Complete List of Swiss Watch Brands [Swiss Watch Companies]
Switzerland is the home to watchmaking and is known as the capital of watchmaking. Switzerland has a long and rich watchmaking history that stretches many centuries back. It’s not a coincidence that almost all of the world’s most well-known and iconic luxury brands are based in Switzerland, either. A whole book about the Swiss watch industry and its history could be written about watchmaking in Switzerland and how it has been a leader in watchmaking.
Swiss watches are synonymous with quality and are well-regarded from a global perspective.
Due to Switzerland’s long history of watchmaking – and strong influence over the watch industry today – it comes as no surprise that Switzerland is home to a long list of Swiss watch brands. Some of these watch brands are no longer in business and closed down decades or even centuries ago. Others are going stronger than ever, continuing to build on the sometimes more than century-long histories that they have.
With so many watch brands having been born in Switzerland, we have compiled an extensive list of Swiss watch brands/Swiss watch companies. But before we dig into the list, let’s take a closer look at the Swiss watch industry and what it means to be a Swiss watch manufacturer.
What is a Swiss watch company and watch brand?
There are many ways to answer this question and the real answer is that it depends on what criteria you look at.
Technically, a Swiss watch company is a Switzerland-registered company that is thus based in Switzerland. However, this does not automatically mean that they make their watches in Switzerland. Although it is relatively uncommon, there are watch companies that are based in Switzerland but sell watches that are not made in Switzerland. In other words, the company has its operations in Switzerland but the manufacturing of them is outsourced to a different company.
Something that is much more common, however, is that it is a non-Swiss company that makes Swiss-made watches. In other words, the company is registered in a different company than Switzerland, but the manufacturing of their watches is outsourced to a factory in Switzerland.
Due to the prestige and strong reputation of the ”Swiss Made” stamp, a lot of companies outsource their production to Switzerland to associate their watches with quality. Ultimately, this ties into the strict requirements that Switzerland has for the ”Swiss Made” branding, but also the long and rich history of Swiss watchmaking which is synonymous with fine wristwatches.
For this list, and the industry in general, merely having Swiss movements such as ETA is not sufficient to call a watch brand a Swiss manufacturer.
”Swiss Made” is one thing, but the criteria that we have set up for this list is that the brand is both a Swiss company based in Switzerland, and makes Swiss-made timepieces. It is thus not sufficient for a watch brand to make its watches in Switzerland but has its headquarters in a different country because technically, it would not be a Swiss watch brand.
Not all of the Swiss watch brands in this list are active today
With Switzerland’s long and rich history of watchmaking, many watch brands have come and gone. Some have gone out of business and closed down whilst others closed down for some time during its history but were later resurrected. At the same time, Switzerland is not only about watch brands with century-long histories. Over the last couple of decades, many new Swiss watch brands have also been born. In this list of Swiss watch brands, we have included brands that have closed down and are no longer in operation, as well as brands that are active in the business.
The legendary “Swiss Made” Stamp and what it means
The ”Swiss Made” stamp on a watch comes with a number of legally set requirements. It’s not simply sufficient that a company has its headquarters in Switzerland and its productions somewhere else in order to call its watches Swiss-made.
The requirements established according to Swiss law to call a watch Swiss-made are the following:
- The technical development is carried out in Switzerland
- The movement is made in Switzerland
- The final encasing of the movement is done in Switzerland
- The final inspection is done in Switzerland
- 60 percent of the manufacturing costs have incurred in Switzerland.
List of Swiss Watch Brands [Swiss Watch manufacturers]
A
- A. Favre & Fils
- Arnold & Son
- Abraham-Louis Breguet
- A.L.B Atelier Le Brézéguet
- Andersen Geneve
- AKRIVIA
- Alpina
- Angelus
- Armand Nicolet
- Armin Strom
- Ateliers de Monaco
- Audemars Piguet
- Ateliers deMonaco
- Auguste Reymond
- Aquastar
B
- Backes & Strauss
- Ball Watch
- Baume & Mercier
- Bausele
- Bell & Ross
- Bedat & Co
- Bovet Fleurier
- Blancpain
- Bomberg
- Bovet
- Breguet
- Breitling
- Bremont
- Brunoknox
- Bvlgari
- Buccellati
C
- Carl F. Bucherer
- Carl Suchy & Söhne
- Cartier
- Chanel
- Chopard
- Christophe Claret
- Chronoswiss
- Corum
- Cimier
- Cortébert
- Cuervo y Sobrinos
- Cyma Watches
- Cvstos
- Czapek
D
- Davidoff
- De Bethune
- Dewitt
- D. Dornblüth & Sohn
- Dietrich
- Doxa S.A.
- Dreffa
E
- Ebel
- Eberhard & Co
- Edox
- Elgin
- Era Watch Company
- EHF Horlogere
- EPOS
- Enicar
- Eterna
F
- F. P. Journe
- Fabergé
- Favre Leuba
- Ferdinand Berthoud
- Fortis
- Formex
- Franck Muller
- Frédéric Jouvenot
- Frédérique Constant
G
- Gallet & Co
- Gerald Charles
- Gerald Genta
- Glycine
- Girard-Perregaux
- Glashütte Original
- George Daniels
- Graff
- Graham
- Greubel Forsey
- Grönefeld
- Grand Seiko
- Gruen
H
- Halda Watch Co
- H. Moser & Cie
- Hamilton
- Hanhart
- Harry Winston
- Hautlence
- Hermès
- Hublot
- Hysek
- HYT
I
- Ikepod
- IWC
J
- Jacob & Co
- Jaeger-LeCoultre
- Jaquet Droz
- Jean Perret
- Jean Lassale
K
- Konstantin Chaykin
L
- Laurent Ferrier
- Laventure
- Linde Werdelin
- Leijona watch
- Lemania
- Longines
- Louis Erard
- Louis Moinet
- Louis Vuitton
- Luminox
- Ludovic Ballouard
M
- Manufacture Royale
- Maurice de Mauriac
- Maitres du Temps
- Maurice Lacroix
- MB&F
- Montblanc
- Movado
- Mondaine
- Mido
N
- Nevada
- Norqain
O
- Omega
- Oris
- Orfina
P
- Panerai
- Parmigiani Fleurier
- Patek Philippe
- Patria
- Perrelet
- Pequignet
- Philippe Dufour
- Piaget
R
- Rado
- Ralph Lauren
- Raymond Weil
- Rebellion
- Richard Mille
- Roger Dubuis
- Rolex
- Roamer
- Romain Gauthier
S
- Sandoz
- Swatch
- Singer Reimagined
- Squale watches
- Schwarz Etienne
- Swiss Military
T
- TAG Heuer
- Technos
- Tiffany & Co.
- Tissot
- Titoni
- TUDOR
U
- Ulysse Nardin
- Urwerk
- Universal Geneve
V
- Vacheron Constantin
- Van Cleef & Arpels
- Victorinox
- Vulcain
Z
- Zanuti
- Zenith
- Zeno-Watch Basel
