchmakers. In addition, exports of parts and machine tools were strictly
controlled, preventing Swiss watch companies from relocating their production abroad.
Finally, the establishment and purchase of watch companies were subject to official
authorization. This system, set up in order to maintain an industrial structure composed of
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), explains the national character of the Swiss
watch industry in the 1950s. While Swiss watchmakers did not invest abroad, except for sales
subsidiaries, unlike most of the Swiss entrepreneurs of other sectors which organized globally
early on,11 inward foreign direct investment (FDI) was extremely rare. The very few watch
companies with foreign capital were subsidiaries of American watch companies, established
in Switzerland to secure their supplies of parts and movements and founded before
cartelization, such as Gruen Watch (1903), Bulova Watch (1911) and Benrus Watch (1927).12
However, these enterprises represented only a tiny share of the Swiss watch industry, which
numbered 1863 companies in 1950. 13 Back in the 1940s, these American subsidiaries
obtained special, secret authorization to export some parts to their headquarters in the United
States.14
In the United States, the national character of the watch industry was the twofold consequence
of an oligopolistic structure15 and of custom protectionism. The American watch industry

europenne, 2003 and Donz Pierre-Yves, History of the Swiss Watch Industry from Jacques David to Nicolas
Hayek, Berne: Peter Lang, 2011.
11
Mller Margrit, Internationale Verflechtung, in Halbeisen Patrick, Mller Margrit and Veyrassat Batrice
(eds.), Wirtschaftsgeschichute der Schweiz im 20. Jahrhundert, Basel: Schwabe, 2012, pp. 339-465.
12
Richon Marco, Omega Saga, Bienne: Fondation Adrien Brandt en faveur du patrimoine Omega, 1998, pp.
422-468.
13
Convention patronale, Recensement 2007, La Chaux-de-Fonds : CP, 2008, p. 13.
14
Donz Pierre-Yves The Swiss Watch Cartel and the Control of Technology Flows toward Rival Nations,
1930-1960, in Donz Pierre-Yves and Nishimura Shigehiro (eds.), Organizing Global Technology Flows:
Institutions, Actors, Processes, New York: Routledge, 2013, forthcoming
15
Glasmeier Amy K., Manufacturing Time: Global Competition in the Watch Industry, 1795-2000, New York:
The Guilford Press, 2000, p. 178.

10

in the 1950s was essentially limited to three companies: Bulova, Hamilton and Timex. These
firms benefited from growing custom protectionism from the interwar years onwards, which
became more pronounced in the 1950s. After World War II, the strategic importance of the
watch industry on military grounds led to State backing. For example, Hamilton was very
active in the production of war material during the Korean War.16 As for Bulova, it appointed
former General Omar Bradley as Chairman of its Board of Directors in 1958.17 As a result of
this State support and protectionism, American watch companies were not very interested in
foreign outlets: exports amounted to a paltry 1.3% of domestic production in 1960.18 The
only exception to this national character of the American watch industry was the company
United States Time Co. (Timex),19 which was founded in 1941 to produce war material and
which focused on the mass production of low-quality mechanical watches after the war. At the
end of the 1950s, it adopted an active strategy of outward FDI and began to transfer
production facilities abroad, stepping up the pace over the following decade.
The case of Japan was similar to that of America, even if the products were different. The
Japanese watch industry was highly concentrated: the two groups Hattori & Co. (brand Seiko)
and Citizen Watch production accounted respectively for 51.4% and 31.8% of national watch
production in 1960 (volume).20 Moreover, these two companies had all their production
facilities on Japanese territory, and there were no watch companies with foreign capital in
Japan. In addition, Japanese watch companies benefited from custom protectionism during
this period, with imports being subject to quotas until 1961. As a result, the domestic market
was the main outlet for this industry, which exported only 2% of its production in 1960.21
16

Glasmeier, Manufacturing Time, p. 184.

Bulova Corporation, International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 41, Detroit Mich. [etc.]: St. James
Press, 2001, pp. 70-72.
18
Own calculation on the basis of U.S. Commodity Exports and Imports, Washington: U.S. Census Bureau,
1960 and Annual Survey of Manufactures, Washington: U.S. Bureau of Census, 1960.
19
Timex, International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 25, Detroit Mich. [etc.]: St. James Press, 1999,
pp. 479482.
20
Own calculation on the basis of Kikai tokei nenpou, Tokyo: MITI, 1960 and production statistics provided by
Hattori & Co. and Citizen Watch.
21
Own calculation on the basis of Kikai tokei nenpou, Tokyo: MITI, 1960 and Nihon gaikoku boeki nenpyo,
Tokyo: Ministry of Finance, 1960.
17

11

However, the main differences with the United States were the absence of production of war
material and the existence of cooperation and joint research between private companies, State
agencies and universities.22 This was instrumental in strengthening the feeling of a national
industry developing to compete with other nations.
Accordingly, this quick overview has made it possible to highlight the existence of watch
industries in several countries. Their national character was the consequence of a virtual
absence of FDI and of custom protectionism, which safeguarded the domestic market for
domestic companies. The State was a major player in maintaining such a structure, either on
military grounds (USA), or to support employment (Switzerland) and industrial development
(Japan).

