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Editor’s Note
Gary George Girdvainis
gary@isochronmedia.com
Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
vs. Federation Of The Swiss Watch
Industry (FH)
Recently several U.S.-based watch brands have had a tough go of it. Having been put on the FTC’s radar by one particular watch
blog, these domestic companies have been called to the carpet by the USA’s guardian of all that is (or is not) Made in America. These
brands have received direction in writing requiring these ostensible offenders to change their messaging, marketing and claims in one
way or another.
The problem is, our American-based brands are not fighting on a fair playing field. If you think ‘built in Detroit’ is deceptive – then
how do you feel about ‘100% Swiss Made?’ Because even though a brand may make the claim of 100% Swiss Made, by the Swiss Federation’s legal definition, Swiss Made only calls for 50% (soon to be 60%) of the value of the movement parts to be of Swiss origin for
that movement to be considered Swiss. Basically, the same 50% ratio applies to the case. If assembled in Switzerland, the half-breed
50% Swiss movement and 50% Swiss case are then qualified as Swiss Made.
The claim of 100% Swiss Made is not stipulated anywhere on the Federation’s web-site www.fhs.ch.
As for Made in the USA, per the FTC guidelines for any product to claim the unqualified Made in the USA, or Made in America standard, all or virtually all of the parts must be manufactured and assembled in the United States. So where the venerable Swiss Made label
calls for a 50% standard, Made in the USA is damn close to 100% - and you’ll have the FTC to deal with if it isn’t.
Until recently this has not been that big a deal. For the last twenty years or so the few American brands would simply use European
and Far Eastern suppliers and eschew the Made in America standard, often deferring to the Swiss Made protocols as they were so easy
to achieve and carried the gravitas of a higher perceived value.
Now that we have a nascent-but-growing corps of more than ninety U.S.-based brands it may be time to level the playing field just
a bit and educate the consumer as to what Swiss Made is (and isn’t) as well as what constitutes Made in America, Made in Germany, or
likewise for any other country of origin.
I do not conflate all brands under one assumption as automatically better than the other based on country of origin. Actual construction quality will vary wildly - even within the legal confines of provenance. Watches developed in any country can be a great watch
and a great value, or a piece of junk not worth the box it came in. I’m just making a point that the rules for claiming Made in XXX or
Swiss Made are not the same.
With our own Made in America standard set so high, any brand looking to claim an unqualified USA Made claim has an uphill battle.
Its AboutTime (To Climb The Matterhorn),
Gary George Girdvainis
AboutTime Magazine | 3