# Glycine made is Switzerland?



## rosborn (Oct 30, 2011)

Okay, my watch says Swiss Made along the bottom of the dial. The movement is a Swiss ETA 2824-2 which, I assume, is made in Switzerland. But what about the rest of the watch? Is the entire watch made in Switzerland? I ask only because about a year ago I made the decision not to purchase anymore Asian made watches, especially Chinese, and I'd like to think I'm holding true to that decision.

Thanks for the info.


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## por44 (Dec 21, 2007)

Swiss made has minimum requirements. Check out "Swiss Made" on Wikipedia for the details.


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## Sodiac (Dec 6, 2008)

Like any complex product of any type, the parts, fasteners, sub-assemblies are usually provided by suppliers, and those can come from anywhere in the world. For example, I'm sure Glycine doesn't make its own screws, lume and certainly not movements. They buy those from suppliers, who buy parts from suppliers, who buy parts from suppliers...making it very difficult to trace the supply chain and know for sure.

That being said, I feel confident Glycine watches are about as "Swiss Made" as you're likely to find.


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## rosborn (Oct 30, 2011)

Sodiac said:


> Like any complex product of any type, the parts, fasteners, sub-assemblies are usually provided by suppliers, and those can come from anywhere in the world. For example, I'm sure Glycine doesn't make its own screws, lume and certainly not movements. They buy those from suppliers, who buy parts from suppliers, who buy parts from suppliers...making it very difficult to trace the supply chain and know for sure.
> 
> That being said, I feel confident Glycine watches are about as "Swiss Made" as you're likely to find.


Gotcha. I wasn't so much concerned about the screws and such but more interested in the case, dial, etc. I do understand about Swiss laws and what exactly constitutes "Swiss Made" but am hopeful that, in the case of Glycine, it means more than just being assembled in Switzerland.


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## Sodiac (Dec 6, 2008)

rosborn said:


> Gotcha. I wasn't so much concerned about the screws and such but more interested in the case, dial, etc. I do understand about Swiss laws and what exactly constitutes "Swiss Made" but am hopeful that, in the case of Glycine, it means more than just being assembled in Switzerland.


Actually, with Glycine, I'd guess it is more or less "assembled in Switzerland". Besides their movements (I wonder what they're going to do now that the ETA pipeline is going dry?), I'm guessing they buy their hands, faces, crowns and straps from suppliers? Possibly even cases...


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## mukhopadhyayarka01 (Aug 9, 2019)

old thread..but was thinking about a Glycine






--beautiful watch!! what do you guys think?


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## ccwatchmaker (Nov 28, 2015)

According to a trade journal a few years ago, all Swiss watches under about $2500 retail are in Chinese cases and with Chinese bracelets. This true for some individual brands in the higher price ranges as well. In addition to China, India also supplies watch components to the Swiss industry. The determination as to whether a watch contains sufficient Swiss content to be labeled "Swiss Made" is dependent upon the valuation of the content. Considering labor costs in China and India compared to those in Switzerland, the manufacturers can put a substantial portion of Asian components in a watch without the valuation of such components exceeding the limit set in order to qualify for the Swiss Made label. One supposes that every part except the movement could be Asian and still qualify as Swiss Made.

The hard truth is that if one wishes to have a truly Swiss watch, one should buy vintage.

James Sadilek -- ccwatchmaker


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## Thunder1 (Feb 8, 2008)

mukhopadhyayarka01 said:


> old thread..but was thinking about a Glycine
> View attachment 14630781
> --beautiful watch!! what do you guys think?


Several folks(myself included) own this one and think very highly of it..


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## Quantumleap (Nov 11, 2011)

I’ve discussed this subject, I.e., watches without Chinese parts, with another on this forum. If he wishes to out himself he can do so, but I can’t mention his name, out of respect. We know only three things: Rolex, Tudor in-house, and Grand Seiko have no Chinese parts. As early as the early 90s, omega was known to be using Chinese parts. If Omega was, guess how many others were? I would bet the vast majority use Chinese parts, whether they know about it or not. 

