Swiss watches are the most highly regarded of all luxury watches— and they generally come with a price tag that reflects that. Studies have shown that people are willing to pay 20% more for Swiss watches in general and as much as 50% more for certain mechanical models. But why are Swiss watches so highly valued? What makes people desire Swiss watches above all others?
There are many things that set Swiss watches apart from other models. First, to even be labeled with “Swiss” or “Swiss made,” watches must meet some strict standards, which were recently updated by the Swiss Federal Council to be made even more strict.
As of January 1, 2017, for a watch to be called Swiss it must adhere to these four rules:
A minimum of 60% of the production costs of a watch as a whole (meaning the finished product) must be Swiss-based.
A minimum of 50% of a watch’s movement components must be Swiss
A minimum of 60% of a watch’s movement production must have taken place in Switzerland.
The technology behind the watch and its movement must have taken place in Switzerland.
These standards have been put in place because Swiss watch technology and watch quality is a major point of pride in Switzerland. Luxury Swiss watch brands put great effort into developing new watch technology, always striving to make their latest model better than their last. Swiss watch components are also carefully designed to be incredibly high quality and are made of only the best materials, which contributes to the accuracy of the watch.
While the well-controlled quality of Swiss watches does contribute to their higher cost, there are a couple other factors that contribute to high Swiss watch prices.
Another thing that causes Swiss watches to be more expensive is how they are produced. The time it takes to create a high-quality luxury Swiss watch tends to be quite high. And because these watches are in high demand, but they cannot be produced quickly, their price goes up.
The last factor that contributes to Swiss watches having the highest price tags is their status as luxury watches. Swiss watches are considered the best watches in the world. They’re associated with luxury and status and, because of this, people are simply willing to pay more to get their hands on one.