"Are there any luxury watch brands outside of Switzerland?" If you're starting to become interested in luxury watches, you might have this question.
In fact, the home of luxury watches is Switzerland, but there are many other famous watch brands outside of Switzerland.
Among them, there may be some famous brands that make you think, "Huh? Isn't this manufacturer from Switzerland?"
This time, we will introduce five carefully selected famous luxury watch brands outside of Switzerland.
There are many famous luxury watch brands outside of Switzerland.
There is no doubt that luxury watch brands are concentrated in Switzerland. When the watch industry began to develop, Switzerland was an ideal place for the industry due to the clear air and clean water of the highlands, as well as excellent means of transportation such as water transport.
Nowadays, if you invest the money, you can get the environment suitable for precision instruments. However, at that time, it was difficult to meet all the conditions suitable for making watches. It was natural that even watch brands that had started overseas would flock to Switzerland, where all such conditions were available.
However, as you know, these conditions can now be met outside of Switzerland. With the development of water supply technology, cleaner working spaces, and the evolution of transportation technology, it is no longer necessary to base your business in Switzerland.
And so an era began in which new luxury watch brands were born in Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, etc. Of course, in addition to new brands, there are also many famous brands that have continued to develop without relocating their base to Switzerland.
Now, we'll introduce you to five watch-related countries and brands that you should know about from among these luxury watch brands.
german luxury watch brands
Germany is a large country located in Western Europe with a history of 2,000 years. With an excellent natural environment including forests, rivers, mountains, and the sea, Germany has also been active in the watch industry.
In the past, German watch brands were largely divided into two regions: Glashütte in the Erzgebirge mountains near the Czech Republic, and the Black Forest region near Switzerland.
A well-known German watch brand is A. Lange & Söhne, which was born in Glashütte .
A. Lange & Söhne
Glashütte was originally known as a famous silver mine, but as the amount of silver mined decreased, jobs disappeared and the people fell into poverty. Adolf Lange, a famous watchmaker at the time, stepped up to help.
Adolf Lange, a watchmaker, was noticed by royalty and aristocrats due to his talent. While working as a watchmaker for the court, he requested the government at the time to establish a watch manufacturer to help the poor people of Glashütte. This company would later become A. Lange & Söhne.
At one point, A. Lange & Söhne was on the verge of disappearing as a brand due to the effects of the war, but once East and West Germany were reunited, a new A. Lange & Söhne was established.
Beginning with the "Lange 1," watches carefully crafted using traditional techniques quickly catapulted A. Lange & Söhne to the top brand.
It is now a highly prestigious brand that is counted among the world's top five watch brands .
Italian luxury watch brands
Located in the Mediterranean Sea, Italy is a country that has had a huge influence on the world in terms of food culture, artistry, and more. Even today, Italy is known as the center of fashion, and the country is particular about what it wears.
Italy is actually the birthplace of mechanical watches. In the 13th century, they were produced in the area stretching from northern Italy to southern Germany. Even today, the Italian manufacturer Panerai is a world-renowned brand .
Panerai
In 1860, Giovanni Panerai, who would later become the company's founder, opened a watch shop, workshop, and watchmaking school in Florence. Panerai supplied the Italian Navy with highly advanced precision instruments. It was also Panerai who developed Radiomir, a radium-based powder that allowed instruments to glow at night .
Panerai continued to develop close business relationships with the Italian Navy and later developed a new fluorescent substance, Luminor .
It has made a significant contribution to the development of luminous paint technology, which improves the visibility of watches .
Panerai's watches include a wide range of attractive models, including such iconic models as the Radiomir and Luminor, which were made at the request of the Italian Air Force.
The company also sells a number of functional models that incorporate advanced watchmaking technology, including movements and calibers developed entirely in-house.
french luxury watch brands
France, located in Western Europe and centered around the city of art, Paris, has a strong culture that is known to everyone in Japan, including wine and French cuisine.
