Every journey is a long and winding road

We sometimes forget that mechanical watchmaking wasn’t always dominated by Swiss brands. If we turn back the clock, the origins of horology are far more international. France and England were once the driving force in horological innovation: yet both had already lost their edge by the time the third power rolled into town. During the 19th century in the United States, laborious handmade artistry was industrialised for mass production. Watches became more accurate, dependable and affordable.

The tumultuous events of WWII and explosion of consumer electronics in the 1970’s sent shockwaves that upended watchmaking globally.

The Swiss industry was only able to survive with huge state support and the forced amalgamation of brands and factories. Without this rescue operation, mechanical watch manufacturing in almost every other country ceased to exist. 

Yet aspiring watchmakers all around the world dream of re-kindling the fire closer to home. How can they shape the future without being trapped in a soft-focus nostalgia loop of the past?

For some years, the HORAGE team have been thinking the unthinkable. Could we also produce elsewhere? Why should watchmaking expertise and capacity be sandboxed in Switzerland? Whilst our HQ is in Biel-Bienne, Switzerland, our team is international. This gives us greater freedom to ask tough questions.

There is only one rational choice when considering where the production gap is: the USA. Here we find the combination of resources, infrastructure, scale and attitude. Is the glass half full or half empty?

The willingness to think big and not fear failure can be found everywhere in the world, but in USA it is the norm not the exception. Industrial watchmaking was pioneered in the USA and emulated by European watch makers. Wars, stock market crashes and cheap, digital watches almost killed it off. Yet we know the USA as a powerhouse of innovation and industrial capability.

Can we apply the skills that brought us NASA and Silicon Valley to mechanical watchmaking?

But how to turn a dream into reality? A proverb says you should learn to walk before attempting to run. Wise words. The road to USA will be a long and arduous journey. We cannot know where and when we will take wrong turns, or whether there will be flat tyres and breakdowns. But that won’t stop us from embarking on this great adventure.

The first tangible results are already in our hands: a special edition DecaFlux timepiece featuring a white dial and a specially decorated “Road to USA” automatic winding rotor.

We are excited about what comes next! Step-by-step we hope to encourage and support a horological re-birth in the USA: the Road to USA starts here.