If any brand came out with no Chinese parts at a somewhat reasonable price (sub-1000 USD), dollars to donuts they’d have a huge clientele. The three brands above are on the expensive side.


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## brandon\ (Aug 23, 2010)

ccwatchmaker said:


> The hard truth is that if one wishes to have a truly Swiss watch, one should buy vintage.


Or pay accordingly. You mentioned a $2,500 threshold. I don't know s**t from shinola here, but I'd wager $2,500 is still too low. I'd maybe triple or quad that number. Rolex is probably the least expensive way to ensure 100% Swiss made, aside from maybe some oddities and outliers. But again, I'm shooting from the hip here. I'm just skeptical and don't care where a watch is made as long as I'm not being fed a line crap or fleeced and the watch is inline with its price.


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## cuthbert (Dec 6, 2009)

Glycine was always a small company, they never made movements, cases, dials etc...but just assembled there. In 1953 all their suppliers were Swiss, today not anymore.

Again, the idea that a Swiss watch must be made of 100% components made in Switzerland is plain silly today, unless you spend something in the five digits range.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

At least the movements are Swiss?


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## Hotblack Desiato (Mar 7, 2018)

Quantumleap said:


> ... We know only three things: Rolex, Tudor in-house, and Grand Seiko have no Chinese parts...


How do we know this for sure? I'm not sure any of those companies aren't using some China-made parts.

Doc Savage


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## ccwatchmaker (Nov 28, 2015)

Quantumleap said:


> I've discussed this subject, I.e., watches without Chinese parts, with another on this forum. If he wishes to out himself he can do so, but I can't mention his name, out of respect. We know only three things: Rolex, Tudor in-house, and Grand Seiko have no Chinese parts. As early as the early 90s, omega was known to be using Chinese parts. If Omega was, guess how many others were? I would bet the vast majority use Chinese parts, whether they know about it or not.
> 
> If any brand came out with no Chinese parts at a somewhat reasonable price (sub-1000 USD), dollars to donuts they'd have a huge clientele. The three brands above are on the expensive side.


Watches without Chinese parts may not be the ideal. Watches without *Asian* parts may be a better definition, since we know that other parts of Asia also supply parts to the Swiss industry. I believe there is assembly labor outsourced by the Swiss industry as well to various Asian countries.

Simply because an article is made in China does not indicate that it is of poor quality. The Chinese manufacturers are as capable as anyone else in the world of making quality goods. Granted, they make a great deal of trash, but that only because the world will buy cheaply made goods. My carbon fiber framed bicycle is clearly made in China, as are almost every brand of carbon fiber framed bicycles, yet, if the bicycle is sold from a bicycle shop in the U.S. (and one supposes the rest of the world) it has a decal on the frame stating "Made in Italy". This is a very high quality bicycle, a brand ridden by the world's best professional bicycle racers. The point is that the Chinese, through experience and having skilled labor, are very well qualified to make carbon fiber bicycle frames.

While a moderately priced, truly Swiss made watch might appeal to a certain group of aficionados, it is my belief that the watch buying public is swayed by slick advertising not truth in marketing. It is a Swiss watch, it is wonderful, who will tell them the content is mostly Asian? Certainly not the Swiss industry, and not likely the general news media either since they are recipients of the money for the slick advertising. It is my opinion that the public doesn't know and doesn't care to know about who actually makes their Swiss watches. It is all about conspicuous consumption.

Omega? In terms of sales revenue, Omega is second only to Rolex. My opinion is that Omega is an ETA with perlage. You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig. Vintage Omegas are wonderful watches, and for years the brand was more desirable than Rolex. However, under the SWATCH Group ownership, the quality has declined. They are still trading on the reputation built by Omega pre-SWATCH. Perhaps at a point in the distant future, the consumers will figure it out.

James Sadilek -- ccwatchmaker


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## ccwatchmaker (Nov 28, 2015)

brandon\ said:


> Or pay accordingly. You mentioned a $2,500 threshold. I don't know s**t from shinola here, but I'd wager $2,500 is still too low. I'd maybe triple or quad that number. Rolex is probably the least expensive way to ensure 100% Swiss made, aside from maybe some oddities and outliers. But again, I'm shooting from the hip here. I'm just skeptical and don't care where a watch is made as long as I'm not being fed a line crap or fleeced and the watch is inline with its price.


