The first thing that comes to our mind when we talk about the Hi-tech industry in US is – “Silicon Valley”.  Switzerland has something similar:it has the “Watch Valley”. It is quite quite easy to understand why. Swiss watches are popular all over the world and the Swiss watch and clock industry is the country’s third largest exporter(after machine and chemical industries). Some of world’s top  watch  brands like Rolex,Tissot, Swatch, Omega and Rado (to name a few) are from Switzerland. Swiss watches come in different sizes and catering to different economic groups, with watches as inexpensive as a few tens of francs to some costing several millions(with gold and precious stones in them).

According to the “Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry”, there are about 600 watch making companies in Switzerland(down from 1600 in 1970) with the average number of employees per company at about 70. Most of these  companies are located in the “Watch Valley”, the geographical region along the Jura mountains in the western region bordering France. This covers a distance of about 200 miles from Geneva to Basel and has mountains, valleys and 3 major lakes – Lake Bienne, Lake Neuchatel,Lake Leman.

One fascinating piece of history is that the Swiss watch industry has it’s origins in the Christian Protestant reformist movement. In the  16th century, John Calvin and Martin Luther broke from the Roman Catholic Church and formed the Protestant movements. Martin Luther was based in Germany whereas Calvin was based in Geneva,Switzerland. Calvin’s theological system was called Calvinism and he banned the wearing of Jewellery. This forced the goldsmiths and other jewellers of Geneva to turn to watchmaking. Slowly, this industry grew and expanded into the Jura mountain region to become what is now known as the “Watch Valley”.

In the 1970’s, the Swiss watch industry went through a crisis following the invention of the quartz technology. This crisis resulted in the reduction in the size of the industry, but it survived and came out stronger. The industry adopted newer technologies and is now the leading player in the global watch industry, with exports worth 17 billion CHF in 2008.

Switzerland Tourism has recognized the “Watch Valley” as an official destination and UNESCO has recognised two towns – Le Locle and La Chaux-de-Fonds” as World Heritage sites. So, when you plan to visit Switzerland, check out the “Watch Valley” as well. And don’t forget to bring a French dictionary/translator with you(this is the French speaking part of Switzerland).

More information can be found below.

Watch Valley –   www.watchvalley.ch/e/home

Federation of Swiss Watch Industry – www.fhs.ch/en/

Image Credit : char1iej