The development in the twenties century for swiss watches
The major revolution of the 20th century initially passed Switzerland by
. Although the first quartz watch was actually developed at the Electronic Horological Centre (Centre Electronique Horloger, CEH) in Neuchtel in 1967, Swiss companies failed to capitalise on the new technology. They left it to others, in particular in Japan and the US, to improve on the discovery. The Swiss put most of their research and development funds into improving mechanical watches.
It was an error of judgement which almost destroyed the industry in the mid 1970s as the bottom fell out of the market for traditional watches. Switzerland was no longer a major player as far as watches were concerned.
But the Swiss fought back in an unexpected way. They called in a business consultant who introduced a revolution of his own: the watch as fashion statement. The cheap electronic Swatch watch has sold in its millions, and put the country back at the top of the world's exporters in 1995. (See: Swatch)
The success of the Swatch is credited with turning around the fortunes of the Swiss watch industry as a whole. It boosted confidence in Swiss watch making and showed the Swiss how to sell their products.
The development in the twenties century for swiss watches