Wikipedia

Quartz crisis

Thequartz crisis(Swiss) orquartz revolution(America, Japan and other countries) was the advancement in thewatchmakingindustry caused by the advent ofquartz watchesin the 1970s and early 1980s, that largely replacedmechanical watchesaround the world.[1][2]It caused a significant decline of theSwiss watchmaking industry,which chose to remain focused on traditional mechanical watches, while the majority of the world's watch production shifted to Japanese companies such asSeiko,CitizenandCasiowhich embraced the new electronic technology.[3][4][5]The strategy employed by Swiss makers was to call this revolution a 'crisis' thereby downgrading the advancement from Japanese brands.

Quartzmovementof the Seiko Astron, 1969

The quartz crisis took place amid the postwar globalDigital Revolution(or "Third Industrial Revolution" ).[6][7]The crisis started with theAstron,the world's first quartz watch, which was introduced by Seiko in December 1969.[3][4][8][9]The key advances included replacing the mechanical or electromechanicalmovementwith a quartz clock movement as well as replacinganalog displayswithdigital displayssuch asLED displaysand laterliquid-crystal displays(LCDs).[3][4][9]In general, quartz timepieces are much more accurate than mechanical timepieces, in addition to having a generally lower cost and therefore sales price.[3][4][10]

History

edit

Before the crisis

edit
The first Swiss quartz clock, which was made after World War II (left), on display at theInternational Museum of HorologyinLa Chaux-de-Fonds

DuringWorld War II,Swiss neutralitypermitted the watch industry to continue making consumer time-keeping apparatus, while the major nations of the world shifted timing apparatus production to timing devices for military ordnance. As a result, the Swiss watch industry enjoyed an effective monopoly. The industry prospered in the absence of any real competition. Thus, prior to the 1970s, the Swiss watch industry had 50% of the world watch market.[11]

In the early 1950s ajoint venturebetween theElgin Watch Companyin the United States and Lip of France to produce anelectromechanical watch– one powered by a small battery rather than an unwinding spring – laid the groundwork for thequartz watch.[12]Although the Lip-Elgin enterprise produced only prototypes, in 1957 the first battery-driven watch was in production, the American-madeHamilton 500.

In 1954, Swiss engineer Max Hetzel developed an electronicwristwatchthat used an electrically chargedtuning forkpowered by a 1.35 volt battery.[13]The tuning forkresonatedat precisely 360Hzand it powered the hands of the watch through an electromechanicalgear train.This watch was called theAccutronand was marketed byBulova,starting in 1960. Although Bulova did not have the first battery-powered wristwatch, the Accutron was a powerful catalyst, as by that time the Swiss watch-manufacturing industry was a mature industry with a centuries-oldglobal marketand deeply entrenched patterns of manufacturing, marketing, and sales.

Beginning of the revolution

edit
Main article:Quartz clock

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, bothSeikoand a consortium of Switzerland's top watch firms, includingPatek Philippe,Piaget,andOmega,fiercely competed to develop the first quartz wristwatch.[4][14]In 1962, theCentre Electronique Horloger (CEH),consisting of around 20 Swiss watch manufacturers, was established inNeuchâtelto develop a Swiss-made quartz wristwatch, while simultaneously in Japan, Seiko was also working on an electric watch and developing quartz technology.[15]

One of the first successes was a portable quartz clock called theSeiko Crystal Chronometer QC-951.This portable clock was used as a backup timer for marathon events in the1964 Summer Olympicsin Tokyo.[4]In 1966, prototypes of the world's first quartzpocket watchwere unveiled by Seiko andLonginesin theNeuchâtel Observatory's 1966 competition.[16]In 1967, both the CEH and Seiko presented prototypes of quartz wristwatches to the Neuchâtel Observatory competition.[4][17]

On 25 December 1969, Seiko unveiled theAstron,the world's first quartz watch, which marked the beginning of the quartz revolution.[3][4][16][18]The first Swiss quartz analog watch – theEbauches SABeta 21 – arrived at the 1970Basel Fair.[16][19]The Beta 21 was released by numerous manufacturers including theOmega Electroquartz.On 6 May 1970, Hamilton introduced thePulsar– the world's first electronic digital watch.[20] In 1971Girard-Perregauxintroduced the Caliber 350, with an advertised accuracy within about 0.164 seconds per day, which had a quartz oscillator with a frequency of 32,768 Hz, which was faster than previous quartz watch movements and has since become the oscillation frequency used by most quartz clocks.[21][22]

The rise of quartz

edit
Seiko Grand Quartz, produced in 1978

In 1974 Omega introduced theOmega Marine Chronometer,the first quartz watch ever to be certified as a marine chronometer, accurate to 12 seconds per year using a quartz circuit that produces 2,400,000 vibrations per second. In 1976 Omega introduced theOmega Chrono-Quartz,the world's first analogue-digital chronograph, which was succeeded within 12 months by the Calibre 1620, the company's first completelyLCDchronographwristwatch.

