Starting a Swiss made watch brand: what the brand keeps and what its subcontractor carries out
A watch brand keeps its name, the decisions that commit its product and the burden of proving the “Swiss made” indication it uses; design, engineering, prototypes, production and inspection can be handed to a subcontractor. For a mechanical watch to be Swiss made, its mechanical construction and prototyping must be carried out in Switzerland. Two steps therefore come early: register the name before the design work starts, and ask each subcontractor for a written attestation for the manufacturing cost calculation.
What the brand decides and keeps
Whichever subcontractor it works with, some decisions stay with the brand, because its name is the one on the watch.
The name itself comes first. The brand registers it, in its own name, and defends it against signs that come too close.
Then there are the choices that commit the product: the chosen design, the materials, the movement, the water-resistance level, the rate tolerance, the quantities. The subcontractor designs, engineers, develops and proposes; the brand decides. Our full project page sets out this split in a table.
The indication of origin is also the brand’s. Writing “Swiss made” is the brand’s decision, and the law leaves the proof to it: the user of an indication of source must prove that it is correct1. Use does not stop at the dial. The watch ordinance also counts the sale, the offering for sale, advertisements, prospectuses, invoices and business papers as use2.
Finally, the relationship with customers and the warranty stay with the brand. When we handle a brand’s after-sales service, we appear neither on the documents given to the end customer nor in any exchange with them.
Register the name before the design work starts
The name ends up printed on the dial and often engraved on the caseback. If it has to change after the components have been ordered, those parts must be made again. So the name is checked and registered before the design work begins.
The Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property (IPI) registers a trade mark without examining whether it infringes earlier rights, such as a trade mark already on the register. It advises applicants to carry out a similarity search before filing3. Any conflict is then settled by opposition: the proprietor of an earlier trade mark has three months from publication of the registration to file one1.
The filing fee is CHF 450 for three classes of goods and services and ten years of protection, with a CHF 100 discount for applications filed electronically. The renewal fee for a further ten years is CHF 5504. Watches fall into class 14 of the Nice Classification, whose heading includes “horological and chronometric instruments”5.
A trade mark is only protected in the countries where it is registered. A trade mark already protected in Switzerland can be extended to other countries through an international application filed with the IPI6.
A name that contains “Swiss”, “Suisse” or “Switzerland” needs one more precaution. For watches, the IPI only registers such a sign if the list of goods is limited, for example to watches entitled to the regulated indication “Swiss”. Without that limitation, the application is refused7.
Swiss made starts in the engineering office
For an exclusively mechanical watch, the watch ordinance requires at least the mechanical construction and prototyping of the watch as a whole to be carried out in Switzerland2. The other conditions are explained on our page Swiss made, Geneva provenance and the Geneva Seal (Poinçon de Genève), and what may stay abroad, aesthetic design in particular, in its section on brands founded outside Switzerland.
The design of the watch may come from a designer based abroad, but the dimensioned drawings, the CAD work and the first parts must be produced in Switzerland, even when a wax prototype is enough8. This work is proved with documents, such as drawings, invoices or accounts, so dated drawings and the invoices for each phase belong in the project file, on the brand’s side as well as ours.
At CLD Design, case engineering is done in our Plan-les-Ouates offices, and prototypes are assembled and developed in our workshop. We do not design movements. Swiss made also depends on the movement, casing, final inspection and manufacturing costs, so we cannot promise that a watch will qualify.
Who does what, step by step
Our page on Swiss watch development in Geneva follows a project in order and gives the deliverable and the party responsible for each step. Machining is carried out by our partner workshops in Plan-les-Ouates. We order it and we are answerable for it, and the parts are checked when they arrive in our workshop.
For the brand, the table also works as a checklist: each step comes with drawings, invoices or attestations to collect for its calculation. Each step can also be ordered on its own. A brand that already has its drawings can entrust us with the prototypes, the finishing or the inspection, and keep the rest with its own suppliers.
