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"Amazing that an industry as profitable as mechanical watches is confined to a country not even a sixth the size of Texas. ...will there ever be a time when "Made In Germany"...
"Even more amazing are the companies who hide their assembly-line watches behind the words "Swiss Made" --and actually sell many watches this way at a very comfortable profit. In fact, these days, practically the only way to distinguish a truly good watch from a truly good marketing campaign is to look at its guts.
"Because there are so many brand revivals, counting on a watch's history for insight into the quality of said timepiece is about as sound as getting advice from a company's public relations person.
"The current mishmash world of watches has savvy CEO's hopping from one just-rediscovered 200-year old brand to another, making money for anyone who has even the faintest notion about what the consumer is looking for. And what the average consumer is usually looking for are the words "Swiss Made" - taking us back to the beginning of this diatribe, class.
"The problem here is that you have a lot of sloppy "Swiss Made" watches in circulation - watches that will not appreciate because the collectors and museums (who are willing to dish out all the dosh on a good watch) know better.
"Switzerland's smart monopoly on "good" watches will continue as long as there are people who are uneducated as to what defines a good watch along with watchmakers outside of Switzerland who feel they must migrate over to have some kind of legitimacy.
"Just imagine the pressure on a new watch outfit to conform to these prexisting standards - else they have the tedious and tiring job of working against the currents."