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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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052989
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05298900.009
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1990-09-22
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BUSINESS, Page 75Business NotesTIMEKEEPINGTurning Back The Clock
Once upon a time, high-quality watches ticked, had mechanical
movements (hand-wound or self-winding) and almost always came from
Switzerland. But that was before the onslaught of Japanese quartz
watches dealt a near deathblow to the Swiss industry. Now Swiss
watchmakers, who survived by converting to quartz technology, plan
to turn back the clock.
The timely move is being led by Societe Suisse de
Microelectronique et d'Horlogerie, originator of the popular quartz
Swatch Watch. The company has produced six prototypes of a
mechanical, self-winding version of the Swatch, which will probably
go on sale next year for about $40. Though quartz models
constituted 90% of Swiss-made watches last year, the mechanical
versions could account for half of all sales in 1990.
The revival has two motives. One is that the tiny batteries
needed to power quartz watches are not widely available in Third
World nations, where the Swiss want to expand exports. The other
is competition from an unlikely source: the Soviet Union. Clunky
Soviet watches -- often made with Swiss tools bought a decade ago
-- are now the rage in Europe.