Despite these dramatic advancements, the Swiss hesitated to embrace quartz watches. At the time, Swiss mechanical watches dominated world markets. In addition, excellence in watchmaking was a large component of Swissnational identity.From their position of market strength, and with a national watch industry organized broadly and deeply to foster mechanical watches, many in Switzerland thought that moving into electronic watches was unnecessary. Others outside Switzerland, however, saw the advantage and further developed the technology.[23]By 1978, quartz watches overtook mechanical watches in popularity, plunging the Swiss watch industry into crisis while at the same time strengthening both the Japanese and American watch industries. This period of time was marked by a lack of innovation in Switzerland at the same time that the watch-making industries of other nations were taking full advantage of emerging technologies, specifically quartz watch technology, hence the term "quartz crisis".

As a result of the economic turmoil that ensued, many once-profitable and famous Swiss watch houses became insolvent or disappeared. This period of time completely upset the Swiss watch industry both economically and psychologically. During the 1970s and early 1980s, technological upheavals, i.e. the appearance of the quartz technology, and an otherwise difficult economic situation resulted in a reduction in the size of the Swiss watch industry. Between 1970 and 1983, the number of Swiss watchmakers dropped from 1,600 to 600.[24][25]Between 1970 and 1988, Swiss watch employment fell from 90,000 to 28,000.[16]

Outside Switzerland, the crisis is often referred to as the "quartz revolution", particularly in the United States where many American companies had gone out of business or had been bought out by foreign interests by the 1960s. When the first quartz watches were introduced in 1969, the United States promptly took a technological lead in part due tomicroelectronicsresearch for military and space programs. American companies likeTexas Instruments,Fairchild Semiconductor,andNational Semiconductorstarted the mass production of digital quartz watches and made them affordable.[1]It did not remain so forever; by 1978Hong Kongexported the largest number of electronic watches worldwide, and US semiconductor companies came to pull out of the watch market entirely. With the exception ofTimexandBulova,the remaining traditional American watch companies, including Hamilton, went out of business and sold their brand names to foreign competitors; Bulova would ultimately sell to the Japanese-owned Citizen in 2008.[26]

Aftermath

edit
SwatchOnce Againwatch

The Swatch Group

edit
Main article:The Swatch Group

By 1983, the crisis reached a critical point. The Swiss watch industry, which had 1,600 watchmakers in 1970, had declined to 600.[24][25]In March 1983, the two biggest Swiss watch groups, ASUAG (Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG) and SSIH (Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère), merged to form ASUAG/SSIH in order to save the industry.[27]This organization was renamed SMH (Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie) in 1986, and thenThe Swatch Groupin 1998.[27]It would be instrumental in reviving the Swiss watch industry; today, the Swatch Group is the largest watch manufacturer in the world.[28]

TheSwatchproduct was sealed in aplasticcase, sold as adisposable commoditywith little probability of repair, and had fewer moving parts (51) than mechanical watches (about 91). Furthermore, production was essentially automated, which resulted in higher profitability.[29]The Swatch was a huge success; in less than two years, more than 2.5 million Swatches were sold.[15]Besides its own product lineSwatch,the Swatch Group also acquired other watch brands includingBlancpain,Breguet,Glashütte Original,Harry Winston,Longines,Omega,HamiltonandTissot.[30][31]

Renaissance of mechanical watches

edit

The larger global market still largely reflected other trends, however. In the USdomestic market,for example, theSwatchwas something of a 1980s fad resting largely on variety of colors and patterns, and the bulk of production still came from offshore sites such asChinaand Japan, in digitally-dominated or hybrid brands likeCasio,Timex,andArmitron.

On the other hand, the quartz revolution drove many Swiss manufacturers to seek refuge in (or be winnowed out to) the higher end of the market, such asPatek Philippe,Vacheron Constantin,Audemars Piguet,andRolex.Mechanical watches have gradually becomeluxury goodsappreciated for their elaborate craftsmanship, aesthetic appeal, and glamorous design, sometimes associated with thesocial statusof their owners, rather than simple timekeeping devices.[32][33]