2. The first wave of FDI and its effects (1960s)

The organization of a deeply nation-based industry was challenged in the 1960s by
institutional and technological factors, which broke down national borders and led to the first
phase in the international division of labour.
One institutional factor which had an impact on industrial organization was the gradual
phasing out of State protectionism. In Switzerland, the watch cartel was steadily dismantled
between 1961 and 1965, under pressure from the largest watch companies. They wanted to
develop and rationalize their means of production (M&As in Switzerland and relocation to
Asia) in order to cut production costs and boost their ability to compete with American and
Japanese companies, whose large-scale organizational structures enabled them to market
cheaper products.23 Moreover, the United States and European nations gradually abandoned
their protectionist customs policies during this decade.24 Consequently, the enterprises of the
22

Donz Pierre-Yves, The hybrid production system and the birth of the Japanese specialized industry: Watch
production at Hattori & Co. (1900-1960), Enterprise & Society, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2011, pp. 356-397.
23
Donz, History of the Swiss Watch Industry, pp. 128-133.
24
For the case of the United States, see Dirlevanger Dominique, Guex Sbastien and Pordenone, Gian-Franco,
La politique commerciale de la Suisse de la Seconde Guerre mondiale l'entre au GATT (1945-1966), Zurich:

12

worlds leading watch nations began to face growing competition while gaining new
opportunities for expansion.
As for technological factors, they mainly consisted of the implementation of mass production
systems for watchmaking. They were developed in the late 1950s and spread in the 1960s,
through various process innovations, such as automation of movement production. However,
final assembly remained difficult to automate. These new production technologies enabled
companies to plan rationalization, realize economies of scale and ramp up production, all of
which were essential push factors driving foreign expansion.
These changes in the institutional and technological environment led to a first wave of FDI
which affected all of the watchmaking nations. Four cases may be singled out. First, a
reference must be made to the emergence of the first real MNE in the watch business, with
Timex, whose production amounted to 8 million pieces in 1960 and 22 million in 1969, that is,
more than the overall volume of American production for that year (estimated at 19 million
pieces). 25 However, Timex production data for the period included not only watches
manufactured in the United States but also those manufactured in all of its factories
worldwide. In 1971, it employed a total of 7,000 persons and its main production centres
abroad were based in Hong Kong and Taiwan for Asia, as well as in Scotland (Dundee),
Britain (Feltham), France (Besanon), Germany (Pforzheim) and Portugal (Chaneca da
Caparica) for Europe.26 These plants mainly produced watches for domestic markets, except
those in Hong Kong and Taiwan, which supplied all Asian markets.
Second, the major Swiss watch companies moved to relocate production abroad. This was
particularly the case of the company Ebauches SA, created in 1926 to control the production
of movement blanks, which attempted to extend its activities in Europe by successively
Chronos, 2004 (especially Chapter 4 on the watch war").
25
Kokusai tokei tsushin, 1970, p. 477 and estimates of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry published by
Landes David S., Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World, Cambridge: Harvard
University Press, 2000 (second edition), p. 423.
26
Blanc Jean-Franois, Suisse-Hong Kong, le dfi horloger. Innovation technologique et division internationale
du travail, Lausanne : d. dEn bas, 1988, p. 45 and LImpartial, 10 November 1971.

13

purchasing two movement blank firms: Durowe in Germany (1965) and SEFEA in France
(1967).27 In addition, the financial entreprise Chronos Holding, founded in 1966 by the
ASUAG trust (which controlled Ebauches SA in particular), the Federation of the Swiss
Watch Industry and seven banks took a 19.9% stake in the capital of Gruen Industries in the
United States (1967).28 Yet the foreign expansion of Swiss companies was still limited, as
rationalization was first implemented domestically.
Third, Hong Kong emerged as a major venue for the production of parts and the assembly of
watches for Swiss, American and Japanese companies.29 While the technology of automated
mass production was possible for watch movements realized at the time in high-tech
European, American and Japanese plants activities relating to the production of external
parts (cases, straps and dials) and final assembly were relocated to cheap labour regions,
mainly in Hong Kong. As a result, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry intervened to
improve the quality of parts made in Hong Kong. For example, in 1966 it signed a technical
assistance agreement with the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.30 Subsequently, the major
Swiss watch groups invested directly in the British colony. They opened subsidiaries, such as
Swiss Watch Case Center (1968) or Swiss Time Hong Kong (1969), and entered into joint
ventures with industrialists and traders established in Hong Kong, like Swiss Plating Co.
(1968) and Swikong Manufacturing (1971).31 Hong Kong became a key supplier for the
Swiss watch industry. While Swiss imports of cases jumped from 1.6 million pieces in 1961
to 8 million in 1970, Hong Kongs share was growing fast: 21.9% in 1961 and 60.8% by
1970.32 The proportion of Swiss watches equipped with foreign cases rose from 3.3% in 1960
27

Industrie horlogre europenne : une exprience suisse : Ebauches SA Lip, 1967-1973, Neuchtel :
Ebauches SA, 1973.
28
Richon, Omega Saga, pp. 450-454.
29
Donz Pierre-Yves, The changing comparative advantages of the Hong Kong Watch Industry (1950-2010),
Kyoto Economic Review, No. 170, forthcoming.
30
Swiss Federal Archives, E2200.10 Hong Kong, Agreement between the Swiss Federation of Watch
Manufacturers and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries, 2 November 1966.
31
Blanc, Suisse-Hong Kong, p.149.
32
Donz Pierre-Yves, "Le district industriel horloger suisse de la cartellisation la globalisation. Lexemple de
lindustrie de la bote de montres au cours du XXe sicle", in Tissot Laurent e.a. (ed.) Histoires de territoires.
Les territoires industriels en question, XVIIIe - XXe sicles, Neuchtel: Alphil, 2010, p. 343. Subsequently, Hong

14

to 15.3% in 1973 (see figure 3). As for the Japanese watch companies, even if they did not
invest directly in Hong Kong at the time, they also relied on it as a major parts supplier. The
value of Japanese imports of watch parts from Hong Kong soared, rising from 141,000 yen in
1960 to 34.8 million in 1970 and 1.3 billion by 1980.33

Figure 3: Proportion of Swiss watches equipped with foreign-made cases, as a %, 1950-2010

90.0
80.0
70.0
60.0
50.0
40.0
30.0
20.0
10.0
0.0
1950

1955

1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

2010

Source: own estimates based on Swiss Foreign Trade Statistics, Berne: Federal Customs Administration,
1950-2010.

