The Swiss Industry is far from in danger, but they are taking a real long term gamble by essentially cutting out the mass end of the mechanical watch market to focus almost entirely on the high luxury segment. The move by ETA last year to stop selling movements means that the days of buying a new swiss made automatic watch for under $2,000 USD will be over in the next year or two as the now finite supply of ETA movements dries up. This move was made by Swatch Group to strengthen its own brands such as Breguet and Omega vis a vis other competitors who were using ETA movements yet competing with ETA brands for lucrative market share in China and other new markets. However the fallout will go way beyond this coterie of high end brands and affect small companies the most--companies who have no way of developing an in house movement. New players like Concepto have come in to take advantage of the ETA withdrawal, but their movements are significantly more expensive (they are used in Linde Werdelin watches, for example, which run around 20 grand). We will very soon see a point where particularly in the Chronograph market, you will have zero mid range options. This is exacerbated by the fact that for Automatic chronographs there is literally no Japanese option. Seiko only uses its chronograph movements in its own watches, though they license the design to other companies such as TAG Heuer, who based their new 1887 Caliber on the Seiko. Snobs might say "if you can't develop your own manufacture movement you have no business making watches" but that over simplified POV means that the watch industry will be further dominated by a few luxury conglomerates (basically 3 companies Swatch, LVMH and Richemont)and basically turn into the Auto Industry, where you have virtually no small or independent companies left, and all the design dictated by uncreative brand managers. Who wants that future for the watch world? I certainly don't.

: I believe that the watch retailers might say the same thing:
: Watches in the range above $10,000 are selling well . . . the
: trouble is in the $1,000 to $4,000 range.

: So the "one percent" of the population continues to buy
: the top 1/10 of one percent of the watches. I suppose that makes
: good sense!!

: Jeff

: ++++++++++++++++++++

: