Big Brand Watches

Executive Summary about Big Brand Watches  By David K Fox

Brand watches have become really popular in the last few

years. This is because buying into a brand has many benefits and consumers are becoming more
experienced in their buying habits. Consumers are buying big brand watches because of five main
reasons.

The first reason is that brand watches are extremely reliable. If the watch is reliable, consumers will
buy into that brand time and time again, and therefore the most reliable watch brands always do well
as a result.

The second reason comes down to how much the brand is regarded by consumers. The third reason
consumers buy brand watches is because they are known to be very robust. The fourth reason why
consumers buy brand watches is because of the design of the watches. As a result, consumers find
these watches straight away because they are the most eye-catching and therefore these brand
watches are always the most likely to sell.

The fifth reason why consumers buy into brand watches is linked to the image of the watch. Some of
the bigger brands like to link their watches to celebrities. This article explains why buying brand
watches has become big the last few years. Everything points to buying a brand watch and consumers
will more than likely keep this trend going in the future.

Watch Winder Brands

The number of watch winding brands available in the market has increased over the years.
Different brands and models are manufactured to suit the needs of varied users. Some buyers may
prefer to have a low cost watch winder with basic features whereas some others may opt for a device
that has an elaborate display case and advanced features.

“Rolex” watch winders come in a variety of options ranging from low cost entry level winders to
beautifully crafted and elaborate winders with advanced features. Some watch winding models
manufactured by Rolex are designed to accommodate ten wristwatches in a single device.
“Steinhausen” watch winders have beautifully constructed bodies and use precision engineering to
design the winding mechanism. “Wolf watches” also manufactures watch winders, which are capable
of winding in three different directions including clockwise, counterclockwise, and bi-directionally.
“Underwood” watch winder brand has many appealing models with different features such as
programmable winding time for both clockwise and anticlockwise rotations. Models available under
“Rapport” brand are manufactured using advanced technology that helps in effectively managing the
frequency, angle, and speed of rotations. Buyers need to assess their requirements and availability of
funds prior to purchasing a watch winder. Low budget users can opt for any brand that has all the
basic features and is available at affordable rates. High-end users can opt for any brand that has
advanced features and is elegantly designed withsuperior polished surfaces.
A short tale of history
From the roots until today's achievements...
 
The Swiss watch and clock industry appeared in Geneva in the middle of the 16th century.
In 1541, reforms implemented by Jean Calvin and banning the wear of jewels, forced the
goldsmiths and other jewellers to turn into a new, independent craft : watchmaking. By the
end of the century, Genevan watches were already reputed for their high quality, and
watchmakers created in 1601 the Watchmakers' Guild of Geneva, the first to be
established anywhere.

One century later and because Geneva was already crowded with watchmakers, many of
them decided to leave the city for the receptive region of the Jura Mountains.

Watchmaking in the Jura remains indebted to a young goldsmith called Daniel Jeanrichard
(1665-1741), who, for the first time, introduced the division of labour in watchmaking. In
1790, Geneva was already exporting more than 60,000 watches.

The centuries were rich in inventions and new developements. In 1770, Abraham-Louis Perrelet created the
"perpetual" watch (in French "Montre à secousses"), the forerunner of the modern self-winding watch. In 1842,
pendant winding watches were invented by Adrien Philippe, one of the founders of the famous Patek Philippe watch
company. At the same time began the production of complicated watches and the introduction of special features
such as the perpetual calendar, the fly-back hand and chronographs.

The Jura Mountains with its various watchmaking centres

The mass production of watches began at the turn of the 20th century, thanks to the researches and new
technologies introduced by reputed watchmakers such as Frédéric Ingold and Georges Léchot. The increase of the
productivity, the interchangeability of parts and the standardization progressively led the Swiss watch industry to its
world supremacy.

The end of World War I corresponds to the introduction of the wristwatch which soon became very popular. Its
traditional round shape was generally adopted in 1960. In 1926, the first self-winding wristwatch was produced in
Grenchen, the first electrical watches being introduced later in 1952.

In 1967, the Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH) in Neuchâtel developed the world first quartz wristwatch - the
famous Beta 21. Since then, major technical developments followed without interruption: LED and LCD displays,
Swatch, quartz wristwatch without battery, etc.

Since more than four centuries now, tradition, craftmanship, high technologies and permanent innovation have
allowed Swiss watchmaking industry to keep its leadership in the world watch market. Because or thanks to the
different crisis it had to go through, Swiss watchmaking industry has always been in a position to answer the many
technological, economical and structural challenges it was confronted with. Its exceptional dynamism and creative
power have made it a state-of-the-art industry, and the many inventions or world records in its possession are so
many evidences : the first wristwatch, the first quartz watch, the first water resistant wristwatch, the thinnest
wristwatch in the world, the smallest or the most expensive watch in the world, etc.

Compared to today's quartz movements (left), the Beta 21 model (right), the first quartz movement for wrist watches with
analog display, seems a veritable antique
 
 
The Swiss watch industry today
 
The watch and clock industry, Switzerland's third largest exporter after the machine and chemical industries, has only
one market : The World. Swiss made timepieces are to be found in all the countries of the globe. And, what is no less
surprising, to suit all pockets, or almost so : from quartz fashion watches for a modest price to mechanical
masterpieces, made of gold and decorated with precious stones, costing several million francs. It is this wide variety
and its worldwide vocation which together have ensured the survival of the industry over the course of centuries.

Structures

Historically, the Swiss watch and clock industry has always had a specialized horizontal structure in which suppliers,
craftsmen and sub-contractors supply movements and external parts to assemblers called "établisseurs", who put the
final product together. However, to a lesser extent, the industry has also developed a vertically integrated structure in
which watches and clocks are sometimes made entirely by the same company, in this case called a "manufacture".

During the 1970s and early 1980s, technological upheavals (appearance of the quartz technology) and the difficult
economic situation resulted in a reduction in the size of the industry : the number of employees fell from some 90,000
in 1970 to a little over 30,000 in 1984, a figure which has remained stable over the last thirteen years (40,000
employees in 2004) while the number of companies decreased from about 1,600 in 1970 to about 600 now.

The average number of employees per company has remained constant, at just under 70 people per company in
2004, as in 1970. The great majority of watch companies are small sized companies (employing less than 100
people) while a very little number (less than 10) are each employing over 500 people.

Products

One of the great strengths of the Swiss watch and clock industry, by comparison with its foreign competitors, is its
ability to offer the consumer a genuinely comprehensive choice of products.

Would you like a mechanical watch (handwound or automatic) or a quartz watch (with analog or digital display) ?

Do you prefer a diamond-set watch of precious metal or one made of stainless steel, wood, plastic or even high tech
ceramic ?

Are your more attracted by a sober classic appearance, a sporty look or a fashionable and trendy design ?

Whatever you want, you will always find something to satisfy you amongst the products of the Swiss watch industry.
And if you prefer an alarm or other type of clock to a wristwatch, you will have difficulty in choosing from amongst the
vast range of models offered by the Swiss manufacturers of this type of product.

Markets and Competition

While the Swiss watch industry is present all over the world (it exports nearly 95% of its production), it does not carry
equal weight everywhere.

Asia and Oceania take 47% of Swiss watch exports in value, Europe 33%, Americas 19% and Africa 1%...and the top
fifteen countries represent over 80 % of these exports.

With their worldwide reputation for quality and styling, Swiss watches are not however the only ones to compete for
the favours of customers. They have many competitors in the markets, the most serious of these being the Japanese
and Hong Kong producers.

In Short

According to a number of economic analysts, the Swiss watch industry was moribond in the middle of the 1970s,
having missed out the electronic revolution and being strongly affected by the economic crisis.

But what is the situation now, thirty years later ? Having successfully completed its structural reconversion, the watch
industry is today, as it was yesterday, one of the brightest stars in the Swiss economic firmament. Better still, during
the last five or six years, it has taken the leading position amongst the country's most successful industries, breaking
its own records in exporting each year and going from 4.3 billion francs in 1986 to 17 billion in 2008.
 
 
History of Watches
1500s : Germany : Peter Henlein creates the first pocket watch.

1485 : Leonardo da Vinci sketches a fusee for a clock.

Early 1600s : Form watches becoming popular. Cases are shaped like animals and
objects. Religious themes are popular.

1635 : Around this time that the fusee was adapted from clocks to watches.

1659 - 1675 : Christian Huygens invents the "Remontoire".

1687 : Daniel Quare patents the repeating mechanism that uses bells to sound quarter
hours and the hours.

1704 : Peter and Jacob Debaufre, Nicolas Facio, are the first to use rubies in watch
movements.

1750 : Watch makers began using enamel on watch dials.

1759 : Thomas Mudge invents the English lever escapement.

1775 : Abraham Louis Breguet sets up his own watch making shop in Paris, France.

1780 : Abraham Louis Perrelet invents the self winding movement.

1786 : Breguet is the first to use guilloche on watch dials.

1791 : J.F. Bautte founded the watch company that would eventually become Girard-
Perregaux.

1807 : Thomas Young invents the recording chronograph.

1809 : Luther Goddard of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts is the first watch manufacturer

in America.

1820 : Thomas Prest registers a patent for the self winding watch.

1833 : Antoine LeCoultre starts his own watchmaking business which later become
Jaeger-LeCoultre.
1837 : First Tiffany store opens.

1843: Adrien Philippe develops a watch with winding and setting through the crown.

1844 : The start, stop, and reset chronograph is invented by Adolph Nicole.

1844 : Antoine LeCoultre invents the millionometre.

1848 : Louis Brandt opens his own workshop in La Chaux-de-Fonds which eventually
became the Omega Watch Company.

1853 : Tissot makes the first dual time zone watch.

1858 : Minerva is founded.

1860 : Heuer is founded.

1865 : Zenith founded.

1881 : Movado founded.

1884 : Greenwich, England is officially named the zero meridian and used as the
world wide recognized basis of time zones.

1886 : Geneva Seal established.

1894 : Universal Geneve established.

1905 : Hans Wilsdorf starts the Rolex Watch Company.

1914 : Eterna introduces the first wristwatch with an alarm.

1918 : Japan : Shakosha Watch Company opened. This would become Citizen in
1931.

1923 : John Harwood is the first to mass produce a self winding wristwatch.

1924 : Tokyo : Seiko brand name is launched by Kinttaro Hattori.

1926 : Rolex introduces the first waterproof case called the "Oyster".

1929 : First anti magnetic watch created by Tissot.

1933 : Ingersoll introduces the "Mickey Mouse" watch.

1956 : Rolex introduces their first model that displays the day and date.

1957 : Hamilton introduces the world's first battery driven watch.

1962 : Rado produces the world's first scratch proof watch called the "Diastar 1".

1962 : ETA of Switzerland develops the first quartz battery operated watch.

1970 : Hamilton releases the "Pulsar", the first electronic digital watch.

1972 : Longines and Seiko introduce the LCD, (Liquid Crystal Display).

1980 : Hublot founded.

1983 : SMH of Switzerland launches the Swatch brand.

1985 : Swiss Heuer Company merges with TAG to form TAG Heuer.

1986 : Audemars Piguet introduces the first self winding tourbillon.

1991 : Franck Muller founded.

1999 : Casio innovates with the first wristwatch with a built-in Global Positioning
System (GPS).