As for the assembly of watches, it led in particular to the opening of a subsidiary of the
American company Timex Corporation, which founded Timex Hong Kong Ltd. in 1967.34
Next, the Japanese group Hattori & Co. set up a production subsidiary, Precision Engineering
(1968).35 Yet Swiss watchmakers were not absent. For low-range models (pin-lever watch),
Kongs strategic importance as a supplier of cases decreased in favour of Thailand (1970s-1990s) and China
(since 2000).
33
Nihon gaikoku boeki tokei, Tokyo: Ministry of Finance, 19601980.
34
Tokei no honkon shijo chosa hokokusho, Tokyo: Nihon kikai zushutsu kumiai, 1980, p. 4.
35
Seiko gurupu no kaigai senryaku, Noryoku kaihatsu shirizu, vol. 87, 1982, pp. 14-15.

15

for example, there was the company opened by one of the biggest watch companies in
Switzerland, Baumgartner Frres Granges, BFG Far East (1970).36
Thus, an industry based on outsourcing developed in Hong Kong during the 1960s. The
number of enterprises active in watchmaking in the city jumped from 61 in 1960 to 229 in
1970. 37 Most were SMEs specialized in subcontracting and dependent on foreign big
business.
Four, inward FDI in Switzerland developed, but almost exclusively in American firms.
Bulova bought up two manufactures, Recta (1963) and Universal (1966), while Hamilton
purchased Bren Watch (1966) and Benrus took a minority interest in Ulysse Nardin (1965).38
For these companies, the objective was to enlarge their production facilities of high-quality
mechanical watches for the American market, as a result of which such FDI followed a logic
consistent with the strategy developed at the beginning of the 20th century.
Accordingly, the first wave of FDI which could be observed worldwide in the watch industry
during the 1960s led to an initial phase of international division of labour. This new industrial
organizational structure was characterized by a strong hierarchy, with decision centres in the
US and Switzerland and production subsidiaries embedded in a relationship of dependency,
aimed at either horizontal extension of production, as in Europe, or vertical division of labour,
as in Hong Kong. The organization of the largest firms tended to transcend national
boundaries, but their management and ownership were still very much locally anchored.

3. The impact of electronics (1970-1985)

The most important changes occurred in the years 1970-1985, a period during which the local
roots of the watch industry declined in favour of new actors. However, this sea change was
36
37
38

Blanc, Suisse-Hong Kong, p.148.

Hong Kong's Manufacturing Industries, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Industry Department, 1996.
Richon, Omega Saga, pp. 450-454.

16

not consistent with the first phase of internationalization seen in the 1960s; rather, it marked a
major break.
These years are usually known as the period of the quartz revolution39, a phenomenon
which has been a focus of scholars attention. Nevertheless, a second major development, of
an institutional nature, which was of course less visible and less spectacular, also contributed
to this radical change: the collapse of the Bretton Woods system after 1971 and the transition
to a system of floating exchange rates. This revamping of the monetary system had a
significant impact, as it considerably strengthened the value of the Swiss franc against the US
dollar, especially in comparison with the Japanese yen, which remained relatively low until
the Plaza Agreement (see figure 4). This monetary dimension underscored the lack of
competitiveness of Swiss watch companies in relation to their Japanese rivals, encouraging
the former to pursue rationalization and relocation in East Asia.

Figure 4: Exchange rate trends for the Swiss franc (CHF) and the Japanese yen (JPY) against
the US dollar (100 = 1970), 19701990

39

Landes, Revolution in Time, p. 364.

17

120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1970

1975

1980
CHF

1985

1990

JPY

Source: For the CHF, statistics of the Swiss National Bank (www.snb.ch, accessed 7 July 2010); for JPY, Nihon
chouki toukei souran, Tokyo: Nihon tokei kyokai, 1988, 188.

Yet technology was the change which had the greatest impact, in the form of the advent of
quartz watches. This product innovation had various effects on industrial organization around
the world. One major consequence was that it put an end to the first wave of
internationalization which had begun in the 1960s and had relied essentially on the expansion
of low-range watch producers. The development of quartz watches made it possible to market
cheaper, more precise products than pin-lever watches, which completely lost their advantage.
Two of the worlds leading watchmakers, who had been key drivers of the international
division of labour, left the watch business. The Swiss firm Baumgartner Frres Granges
(BFG) went into recession in 1975 and closed down in 1982.40 As for Timex, it closed nearly
all its foreign plants in the second half of the 1970s and converted to subcontracting
production outside watchmaking.41
The other American firms which played an essential role in internationalization also
40
41

LImpartial, 9 September 1982.

Timex, in International Directory of Company Histories, pp. 479482.