The rise of smartwatches

edit

Since the 2010s,smartwatcheshave begun to significantly increase their shares in the global watch market, especially after the launch of theApple Watchin 2015.[34][35][36]There are concerns over the formation of a new type of crisis which may further threaten the Swiss watchmaking industry.[37][38][36][39]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^abSmithsonian: The quartz revolution revitalized the U.S. watch industry.ArchivedJune 15, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  2. ^"Harvard Business Review: Seiko Watch Corporation: Moving Upmarket".Archivedfrom the original on 2017-10-10.Retrieved2010-06-10.
  3. ^abcdeThompson, Joe (October 10, 2017)."Four Revolutions: Part 1: A Concise History Of The Quartz Revolution".Hodinkee.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-05-30.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  4. ^abcdefgh"The Quartz Crisis and Recovery of Swiss Watches | Relation between Timepieces and Society".The Seiko Museum.Archived fromthe originalon 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  5. ^Twinam, Tate (2022)."Trade Competition and Migration: Evidence from the Quartz Crisis".Journal of International Economics.138:103653.doi:10.1016/j.jinteco.2022.103653.ISSN0022-1996.
  6. ^Hodson, Richard (2018-11-28). "Digital revolution".Nature.563(7733): S131.Bibcode:2018Natur.563S.131H.doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07500-z.PMID30487631.
  7. ^"A Brief History of the Digital Revolution".UK Research and Innovation.Archived fromthe originalon 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-02.
  8. ^"A Tale Of Quartz | The Quartz Crisis and Revolution".Govberg Jewelers.2015-07-08.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  9. ^ab"The Quartz Crisis".Crown & Caliber Blog.2018-04-12.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  10. ^"Reasons to Own an Inexpensive Quartz Watch | Bob's Watches Rolex Blog".Bob's Watches.2018-08-02.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  11. ^David Landes, Revolution in Time: Clocks and the Making of the Modern World, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1983.
  12. ^Rene Rondeau, The Watch of the Future: The Story of the Hamilton Electric Watch, Corte Madera, California, 1992, pp. 50.
  13. ^ch 312290
  14. ^Barrett, Cara (June 24, 2015)."Collecting The First Swiss Quartz Movement: 5 Beta-21 Watches To Look For".Hodinkee.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-04-15.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  15. ^abMarkets in Time: The Rise, Fall, and Revival of Swiss WatchmakingArchivedJuly 3, 2010, at theWayback Machine
  16. ^abcd"1969: Seiko's Breakout Year".20 December 2009.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-29.Retrieved2021-03-10.
  17. ^"Fifty years of the quartz wristwatch – FHH Journal".journal.hautehorlogerie.org.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-05.
  18. ^Timepieces: masterpieces of chronometry By David ChristiansonArchived2022-12-05 at theWayback Machine,p. 144
  19. ^Frei, Armin H.,"First-Hand:The First Quartz Wrist Watch"Archived2014-03-27 at theWayback Machine,IEEEGlobal History Network, 2009.
  20. ^Engineering time: inventing the electronic wristwatchArchived2015-10-13 at theWayback Machine
  21. ^"Watch Collector on a Budget? Start With Vintage Quartz".12 January 2017.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-08-16.Retrieved2023-08-19.
  22. ^"The Restoration Of The Girard-Perregaux Caliber 350, The Most Important Quartz Watch You've Never Heard Of".Archivedfrom the original on 2023-08-16.Retrieved2023-08-19.
  23. ^Cooke, P. and Hastings, J., New Industries: Imperative for Agriculture's Survival, Regional Australia Summit, Oct 27-29, 1999 at page 8.
  24. ^abSwiss News, April, 2005 by Elizabeth Meen
  25. ^abPerman, Stacy (2013).A Grand Complication: The Race to Build the World's Most Legendary Watch.Atria Books.p.237.ISBN978-1-4391-9008-1.
  26. ^The Market for Watches and Clocks (New York, 1992), 1, 86.
  27. ^ab"History of The Swatch Group SA – FundingUniverse".www.fundinguniverse.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-09-08.Retrieved2019-03-05.
  28. ^Koltrowitz, Silke; Reid, Katie (23 February 2009)."Swatch Group still sees H2 recovery – paper".Reuters.Archivedfrom the original on 2009-04-30.Retrieved2009-03-01.
  29. ^Bold, Kathryn,"Swatchdogs on the Lookout: Promos give collectors a chance to meet the inventor and pick up some of the 'vintage' timepieces for face value",Los Angeles Times,January 03, 1992
  30. ^"Brands & Companies - Swatch Group".www.swatchgroup.com.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-05.
  31. ^Adams, Ariel."The Few Big Companies That Own Most Of The Major Luxury Watch Brands".Forbes.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-05.
  32. ^Adams, Ariel."Top Watches For Social Peacocking".Forbes.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-02.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  33. ^Gray, Kevin (2015-11-04)."Do Men Still Crave Status Watches?".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-09-11.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  34. ^Leswing, Kif."Apple sold more watches than Rolex, Swatch, and the rest of the Swiss watch industry combined".Business Insider.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-02.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  35. ^Sohail, Omar (2018-02-07)."Apple Is Now the Largest Watchmaker in the World, Surpassing the Swiss Watch Industry".Wccftech.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  36. ^ab"How the Apple Watch changed the world".TechCrunch.31 October 2018.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  37. ^Dalton, Matthew (2018-03-12)."Is Time Running Out for the Swiss Watch Industry?".Wall Street Journal.ISSN0099-9660.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  38. ^Thompson, Clive (2015-06-03)."Can the Swiss Watchmaker Survive the Digital Age?".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on 2019-03-06.Retrieved2019-03-03.
  39. ^Tung, Liam."Smartwatch sales will double in next four years".ZDNet.Archivedfrom the original on 2018-09-16.Retrieved2019-03-03.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Quartz_crisis&oldid=1252822196"