Rather than having their industry and process be formed by geography and meteorology, German watch makers were influenced by a political geography and ideology. Much like the Swiss had nearly a century before, these watch makers began to produce all of their springs, jewels, and other essential items themselves. When the Soviets cordoned off East Germany and socialized all the watch companies, it forced what was left of the industry to become self-sufficient. German brands got to a similar point through a much different route. Eventually, big players moved the experts from these areas and put them under one roof – refining the process further. And given that each valley was separate, pockets of expertise around very specific parts of a watch began to emerge. When the fields were too cold to farm in the winter, peasants in the valleys would keep themselves busy putting together watch components.

Switzerland is a country of high peaks, low valleys, and cold winters. This type of production – smaller shops producing specific components or functions necessary for a watch, and then shipping them to a central factory to be assembled – was in part a response to the country’s geographic and meteorologic quirks. The country became so well known as watch makers because, over the course of a century or two, they developed a style of production called ‘etablissage’. More than we’d like to admit, the context in which something is made plays an essential role in how it comes together.

Alpina watch company history