18

experienced difficulties due to quartz watches. Bulova and Hamilton found themselves facing
unsolvable problems as a result of disastrous technical choices the diapason watch for
Bulova and the electrical watch for Hamilton. The watch division of the Hamilton group was
purchased in 1974 by the Socit suisse pour lindustrie horlogre (SSIH, a group founded in
1930, including in particular the watch companies Omega and Tissot), who wanted to acquire
Hamiltons retail network in the United States.42 As for Bulova, it was taken over in 1976 by
Stelux (see below) and sold a few years later to Loewe (1979). Its production centres in
America (1978) and Switzerland (1982) were shut down.43
In Switzerland, this period of major changes is usually called the watch crisis (crise
horlogre in French). Indeed, the volume of exports went from 24.2 million pieces in 1950 to
40.9 million in 1960 and peaked at 84.4 million in 1974, before dropping to an annual average
of 31.3 million in 19821984.44 As for the number of workers, it decreased from some
90,000 employees in 1970 to less than 47,000 in 1980.45 During this decade of recession, the
Swiss watch industry experienced extensive restructuring, the most well-known instance
being the merger in 1983 of the SSIH and the trust which controlled the production of
movements and parts, ASUAG, giving birth to a new company, the Socit suisse de
microlectronique et dhorlogerie (SMH, Swatch Group since 1998), on the advice of the
consultant Nicolas G. Hayek. Industrial rationalization also led to the closure of many
enterprises, with the number of firms in the watch business declining sharply from 1,618 in
1970 to 634 in 1985.46 Nevertheless, foreign companies did not take advantage of this crisis
to pour inward FDI into Switzerland: American firms left Switzerland and were not replaced
by newcomers.
Only one major firm invested in Switzerland during this period: Stelux. This company was
42

Sauer Don, Time for America. Hamilton Watch, 1892-1992, Lititz: Sutter House, 1992, p. 242.
Richon, Omega Saga, pp. 457-460.
44
Statistique du commerce de la Suisse avec ltranger, Berne : Administration fdrale des douanes,
1950-1984.
45
Convention patronale, Recensement 2007, p. 13.
46
Convention patronale, Recensement 2007, p. 13.
43

19

listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1972 and adopted a very active strategy of
international expansion in the 1970s.47 This began in 1975 with the purchase of several small
Swiss companies, all producing external parts: the firms Metalem SA (dials), Jean Vallon SA
(cases) and Orac SA (cases), grouped together in a Bienne-based holding company, Unilux
SA.48 The objective of these acquisitions was to develop skills and know-how in the field of
watch design.
However, Stelux aimed not only to specialize in external part making, but also to develop its
expertise in the assembly of movements and electronic watches and in marketing. Accordingly,
it opened Stelux SA in Switzerland (1975) and took a 27% stake in Bulova Watch Co.,
becoming the largest shareholder of the biggest American watch company (1976).49 By
acquiring this world-famous company at a time when it faced severe financial difficulties,
Stelux intended to gain access to Bulovas dense network of retailers in the United States.50
Subsequently, in the second half of the 1970s, Selux engaged in the assembly of electronic
movements. For example, in 1978 it signed a major contract with the Swiss company
Ebauches Electronique Marin SA (EEM), for assembling electronic movements in Hong
Kong intended for the American market.51 In this way, Stelux aimed to control the entire
value chain for this product, from the production of parts to the sale of watches.
During the following decades, boosted by its experience in watch design and the assembly of
electronic movements, Stelux developed its commercial business of complete watches
through its various brands. Three elements are worthy of note as far as this repositioning
strategy is concerned. First, Stelux restructured its production system, with the sale of Swiss

47

Journal de Genve, 15 June 1976.

Journal de Genve, 10 December 1975.
49
Journal de Genve, 15 June 1976.
50
Despite this takeover, the Swiss production susbidiary of Bulova was closed down in 1976 and the Bulova
brand was never used by Stelux. It was purchased by Citizen Watch Co. in 2006. Marti Laurence, "Retour sur
une grve dite exemplaire. La grve de Bulova Watch Co., Neuchtel, 1976, in Rosende, Magdalena and
Benelli, Natalie (eds), Laboratoires du travail, Lausanne: Antipodes, 2008, pp. 39-52.
51
LImpartial, 16 February 1982.
48

20

external part making companies (1979). 52 In addition, it relocated its Asian production
facilities to mainland China, as a subsidiary of Stelux Watch (Hong Kong) Ltd. Finally, in
1988, it purchased an old watch manufacture in Switzerland, the company Montres Universal
SA, at Geneva, to gain a workshop for the production of Swiss Made watches. 53
Incidentally, this was not only a production issue but also an integral part of the new
marketing strategy of Stelux.
The Swiss watch companies primarily pursued the international division of labour to secure
the supply of external parts. The largest groups strengthened their commitment to Asia, like
SSIH which in 1971 purchased in Swiss Time Hong Kong, founded two years previously by a
couple of Swiss entrepreneurs.54 In 1978, SSIH opened a second case-making plant, in
Singapore, Precision Watchcase Ltd., in a joint venture with Japanese industrialists.55 In
addition, the Swiss federal government slashed customs duties for imports of Hong Kong and
Singapore manufactured goods by 30%, thereby encouraging the relocation of parts
manufacturing to these countries.56 SMEs also followed this strategy, in particular case
makers, who opened production subsidiaries in Asia in the 1970s. This was for example the
case of Henri Paratte & Cie, who opened Parathai in Bangkok (1972), and Ruedin SA, who
took a stake in Swisstime Philippines Inc. (1978).57 Consequently, the share of Swiss watches
equipped with foreign cases increased sharply during this period (see figure 3).
However, the relocation of production by Swiss companies was limited by the adoption of a
federal decree on the use of the Swiss Made label, which obliged Swiss companies to
maintain some production activities in Switzerland primarily the production of at least half

52

LImpartial, 28 March 1979.

