A community for watch & horology discussion.
The US had luxury watch companies ... but we lost them over time, one by one. For various reasons. Mergers, mismanagement, debt loads, failure to invest in the right products, outsourcing, etc. What's left are small niche producers.
Back in the late 1800's, the European watch industry originally learned precision mass-production techniques from the American companies. True story.
Really only Switzerland and Japan have significant watch industries. The other countries mentioned, sure, but much smaller. I'd say Germany or UK might be #3. I can't think of any well known luxury brands from France, Belgium, Italy.
Quartz Crisis of the 70's - 80's killed off much of the rest of the industry
In terms of why industry in Switzerland and Japan survived, I think it is an interesting question. In Switzerland I think it is a combination of government support / subsidy / intervention, and Swatch. In Japan I suspect it is related to Seiko and Citizen being huge companies both at the consumer and luxury levels, and making both quartz and mechanicals. I'm sure other folks more knowledgeable than me could tell this story better.
Would be interesting to discuss what would it take for US luxury watch industry to come back?
The US used to have a pretty robust watch industry: Ball, Elgin, Waterloo (Timex), Hamilton, Waltham, Gruen, Bulova, Wittnauer. That all got gutted by the Quartz Crisis or bought out with production sent overseas.
As for now, there are pockets - the Lititz Watch Technicum (watchmaking school financed by Rolex) in Pennsylvania is a good example, and RGM watches nearby. I think you're spot on about marketing - nobody cares about US made watches outside of vintage collectors and it would be hard to stand up a USA-Made luxury brand to compete with Rolex etc.
It has nothing to do with marketing or experience (the US has a history of storied watchmaking, preceding the Swiss, though nearly all of those American companies - such as Elgin - went out of business long ago, and definitely the American watchmaking industry took a deathblow due to the Quartz Crisis/Revolution, as did the watchmaking industries in most other countries). Hamilton and Timex are basically the only remaining watch companies with any substantial American heritage (and Hamilton is now a Swiss watchmaking concern). Waltham established a Swiss subsidiary in 1954, 3 years before it went out of business in the US, and it was this branch that continued to sell watches in the US under the Waltham name until the early 1980s.
It has more to do with the costs of trying to set up an entire watchmaking business almost from scratch within the United States while facing stiff competition from well-established brands. It's simply not worth the upfront cost. On top of this, the legal requirements to label something "American made" are actually substantially higher/stiffer than those needed to mark a watch as "Swiss made."
That said, some smaller groups have started using some US-based watch manufacturing (for instance, Islander sells some American-manufactured/built watches) - Shinola, for what it's worth, being the primary example of the past decade or so, though it's not what I would consider a luxury watch company.
Appreciate the detail
It’s pretty much the same story that happened to the French and British watch industry.
The Swiss managed to industrialise making watches and generally do it cheaper than the competition.
The Second World War is a pretty big factor in why they became dominant too. Both the allies and axis were in war production mode and it was better to just buy watches from a neutral country like Switzerland.