However, France also has deep ties to the watch industry.
The two brands are Cartier, known as a jewelry brand, and the French genius Breguet, who advanced the watch industry by 200 years.
Cartier
Cartier is famous as a jewelry brand, but it is also a prestigious luxury watch brand. Its history dates back to 1847, when French jeweler Louis-François Cartier took over the jewelry workshop from his master.
In 1859, Empress Eugénie became its client, and in 1902 the company was appointed purveyor to King Edward VII of England and King Alfonso XIII of Spain.
The watch made for the famous Brazilian aviator Santos-Dumont in 1904 is considered to be the world's first wristwatch .
Cartier continued to be chosen by royalty and aristocrats after that, and its greatest appeal was the ``extravagance'' of the pieces it created .
In the social world, glamour is essential to show one's status. Whether it is a watch or jewelry, the role required remains the same even if the shape is different. This is evident from the fact that Cartier has fascinated not only women but also male royalty and aristocrats .
Of course, Cartier has extremely high technical capabilities, but compared to other brands, Cartier also has an overwhelming sense of splendor.
Breguet
Although the company is currently based in Switzerland, its founder Breguet actually started his business in France .
Breguet is known as a genius who created more than half of the foundations of watches. Complex mechanisms such as the tourbillon, minute repeater, and perpetual calendar were developed by Breguet.
Its former clients included Marie Antoinette and other royalty and aristocrats .
Breguet is still counted among the world's top five watch brands , and the guilloche engraving, Breguet hands, and Breguet lettering developed by Breguet are still strongly influenced by Breguet watches today.
Japanese luxury watch brands
Japan is known as a technological powerhouse, and there are many Japanese manufacturers among the luxury watch brands that focus on complex mechanisms. Some people in Japan may have the impression that Japanese watches are not very expensive and do not have much of a history.
However, the history of clocks in Japan is actually surprisingly long, with the clock industry said to have begun as far back as the mid-16th century.
However, due to the influence of the World War, the watch industry only got fully underway around 1950. With the development of precision machinery, the technology developed to catch up with Swiss watches in terms of accuracy . Among them, the brand that produced the most outstanding results was Seiko.
Seiko
Seiko developed a quartz clock for broadcasting stations in 1958. In 1960, it was made the official timepiece for the Tokyo Olympics, and in 1969 it successfully developed the world's first quartz wristwatch, the Seiko Quartz Astron .
This quartz technology was developed by various brands, but later became known around the world as the global standard known as the "Seiko System." Seiko received various honors, including this watch being recognized as a Mechanical Engineering Heritage of Japan.
Seiko's watches continue to push the boundaries of quartz technology, with improvements being made from a uniquely Japanese perspective, such as making watches smaller and thinner, lowering power (power consumption), increasing precision, providing more functionality, and reducing costs.
Seiko watches, which are well versed in Japanese tastes, have a charm that foreign brands do not have. Another appeal is that they can be purchased relatively cheaply for their quality because there is no extra cost to pay for things like customs duties .
summary
In this article, we have introduced luxury watches that are not Swiss.
Non-Swiss luxury watch brands include:
- Italy
- Germany
- France
- Japan
- America
- England
Among them, we have introduced the following five brands that have a particularly long history in watches and are still highly regarded today.
- A. Lange & Söhne (Germany): How the company was founded to save its hometown from poverty
- Panerai (Italy) and its history with the Italian Navy
- Cartier (France), which develops world-class jewelry and glamorous watches
- Breguet (founded in France) - the watchmaker that advanced the history of watches by 200 years
- Seiko (Japan), the developer of the world's first quartz watch
As you can see, there are many luxury watch brands outside of Switzerland. When you unravel the history of each of them, you will find profound discoveries, connections with unexpected people, and wonderful ideals.
I hope that this article has conveyed at least a little of the appeal of these non-Swiss luxury watch brands.
Thank you for reading.
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