Stelux Holdings, Annual report, 1999-2000, www.irasia.com/listco/hk/stelux/annual/index.htm (site accessed
28 December 2008).
54
Blanc, Suisse-Hong Kong, pp. 144-145.
55
Blanc, Suisse-Hong Kong, p.145.
56
Archives of the Union des Fabricants Suisses de Botes, Bienne, annual report, 1972.
57
Kleisl Jean-Daniel, Le patronat de la bote de montre dans la valle de Dlmont : l'exemple de E. Piquerez
S.A. et de G. Ruedin S.A. Bassecourt (1926-1982), Delmont: Alphil, 1999, pp. 176-177.
53

21

of all movement parts (value) and the final assembly to qualify for this label.58 This was a
very pragmatic measure, aimed at reaping the benefits of the advantages of both the
international division of labour for low value-added activities and the prestige linked to the
Swiss Made label. For enterprises located in Switzerland, this was the beginning of a new
kind of location advantage.
East Asia was the main region to take advantage of changes resulting from the advent of
electronics, but the situation differed considerably between Japan and Hong Kong, contrary to
what is usually stressed in literature. During this period, Japan carved out a position as the No.
1 watchmaking nation, and the watch industry was still firmly rooted in the national territory.
The Japanese watch industry did not include any firms with foreign capital, and the bulk of
the production was realized domestically. Like their Swiss rivals, Japanese watch companies
relocated some parts production abroad, mostly in Hong Kong and Taiwan (see table 3).
These were essentially external parts imported for Japanese plants. The implementation of
automated mass production in Japanese watch companies led to highly integrated systems,
which were difficult to partially relocate.

Table 3: Japanese import of watch movements and parts from East Asia, 1960-1980
1960

1970

1980

Mvts,

Parts,

Mvts,

Parts,

Mvts,

Parts, 1000

number

1000 yens

number

1000 yens

number

yens

Hong Kong

141

34,798

1,537,571

1,306,026

Singapore

90,079

847,553

850,667

South Korea

852,158

887,527

Taiwan

953,250

1,685,819

Philippines

1,222,987

44,754

Source: Nihon gaikoku boeki nenpyo, Tokyo: Ministry of Finance, 1960-1980.

58

Ordonnance du 23 dcembre 1971 rglant lutilisation du nom Suisse pour les montres, Berne: Conseil
fdral, 1971.

22

The Hong Kong watch industry experienced a boom within this new technological context.
The assembly, then the production, of analog quartz watches began in 1975, followed by
digital watches (LCD and LED displays) the following year. Market share gains came at
lightning speed: by 1976, Hong Kongs domestic production of four million quartz watches
had made it the second largest producer in the world (volume), behind Japan (7.3 million).59
The shift to electronic watches was very fast: they already accounted for 68.3% of the total
value of Hong Kongs watch exports in 1980, then 88.2% in 1985 and 94.8% by 1990.60
Above all, electronic watches made it possible for Hong Kong to establish itself as a leading
watch nation. The total value of its watch and clock exports was USD 285.8 million in 1975,
USD 1.6 billion in 1980 and USD 3.8 billion in 1990 (see table 2).
The industrial structure of the watch business also underwent a dramatic change. Quartz
watches indeed enabled Hong Kongs entrepreneurs to overcome their technological
dependency on traditional watch nations. Between 1974 and 1978, the workforce was
dramatically redeployed to new sectors (see table 3). The proportion of employees in
companies with foreign capital dropped from 49% in 1974 to 25% in 1978, while the overall
size of the workforce remained stable. The emergence of newcomers weakened the position of
foreign firms and reinforced the national character of this industry. Assembling electronic
movements with imported components in Hong Kong and exporting finished watches to the
world market became the new business model of this industry.
For Hong Kong watch companies, the shift to electronics let them free themselves from their
historical dependency on large foreign watch firms. They were still dependent on external
partners for the supply of CMOS chips and digital displays (LED, LCD). Yet these suppliers
were not watch companies, but rather electronic components makers (Oki Electric, NEC,
Intersil, Litronix, etc.)61 Beyond technological issues, electronic watches played a key role in
59
60
61

Tokei no honkon shijo chosa hokokusho, Tokyo: Nihon kikai zushutsu kumiai, 1980, p. 5.
Hong Kong's Manufacturing Industries, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Industry Department, 1996.
Tokei no honkon shijo chosa hokokusho, Tokyo: Nihon kikai zushutsu kumiai, 1980, p. 28.

