What defines a "manufacture"? / Spring Q&A - Answering your watch questions

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2020.06.14

MB&F Parmigiani Fleurier Richard Mille

Q: What defines a "manufacture"?

A: The Japanese version of Kronos has a design department, and the minimum requirement is that the manufacturer be able to manufacture parts such as base plates and bridges in-house.

Manufacture is a word often used by people in the watch industry. Its original meaning is a French word for a factory or (handicraft) manufacturing facility. However, in the Swiss watch industry, it refers to a factory that can produce a nearly complete watch. In other words, it has come to refer to a manufacturer that can produce movements in-house. The opposite is an établisseur, which assembles purchased parts.

The term "manufacture" is now widely used, but even in Switzerland there is no clear definition. The loosest definition is a manufacturer that does not use ébauche movements, such as ETA or Sellita. In fact, many manufacturers that call themselves "manufacture" actually use modified ébauches.

Parmigiani Fleurier is what is referred to as a "strict manufacture" in the text. The company procures each part necessary for watchmaking from the following five companies, all of which are affiliated with the Sandoz Family Foundation. These five companies, together with the Parmigiani Fleurier headquarters, are called the "Parmigiani Watchmaking Center."
・"Erwin" makes screws for movements
- Atokalpa, which manufactures escapement regulators, including balance springs
- Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier, which designs and assembles the movement
・Cases made by Les Artisans Boitiers (LAB)
・Dial production "Cadrans et Abiage"

More strictly, a manufacturer that can produce parts in-house can be called a manufacture. A manufacturer that can produce not only large parts such as base plates and bridges, but also small parts such as gears and pinions can be considered a manufacture. In fact, the Japanese version of Kronos states that the minimum requirement for a manufacture is that the manufacturer has an in-house (or group) design department and can produce parts such as base plates and bridges in-house. The best manufactures are said to be those that can develop the materials themselves. However, manufacturers that can control the materials are limited to large manufacturers with sufficient capital.

Being a manufacturer is not as important as it used to be

Incidentally, movements produced by a manufacture are generally called in-house movements. However, there has also been an increase in excellent movements whose design and production have been outsourced. In particular, many small manufacturers without economies of scale now use movements that are not manufacture (in-house integrated production). Good examples are MB&F and Richard Mille. If you consider that excellent movements can be obtained without being a manufacture, it could be said that being a manufacture is no longer as important as it once was.

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