Watch
Trivia
Is
is estimated that there are more than 200 Swiss watch brands.
It
is estimated that there are more than 500 Swiss companies involved
in the Swiss watchmaking industry.
There
are more than 40,000 people working in the Swiss watch industry.
60,000
watches were exported from Geneva in 1790.
24.3
million watches were exported from Switzerland in 2005.
The
total number of watches made worldwide is 1.2 billion.
There
are an average of 150 parts in a simple mechanical watch.
There
are 659 parts in the IWC
Grande Complication, featuring 20 different functions covered
by 12 patents.
The
Tourneau Time Dome in Las Vegas, Nevada is the largest watch store
in the world at 17,000 square feet.
The
total value of Swiss watch exports in 2005 was more than $10 billion.
About
800,000 watches are produced annually by Rolex.
The
most expensive watch ever sold, auctioned by Sotheby's New York
in 1999, was a 1933 gold Patek
Philippe with 24 complications which sold for $11 million.
The
estimated value of a one of a kind diamond watch by Vacheron
Constantin was $9 million. Rumored to belong to an Arab
sheik, the Kallista (Greek for "most magnificent") is
made of 118 flawless emerald-cut diamonds. The 2.2 pound timepiece
is kept in a vault at the watch brand headquarters for safekeeping.
The
Vacheron
Constantin Tour de I'lle, with 16 complications,
is one of the most complicated watches ever made.
It
is estimated that more than 40 million counterfeit Swiss watches
are sold every year (representing over $650 million).
