The Great Quality Of Swiss Army Watches

If it feels like the Swiss Army brand has been around for a hundred years, well that's because it's true-more than a century and a quarter, actually. After all this time, their Swiss Army knives have become one of the most common gifts and certainly one of the most recognizable tools of the last hundred years or so. However, their watches don't get as much attention as they rightfully deserve. In this article, we'll take an in-depth look at why these watches are a prime example of quality at its best.

After more than a hundred years of riding the momentum of their main product's success, Victorinox felt the need to expand their product line. They had a study done in the US and found that their customers there wanted them to create more products of similar quality to their famous knives. After throwing around some ideas, they made the decision to produce a line of high-quality watches to go with their knives, in part because of the success of the Swiss watchmaking industry.

In the early goings, they had one dilemma that they had to overcome; producing high quality watches would require them to have control over the final assembly of these watches. To accomplish this aim, they actually constructed a new factory in 2002 that would let them have complete control over the creation of their timepieces.

Producing high-quality watches still requires, even in this day of automation and machine production, many specialized workers and technicians to rigorously test the watches. When you consider that Swiss Army makes about 900,000 every year, and that their watches have to stand up to rigorous testing, it's really incredible that they have continue to create such high-quality watches.

Only the best materials go into each Swiss Army watch; they purchase their movements-the part of the watch that makes the hands rotate-from a Swiss company called ETA. ETA also supplies movements to Omega and Tag Heuer, two of the most respected luxury brands in Swiss watches.

Despite their great quality, Victorinox and other Swiss watch companies are under assault from a new challenge. These genuine Swiss watch companies are seeing more and more foreign companies spring up with lesser quality watches. The reason these companies exist is because of a rule that states that for a watch to be considered "Swiss," the movement has to be at least fifty percent from a Swiss company

Many Asian companies, in particular, have done their best to take advantage of this rule. They can make watches that they claim are Swiss made, charge a high-end price for them, and not make them to the same quality standards as genuine Swiss-made watches. Newer companies with no track record are benefiting from the reputation that Swiss watchmaking companies have created over centuries because they call themselves "Swiss-made" and consumers automatically assume that they are high quality as well.

Still, Swiss watchmaking companies continue to enjoy the success that they have rightfully created. Consider this shocking statistic: Swiss watch companies only make three percent of the entire global supply of watches, but yet they bring in about half of the US $40 billion spent across the globe on watches. That's because they are a respected and admired brand across the world. And right in the thick of that market, Victorinox and their Swiss Army watches stand as a beacon of both affordability and the high quality we have all come to expect from Swiss watches.

Josh M. writes regularly about watches and other accessories. If you'd like to learn more about Swiss Army watches, you can go to http://www.swissarmywatches.org. Also, you can check out http://www.swissarmywatches.org/swiss_army_watch_bands.html to learn more about Swiss Army watch bands and other accessories.