No argument from me. In my post, which you quoted partially, I also wrote this, "This true for some individual brands in the higher price ranges as well." There are well known brands in the $10K to $12K range using Chinese made cases. The true talent of the Swiss industry is their marketing skill.

James Sadilek -- ccwatchmaker


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## yankeexpress (Apr 7, 2013)

mukhopadhyayarka01 said:


> old thread..but was thinking about a Glycine
> View attachment 14630781
> --beautiful watch!! what do you guys think?


I think you should get one. I did, and when prices dropped below $400 it became nearly irresistible. So thin.


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## rosborn (Oct 30, 2011)

Interesting...replies to something I wrote 5 uears ago. I haven’t been active on Watchuseek for almost a year.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## brandon\ (Aug 23, 2010)

rosborn said:


> Interesting...replies to something I wrote 5 uears ago. I haven't been active on Watchuseek for almost a year.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


We're a bunch necrophiliacs.


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## Cabkadosh (Nov 27, 2021)

rosborn said:


> Okay, my watch says Swiss Made along the bottom of the dial. The movement is a Swiss ETA 2824-2 which, I assume, is made in Switzerland. But what about the rest of the watch? Is the entire watch made in Switzerland? I ask only because about a year ago I made the decision not to purchase anymore Asian made watches, especially Chinese, and I'd like to think I'm holding true to that decision.
> 
> Thanks for the info.


Good decisión. In fact, we should not buy anything out of China.


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## Watchman Dan (Jun 29, 2014)

Glycines can be had for under $300 at Costco. Cheaper than most Tissots! They are owned and distributed (in the US) by Invicta. So, there is no way anything other than the movements are actually from Switzerland! Design and final Assembly not withstanding. That being said, they are every bit as good as the watches from any under $1,000 Swiss brand, and an unbelievable value. I'd say their authentic styling is at the top of this price range, and that the brand has much more credibility than most under $1,000. I have to give props to Lalo from Invicta. He has done a great job in respecting Glycine's heritage and in keeping them as a separate brand. I really doubt they are making any profit on them...


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## Cabkadosh (Nov 27, 2021)

Great comment. Thank you. I own two, the Combat and Incursor. Anyone knows where I can get a crystal replacement for the incursor?


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## hedd (May 21, 2018)

I don't think country of origin really has much meaning in our world. It's not like there are old swiss tinkers with monacles crafting the movements. I guarantee 100% of the labor in a swiss factory comes from across the border. It would be cheaper to fly in chinese laborers that actually know how to assemble watch movements than to hire and train swiss factory workers. Chinese factories have better metalurgy and tolerances for high volume production. 

I love my $300 glycines in part because the movement is so easy to get replaced or repaired. I think $300-500 is the price that makes sense for such a watch. It is crazy to me that IWC wants 20x as much for the same movement and a case that is probably from the same factory.


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## Cabkadosh (Nov 27, 2021)

I agree.


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## rschmidt97 (Aug 10, 2018)

I purchased this watch a month ago, brand new, for less than $400.00. It has great finishing, a Sellita inside, a domed sapphire crystal, display case-back, signed crown, and Swiss Made on the dial. That wouldn't be possible without extensive parts sourcing from Asia.
What amazes me is that micro brands can sell similar watches with SEIKO or Miyota movements, often times not even doing their own assembly for as much or twice the price of this Glycine or a Combat Sub, etc... The only differnece I see between Swiss brands like Glycine and micro brands is that the micro brands don't hide the fact that their watches are sourced from Asia. Then again, they don't put Swiss Made on their dials, so they don't have to.


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## hedd (May 21, 2018)

rschmidt97 said:


> I purchased this watch a month ago, brand new, for less than $400.00. It has great finishing, a Sellita inside, a domed sapphire crystal, display case-back, signed crown, and Swiss Made on the dial. That wouldn't be possible without extensive parts sourcing from Asia.
> What amazes me is that micro brands can sell similar watches with SEIKO or Miyota movements, often times not even doing their own assembly for as much or twice the price of this Glycine or a Combat Sub, etc... The only differnece I see between Swiss brands like Glycine and micro brands is that the micro brands don't hide the fact that their watches are sourced from Asia. Then again, they don't put Swiss Made on their dials, so they don't have to.
> 
> View attachment 16285934


I would really love a silver Bienne, but don't have watch money right now. Nice one.