Document manufacturing costs with each subcontractor
The FH guide starts from a plain observation: a brand that buys its components does not know its suppliers’ manufacturing costs, which they keep confidential because the figures would reveal their profit. The brand can then work from the purchase price. The supplier tells it whether the component is Swiss, or what percentage of Swiss value it contains, depending on the calculation method used8.
Since the brand has few means of checking this information, the guide advises asking each subcontractor for a written attestation confirming the Swiss source, or the precise percentage of Swiss value, of the components ordered. In the absence of serious doubt, such an attestation should in principle be enough to support the figures used in the calculation. If it later proves wrong, it allows the brand to bring a civil action or file a criminal complaint against the subcontractor.
The guide also explains how several cost items are counted.
| Cost item | How it is counted |
|---|---|
| Engineering, technical drawings and prototypes made in Switzerland | May be included in the Swiss value of the manufacturing costs. |
| A component supplier’s margin | May be included, since the brand has no access to the detail of its costs. |
| The brand’s margin on the watch | Excluded: the margin the brand takes on its own watches is not part of the manufacturing costs. |
| Transport | Upstream transport carried out in Switzerland and needed for production may be included; transport downstream of production is excluded. |
| Customs duties on an imported component | They follow the origin of the component and therefore count as a foreign cost (the IPI’s view, as reported in the guide). |
| Case bought as a set (case middle, back, crystal, crown) | If the set meets Article 4 of the ordinance, the brand may count the price paid for the case as 100% Swiss, using the rounded percentages method. |
For the same product line, the guide requires a single calculation method, without mixing exact and rounded percentages.
Swiss made and customs origin: two calculations
Customs origin serves a different purpose from the “Swiss made” indication. Under free trade agreements, preferential origin gives access to reduced customs duties, and goods only obtain Swiss origin if they meet, among other things, the list rule of the agreement concerned9. The FH guide points out that the two systems do not use the same basis of calculation8.
| Criterion | “Swiss made” indication | Preferential origin |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Trade Mark Protection Act and the watch ordinance (SR 232.119) | List rule of each free trade agreement |
| Basis of calculation | Manufacturing costs, without profit | Ex-works price, profit included |
| Threshold for a watch | At least 60% of manufacturing costs incurred in Switzerland | In general, foreign materials at no more than 40% of the ex-works price (Chapter 91 of the Harmonized System, according to the FH guide) |
| What it allows | Placing “Swiss made” on the watch and using it in trade | Obtaining the duty reductions provided for by the agreement |
| Proof | Borne by whoever uses the indication (TmPA, Art. 51a) | Origin stated on a certificate of origin or on the invoice |
The guide gives an example. A watch costs CHF 500 to produce, of which CHF 250 is incurred in Switzerland, and is sold for CHF 1,000 including the margin. With a 50% Swiss share of its manufacturing costs, it cannot bear “Swiss made”. Measured against the ex-works price of CHF 1,000, the foreign value is only 25%: subject to other conditions, such as the direct transport rule, the watch can claim Swiss origin for customs purposes.
The reverse also happens. A watch that meets every Swiss made condition may not count as originating in Switzerland under an agreement that requires direct transport, if that rule was not followed. The two calculations are therefore prepared separately, each with its own figures.
First batch: what to plan for
The quotation sets the scope, the quantities, the indicative lead time and the schedule for each phase. There is no minimum batch for the operations carried out in our workshop; for a project that includes machining, the quantity is set in the quotation. A non-disclosure agreement is signed on request before any technical exchange.
Among the brand’s choices, the origin of the bought-in components needs settling early. The movement, dial, hands and crystal are bought-in components: we find their suppliers, or the brand delivers its own. For a watch aiming for Swiss made, the movement must itself be Swiss within the meaning of Article 2 of the ordinance, and its attestation goes into the calculation file.
