Swiss made is a label or marking used to indicate that a product was made on the territory of Switzerland. It is also a geographical indication protected under different Swiss and international laws and treaties.[1] According to the Swiss Federal Act on the Protection of Trade Marks and Indications of Source, a good or service may be designated "Swiss made" if:[2]
Most often associated with watches or timepieces made in Switzerland, Swiss law considers a watch to be Swiss made if its technical development is carried out in Switzerland, its movement is Swiss, if its movement is cased up in Switzerland, if the final inspection of the watch is conducted by the manufacturer in Switzerland, at least 60 per cent of the manufacturing costs are incurred in Switzerland. These legal criteria are stated in the Ordinance on the Use of «Switzerland» or «Swiss» for Watches.[3] Besides the "Swiss made" requirements, the indication «Swiss movement» may be placed on watches that contain a Swiss movement. The word «movement» must be written in full and must be of the same typeface, size and colour as the designation «Swiss». In addition to "Swiss made", under Swiss law watches may carry the words "Suisse", "produit suisse", "fabriqué en Suisse", "qualité suisse" or simply the English translation, "Swiss" if the legal criteria stated in the abovementioned Ordinance are met.
Outside of the jurisdiction of Switzerland, the same legal requirements for the use of the terms "Swiss" and "Swiss Made" may apply, notably for watches in the European Union, United States and Hong Kong as certification/collective marks “SWISS” are registered.