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## fijizzle (Nov 27, 2021)

mukhopadhyayarka01 said:


> old thread..but was thinking about a Glycine
> View attachment 14630781
> --beautiful watch!! what do you guys think?


Love it! Received a similar one last night!


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## JohnWatcher123 (10 mo ago)

Dan Finch said:


> Glycines can be had for under $300 at Costco. Cheaper than most Tissots! They are owned and distributed (in the US) by Invicta. So, there is no way anything other than the movements are actually from Switzerland! Design and final Assembly not withstanding. That being said, they are every bit as good as the watches from any under $1,000 Swiss brand, and an unbelievable value. I'd say their authentic styling is at the top of this price range, and that the brand has much more credibility than most under $1,000. I have to give props to Lalo from Invicta. He has done a great job in respecting Glycine's heritage and in keeping them as a separate brand. I really doubt they are making any profit on them...


The new Combat Sub 36 is superb. $369 on sale. SW200-1. ~+7 spd out of the box. Bracelet didn't work for me so put it on a rubber strap and it has become my favorite watch.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

JohnWatcher123 said:


> The new Combat Sub 36 is superb. $369 on sale. SW200-1. ~+7 spd out of the box. Bracelet didn't work for me so put it on a rubber strap and it has become my favorite watch.


Not bad for the price.

The accuracy might get better after a couple of weeks on your wrist.


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## SlCKB0Y (Feb 6, 2013)

rschmidt97 said:


> What amazes me is that micro brands can sell similar watches with SEIKO or Miyota movements, often times not even doing their own assembly for as much or twice the price of this Glycine or a Combat Sub


Economies of scale


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## usc1 (Jun 25, 2007)

At the prices glycine sells for there is no way there aren’t Chinese parts is my guess. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JohnWatcher123 (10 mo ago)

usc1 said:


> At the prices glycine sells for there is no way there aren’t Chinese parts is my guess.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Agree. However the quality is excellent. Combat Sub 36 is really amazing for $379!!! It's become my favorite watch.


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## ccwatchmaker (Nov 28, 2015)

Read message number seven in this thread. You would be hard-pressed to find any watch marked Swiss Made that didn't have substantial Asian content until you get into the stratospheric price range.


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## Fahoo Forays (Feb 12, 2021)

ccwatchmaker said:


> Read message number seven in this thread. You would be hard-pressed to find any watch marked Swiss Made that didn't have substantial Asian content until you get into the stratospheric price range.


I sometimes wonder if this isn't known by the OP most of the time these threads are started


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## SlCKB0Y (Feb 6, 2013)

ccwatchmaker said:


> Read message number seven in this thread. You would be hard-pressed to find any watch marked Swiss Made that didn't have substantial Asian content until you get into the stratospheric price range.


Correct me if I’m wrong but Rolex does not have a substantial amount of Asian components (if any) and they certainly aren’t in the stratospheric price range.


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## lvt (Sep 15, 2009)

SlCKB0Y said:


> Correct me if I’m wrong but Rolex does not have a substantial amount of Asian components (if any) and they certainly aren’t in the stratospheric price range.


Do you mean that Rolex has built their own 904 alloy foundry?


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## [BOBO] (May 12, 2020)

lvt said:


> Do you mean that Rolex has built their own 904 alloy foundry?


According to Rolex, they did, yes.

Why is that strange?









Inside The Manufacture: Going Where Few Have Gone Before – Inside All Four Rolex Manufacturing Facilities


For the first time, we go inside all of Rolex's factories in Switzerland, and what we found amazed us.




www.hodinkee.com


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## ccwatchmaker (Nov 28, 2015)

Stratospheric, admittedly, is subjective. At the low end, the price of a new Rolex is at least ten times what a Glycine costs.


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