What does „Swiss made“ stand for?
Switzerland protects watches with the “Swiss made” label:
The high technical quality and aesthetically appealing need to be safeguarded. “Swiss made” is more than a simple label of origin. It is a sign to customers that they are buying a product of outstanding quality and reliability.
With the help of legislation, international treaties and multilateral agreements drawn up by the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the World Trade Organisation, Switzerland has the necessary legal instruments to protect “Swiss made” watches and clocks from piracy and counterfeiting.
Swiss quality - “Swiss made”
To obtain the “Swiss made” label a watch must meet certain conditions. Although some foreign-made components may be used, they may not account for more than 50% of the total value of the components and the watches must also be both assembled and inspected in Switzerland.
Is there such a thing as a foreign-made Swiss watch? A watch that has been manufactured abroad but contains Swiss components may carry a mark to this effect. However, any exaggeration of the degree of Swiss involvement is strictly prohibited. The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry sees to it that watches which are put on sale do not flout this rule.
Properties of ceramic
Mechanical properties
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High wear resistance
- Structural strength
- Hardness
- Deformation resistance
Chemical / biological properties
- Corrosion resistance
- Catalytic properties
- Biochemical properties
- Food compatibility
Our ceramic watches:
Dolomiti chronograph
Piazza Navona black
Piazza Navona white
What is sapphire glass?
Sapphire glass has a value of 9 on the Mohs scale and is the second hardest transparent natural substance next to diamonds. This material is considerably more scratch-proof than hardened mineral glass and gets used in optical, technical and medical components, watch glass or occasionally as an optical window or cover.
Sapphire glass is produced from high-purity alumina. The purer the alumina, the harder the sapphire glass. Actually, the term „glass“ is not correct, as this, in contrast to glass, disposes of a crystalline structure and not of an amorphous (glass-like) molecular structure, such as soda-lime glass.
What is mineral glass?
The chemical description of mineral glass is silicon oxide SiO2. Adding other oxides (alumina or boric oxide) this simple “window glass” can be refined. “Hardlex” (Seiko) is an example for a trade mark for refined mineral glass. Mineral glass is significantly harder than acrylic glass, they are nonosmotic and not yellowing.
However, even mineral glass can be damaged if somebody scratches it unintentionally against a stone wall. Mineral glasses cannot be polished easily, a replacement glass will be by far the most economical option. Unfortunately mineral glass can break and in a worst-case-scenario small glass splinters could eventually damage the movement.
Good mineral glass is not simple “window glass”. Good quality mineral glass gets hardened in a laborious chemical procedure. Monitoring the ion exchange precisely during the fabrication of mineral glass, the surface tension is improved and makes it more impact-resistant and projectile effects of any rupture can be reduced.
Source: wikipedia