A written specification saves back-and-forth: our article on watch case specifications sets out what it should contain. The stated water resistance refers to standardised tests, described in our article on watch water resistance. Lastly, a gold case may not be placed on the market until it has undergone the official precious metals control10: our article on 18k gold watch cases covers the rules.
In series production, each batch has its own file, opened on receipt, and the inspection report is available on request. These documents join the drawings and attestations that the brand keeps to support its indication of origin.
Frequently asked questions
Can “Swiss Design” appear on a watch that is not Swiss made?
As a rule, no. The watch ordinance only allows an indication that refers to a specific activity if the public does not read it as the origin of the whole watch. The FH guide considers that on a wristwatch, given how small the object is, designations such as “Swiss Design” are normally read that way, so they are not compliant.
Does a Swiss made watch need a Swiss case?
No. The FH guide points out that Article 1a of the ordinance does not mention the case, so a Swiss case is not required. A case that does not meet the criteria of Article 4 remains a foreign component; the guide then allows its parts (case middle, back, crystal, crown) to be counted one by one in the manufacturing cost calculation.
Does a certificate of Swiss origin allow a brand to write “Swiss made”?
Not on its own. According to the FH guide, a certificate of Swiss origin obtained from a chamber of commerce does not necessarily give the right to use the “Swiss” designation on a watch, and a Swiss made watch does not necessarily have Swiss origin under a free trade agreement. The two are calculated separately.
Can the brand name contain “Swiss”?
Yes, on two conditions. For registration, the IPI requires the list of goods to be limited to watches entitled to the indication “Swiss”. For use, the ordinance reserves “Switzerland” and designations containing it, translations included, for Swiss watches: such a name can therefore only appear on watches that are Swiss within the meaning of the ordinance.
Sources
- SR 232.11, Federal Act on the Protection of Trade Marks and Indications of Source (Trade Mark Protection Act, TmPA), status as of 1 July 2025, Art. 10 (term of registration), Art. 31 (opposition) and Art. 51a (burden of proof). English translation on Fedlex (no legal force) accessed 29 September 2026
- SR 232.119, Ordinance on the Use of “Switzerland” or “Swiss” for Watches, status as of 1 January 2019, Art. 1a (Swiss watch), Art. 2 (Swiss movement), Art. 3 paras 1 and 4 (“Switzerland”, “Swiss” and translations), para. 1bis (specific activities) and para. 5 (meaning of use) and Art. 4 (case). English translation on Fedlex (no legal force) accessed 29 September 2026
- IPI, “Risk of conflict”: the IPI does not examine earlier rights during registration and advises a search before filing. IPI page accessed 29 September 2026
- IPI, trade mark “Costs”: filing fee, discount for electronic filing, renewal fee. IPI page accessed 29 September 2026
- WIPO, Nice Classification, class 14. Classification on the WIPO website accessed 29 September 2026
- IPI, “National or international application”. IPI page accessed 29 September 2026
- IPI, Directives en matière de marques (trade mark guidelines), status as of 1 January 2026, part 5, section 8.7 (limitation of goods for designations covered by a sector ordinance). Guidelines in PDF (French) accessed 29 September 2026
- FH, Guide on the use of the designation “Swiss” for watches, version 5 of 13 September 2018, sections 1, 4.2.2, 4.2.3, 4.2.4, 4.8 and 4.9. The guide sets out the interpretation of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry and its authors accept no liability for its content; in case of dispute, only the French version is valid. Guide in PDF accessed 29 September 2026
- FOCBS, Federal Office for Customs and Border Security, frequently asked questions on free trade agreements and preferential origin. FOCBS page (French) accessed 29 September 2026
- SR 941.31, Federal Act on the Control of the Trade in Precious Metals and Precious Metal Articles (Precious Metals Control Act, PMCA), status as of 1 July 2023, Art. 13. English translation on Fedlex (no legal force) accessed 29 September 2026
This article summarises official texts and the industry guide, with their sources. It is not legal advice.