23

the emergence of Hong Kongs watchmakers because they gave them direct access to markets,
something they did not hitherto have. Marketing and distributions skills were acquired
relatively quickly. In 1987, Hong Kong watch companies were represented for the first time at
the Basel Fair, the largest watch distribution event in the world.62

4. A new basis for competitiveness: global supply chains (since 1985)

Organizational changes in the world watch industry in 1970-1985 led to the emergence of
global rather than national production systems. Two main models predominated.
First came a new generation of MNEs with production facilities organized globally. Their
numbers were very low, as they essentially consisted of Swatch Group (Switzerland) and the
Japanese companies Seiko, Citizen and Casio. Founded in 1983 through the merger of the two
largest Swiss watch groups (SSIH and ASUAG), Swatch Group engaged during the second
half of the 1980s in intense rationalization of production to restore its cost-competitiveness
with its Japanese rivals.63 This strategy was marked by the opening of production subsidiaries
in Thailand (1986), Malaysia (1991) and China (1996). Consequently, the number of
employees in Switzerland dropped from about 80% in 1983-1985 to 71% in 1990 and 54% in
1998. Besides, the production of these Asian plants was intended to supply not only Swatch
Groups assembly plants in Switzerland as well as other Swiss companies depending on the
Groups supplies but also world markets for electronic watch movements. During
2000-2004, overall Swatch Group production of Swatch Group averaged 120 million pieces
(watches and movements), that is, some 20-30 million Swiss Made pieces (the level of
Swiss exports at that time) and 90-100 million non-Swiss pieces.64 The latter were primarily
quartz movements sold to assembly makers outside Switzerland, mainly based in Hong Kong
and China, who designed watches for a large variety of customers (OEM makers).
62
63
64

LImpartial, 2 February 2000.

Donz Pierre-Yves, A Business History of the Swatch Group, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, forthcoming
Swatch Group, Annual Report, 2000-2004

24

The Japanese watch companies show a similar profile and became global MNEs in the
1980s.65 The case of Seiko is very representative of this transformation. This group adopted a
strategy of relocating assembly and production in Asia, especially China, in order to cut costs.
In 1988, the subsidiary of Seiko Instruments Inc. (SII) in Hong Kong, Precision Engineering
Ltd. (founded in 1968) began outsourcing the assembly of electronic watches to a new
company founded in Guangzhou, Seiko Instruments (Whampoa) Factory. A second company
was opened in 1996 in Shenzhen (Sai Lai Factory), then all SIH production on Chinese soil
was restructured in the late 2000s and centralized at a new plant in Guangzhou (2012). In
addition, SII headquarters in Japan also opened some directly controlled production
subsidiaries, in Thailand (1988), China (Dailan SII, 1989), Malaysia (1990) and South Korea
(2004).66

Figure 5: Global production of Japanese watch companies and proportion of production in

Japan as a %, 1995-2010
60.0

9 00 000 000
8 00 000 000

50.0
7 00 000 000
6 00 000 000

40.0

5 00 000 000
30.0
4 00 000 000
3 00 000 000

20.0

2 00 000 000
10.0
1 00 000 000
0.0
1995

2000

2005

Volume (left)

2010

Out of Japan (%, right)

Source: Nihon no tokei sangyo tokei, Tokyo: Nihon tokei kyokai, 1995-2010.
65

Donz Pierre-Yves, Rattraper et dpasser la Suisse: Histoire de lindustrie horlogre japonaise,

Neuchtel : Alphil-Presses universitaires suisses, 2014
66
http://www.sii.co.jp (last access: 22 November 2012).

25

As a result of this reorganization of the watchmaking production system, a growing share of

watches and movements were manufactured outside Japan. This proportion increased
significantly over time, rising from 17.8% in 1995 to 24.2% in 2000 and 45.8% in 2010 (see
figure 5).67 Thus, in 2009-2010, nearly one out of two Japanese watches was made outside
Japan. A second major effect of this radical change was that production volumes remained
stable. Whereas production in Japan tended to decrease since 1998, the overall output of
Japanese watch companies stayed more or less the same, despite the 2009 drop due to the
world financial crisis, amounting to some 700 million pieces.
Second, a new organizational model appeared in the 1980s: global supply chains, with Hong
Kong at their centre. The acquisition of competences in watch design during the 1960s,
through the outsourcing of production of external parts for Swiss, American and Japanese
watch companies, easy access to quartz movements and proximity to low-cost
labour-intensive production facilities in China where they transferred their plants in the
1990s are all elements which enabled Hong Kong entrepreneurs to position themselves as
indispensable intermediaries in the manufacturing of watches under license. 68 Whereas
headquarters, together with product design and marketing, stayed in Hong Kong, the
production and assembly of watches were gradually transferred to the economic zone of
Shenzhen and to Dongguan, both located in Guangdong province. However, these Chinese
plants did not supply all the movements used by Hong Kong watch companies, which also
purchased Swiss or Japanese movements, depending on their customers wishes.69 As a result,
some of them invested in Europe in order to control their supply in watch movements, such as
Wellgain Precision Products Ltd., which took a 50% interest in France Ebauches
Microtechniques (2000),70 or Chung Nam Watch Co., which acquired the movement maker

67

Nihon no tokei sangyo tokei, Tokyo: Nihon tokei kyokai, 2010.

Berger Suzanne and Lester Richard K. (eds,), Made by Hong Kong, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1197.
69
Trueb Lucien F., The World of Watches: History, Technology, Industry, New York: Ebner Publishing
International, 2005, p. 364.
70
LImpartial, 14 March 2000.
68

26

ISA, Technotime, as well as the Swiss brand Roamer Watch (1994).71 Consequently, the
domestic production of watches entered a phase of decline. After peaking at HK$ 13.5 billion
in 1990, it amounted to only 7.4 billion by 1993.72

Figure 6: Breakdown of Hong Kong watch exports, millions of USD, 19602010

8000.0
7000.0
6000.0
5000.0
4000.0
3000.0
2000.0
1000.0
0.0
1960

1965

1970

1975

1980

Re-export

1985

1990

1995

2000

2005

Domestic export

Source: Hong Kong Trade Statistics Export & Re-Export, Hong Kong: Census Department, 19602005.

Until the mid-1980s, the growth of Hong Kong watch exports relied on the domestic
production and assembly of finished watches. The share of re-exports out of overall exports,
which was very high when Hong Kong was essentially a commercial hub (89.9% in 1960;
86% in 1965), declined dramatically from its 1970 total of 50.8%, amounting to 17.8% in
1980 and 18.9% by 1985. Yet during the second half of the 1980s, Hong Kong watch
companies began to relocate production facilities to China. This transfer ended in the late
1990s and resulted in a very high growth of re-exports from Hong Kong, which rose from
36.1% in 1990 to 75.5% by 1995 and have stood at more than 90% since 2000. On the whole,
71
72

Trueb, The World of Watches, 2005, p. 364.

Hong Kong's Manufacturing Industries, Hong Kong: Hong Kong Government Industry Department, 1996.

27

however, these were no longer essentially watches re-exported to the entire Far East by Swiss,
Japanese and American firms, as used to be the case until the 1970s, but rather products
manufactured in China. Watch imports from China grew by leaps and bounds: USD 49.9
million USD in 1980, 885.5 million in 1990, 3.95 billion in 2000, and 7.43 billion in 2010).73
While the value of these imports accounted for only 17.4% of re-exports in 1980, they
amounted to 63.9% in 1990 and have represented more than 75% since 2000.
Yet the repositioning of enterprises within global value chains was not a natural change. The
new conditions of competitiveness it offered had various effects on firms. Some of them
managed to adapt quite well to this new kind of organization, like Dailywin (1988), Crystal
Electronic (1997), and Gordon C (1997), which gradually relocated their production centres to
China. 74 Others were unable to restructure and disappeared (Betatronic, 1990; Larnol
Enterprises, 1992; Beltime, 1995; Tinic Watch, 2002; etc.).75 Finally, newcomers arrived,
who took advantage of this opportunity to gain a foothold on the world market. For example,
this was the case with Renley Watch Manufacturing, founded in 1983 by Stanley Lau, which
is headquartered in Hong Kong and has production centres in China and Switzerland.76
During this period, foreign entrepreneurs also settled in Hong Kong, such as the Swiss
Jacques Froidevaux, who created the company Jacques Farel Ltd. (1984),77 or the American
group Fossil, founded in 1984, which possesses a subsidiary in Hong Kong for purchasing
watches from some twenty local manufacturers and, since 2001, a company in Switzerland for
Swiss Made watches (Montres Zodiac SA).78 Lastly, these companies engaged in not only
production but also marketing. Most of them specialized in private label, distribution and
retailing. This is why several of them purchased Swiss brands, such as Asia Commercial
Holdings Ltd., which took over Juvenia (1988), and Renley Watch, which bought up Le Phare
73
74
75
76
77
78

Hong Kong Trade Statistics Import, Hong Kong: Census Department, 19802010.
Trueb, The World of Watches, 2005, pp. 364371.
http://www.gld.gov.hk/egazette/pdf/20020606/cgn20020606818.pdf (last access: 22 November 2012).
Trueb, The World of Watches, 2005, p. 370.
Trueb, The World of Watches, 2005, p. 370.
Watch industry, Vontobel Equity Research, 2011.

28

Jean dEve and Sultana (1991).79

However, even though some Hong Kong watch entrepreneurs distribute watches bearing their
own brands, the key driver of their success has been OEM manufacturing activities. They
supply several of the worlds top 20 watch companies, such as Fossil (USA), Moretallo &
Sector (Italy) and Folli Follie (Greece). Beyond these few examples, there is the fashion
industry in general (Benetton, Burberry, Puma, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.), which has made
watches key components of its diversification strategy since the 1990s80 and usually sources
its supplies from Hong Kong watch companies, sometimes through marketing and design
companies based in Switzerland.

5. The importance of being Swiss

In the context of an industry which has globalized intensively since the late 1980s, one must
wonder what place Switzerland occupies and why watch production is still strongly anchored
in the country. Since 2000, Switzerland has established itself as the unchallenged No. 1 export
nation, with the value of watch exports rising from USD 5.6 billion in 2000 to 14.7 billion in
2010, while Hong Kong has stagnated at an average of USD 6 billion during this decade (see
figure 1). What is more, in 2012 Switzerland was home to many of the companies in the top
20: nine have their headquarters in the country, while eight others have production facilities
on Swiss soil.
Switzerlands key role in the global watch industry is the consequence of an institutional
factor which turned into a marketing resource during the 1990s, the Swiss Made legislation.
At the time of its implementation in 1971, this measure designed to compensate for
liberalization was aimed at keeping part of the production of Swiss watch movements in
Switzerland to ensure their quality. At the time, the industry was dominated by mechanical
79

Trueb, The World of Watches, 2005.

Degoutte Corinne, Stratgie de marques dans la mode : convergence ou divergence des modles de gestion
nationaux dans lindustrie du luxe (1860-2003) ? , Entreprises et Histoire, vol. 46, 2007, pp. 125-142.

80

29

watches (99.6% of Swiss watches exported in 1970)81 and it was felt that only production in
Switzerland was likely to maintain an image for good quality and thus a good reputation
in the minds of business and political elites.
Yet the Swiss watch industry experienced a shift towards luxury in the 1990s, characterized
by a decrease in the volume of watches exported and a steep rise in their value. After reaching
a new peak of 50.9 million pieces in 1993, the volume of watch exports plummeted to 35.9
million pieces in 2000 and 31.9 million in 2010.82 During this same period, however, the
value of mechanical watches became the key driver for growth. Between 2000 and 2010,
mechanical watches went from 9.7% to 19.7% of the volume of exports, but from 47.5% to
71.9% in terms of value.83 These changes in the nature of products reflect the radical shift in
their use. Swiss watches are no longer useful objects bought for their precision; rather, they
have morphed into luxury fashion accessories which convey an image of tradition, excellence
and authenticity.84
In this context, the meaning of the Swiss Made legislation changed even if its content is still
the same. Indeed, it no longer aims to maintain product quality, which can be easily achieved
elsewhere in the world, but rather to guarantee the truthfulness of an essential marketing
resource. Thus, the objective of possessing luxury brands in their brand portfolios has led
numerous foreign watch companies to invest in Switzerland since the late 1990s, like the
French luxury group Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH), which took over TAG Heuer
and Znith (1999); Fossil (USA), which bought up Zodiac (2001); Festina (Spain), which
purchased Candino (2002); and more recently Citizen Watch (Japan), which acquired three
SMEs specialized in part making (2012); and China Haidan (Hong Kong), which successively
81

Statistique annuelle du commerce extrieur de la Suisse, Berne : Administration fdrale des douanes, 1970.
The historical peak of the volume of exports was reached in 1974 with 79.8 million watches, but a large
proportion were low-range mechanical watches (47%), a product which collapsed after 1975. Subsequently, the
volume of exports fell to a low of 28.9 million pieces (1983).
83
Statistique annuelle du commerce extrieur de la Suisse, Berne : Administration fdrale des douanes,
2000-2010.
84
Kana Sugimoto, Terasaki Shinichiro and Nagasawa Shinya, Emotional Value Communication Strategy: case
of the Swiss Watch Industry, International Symposium on Management Engineering, 2012, pp. 147-152.
82

30

acquired Eterna (2011) and Corum (2012).85 Moreover, the largest Swiss companies have
also been sourcing movements from China for designing cheap fashion watches under license
since 2000. For example, Swatch Group actively launched out in this new business in 2005
through its subsidiary Endura, specialized in OEM watches equipped with either Swiss or
Asian movements regarding the customers needs which primarily developed watches for
the Spanish apparel company Mango, the American shoemaker Timberland and the Japanese
sportswear firm ASICS. 86 As for Richemont, in 2006 it took a 10% interest in
Egana-Goldpfeil (Hong Kong), a firm specialized in licensed production of fashion watches.

Conclusion
This paper has emphasized the profound organizational change which occurred in the watch
industry between 1950 and 2010, characterized by a shift from nation-based competition to a
globalized industry. Yet this change was not a linear and natural process; rather, it resulted
from a radical change in two kinds of factors technological and institutional.
Two types of technological factors led to a global industrial organization. First, process
innovation, with the mass production of low-range mechanical watches in the 1960s, made
possible a first phase of relocation very similar to the classical model of the mechanical
industry in the late 19th century, as embodied by Singer Manufacturing Company.87 The
companies Timex (USA) and BFG (Switzerland) restructured internationally and became
major players in this industry thanks to their organizational capabilities. Yet this first phase of
internationalization ended in failure, because it was predicated upon a product without a
future.
Second, there was the key impact of electronics and quartz watches, developed in the second

85

Le Temps, 11 October 2001, 18 January 2002, 2 July 2011, 6 March 2012 and 25 April 2013.
Le Temps, 27 January 2006.
87
Davies Robert, Peacefully Working to Conquer the World: Singer sewing machines in foreign
markets, 1854-1920, New York: Arno Press, 1976.
86

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half of the 1960s and mass produced from the late 1970s onwards. This product innovation
enabled any entrepreneur to acquire watch movements with ease: they suddenly became
accessible and extremely cheap. Since then, their production has gradually been concentrated
in cheap labour areas, especially in South-East Asia, then in China since the 1990s, which has
made Hong Kong entrepreneurs indispensable intermediaries and suppliers of watches for
nearly the entire world market except for the so-called Swiss Made watches.
As for institutional factors, these were essentially legal measures restricting FDI and
relocation, like the Swiss watch cartel or customs protectionism in Japan and the United
States. Yet these measures were largely abandoned in the 1960s, allowing firms to restructure
internationally. Even the Swiss Made legislation was a very pragmatic measure which has
enabled semi-globalization of the production of watches by Swiss companies since the 1970s.
Beyond these technological and institutional changes, the major shift in the nature of the
product itself must be stressed. The advent of electronics and social change has given way to
new uses for watches since the late 1980s: they have stopped being useful objects bought and
carried for their precision and have become fashion accessories, either cheap (Hong Kong
made) or luxurious (Swiss made). Within this paradigm shift, brand management has emerged
as the key factor for success on world markets, and international competitiveness has relied
since the 1990s on the ability to build and manage a brand portfolio. Nevertheless, despite this
major change, territorial anchorage and regional roots remain important. The emergence of
global supply chains does not mean that the world has become flat. On the contrary,
Switzerland and Hong Kong appear as major nodes within these networks, even if design,
production and marketing are increasingly dissociated, as can be seen in other industries like
textile and fashion.88

88

Lane and Probert, National capitalisms, global production networks.

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