


Requirements for a movement to be COSC certified It’s simply proof that the movements have an accuracy that is rather impressive for a mechanical movement.ĬOSC certifies more than one million watches a year, but this is still only a small part of all Swiss watches (about 6%) Of all mechanical Swiss watches that are exported, 21% are COSC certified. In Rolex’s case, the text ”Superlative Chronometer Officially certified” it’s referring to this COSC certification. But fine watches made in other countries often have their own qualification test with similar strict tests to prove for their accuracy and reliability.īecause the COSC certification has such prestige and reputation in the watch industry, many watch brands choose to include a line of text about it in the dial. This means that watches made, for example in Japan, cannot be COSC certified. These requirements are in place because COSC operates as a non-profit, in place to strengthen the prestige and reputation of the Swiss watchmaking industry. The requirements also say that the value of 50% of the components are Swiss made. In order to be able to call a watch ”Swiss Made”, there are strict rules that say that the movement has been cased in Switzerland, final tests are run there, and at least 60% of the production costs are generated in Switzerland. The certification today is proof of a highly accurate movement that has passed a number of stringent tests that the institute performs.Ĭontrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres has existed in its current form since 1973, but movements have been tested for accuracy since the 1800s in Switzerland.įurthermore, only Swiss-made watches can be submitted for this certification. Many watch brands include the chronometer certificate in the set when you buy a watch, for example, Breitling, but the certificate has of course been designed by the brand themselves to follow the design of the brand, but it will still include all the COSC certification numbers and details. If a watch passes the tests of COSC, it will receive an official certificate. Or, in English, the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute.ĬOSC is a neutral and impartial Swiss non-profit organization of which a large number of manufacturers send their watches in order to have them certified. You have probably come across the term ”COSC” and ”COSC certification” more than once if you have been browsing for watches.īut what does this mean and how important is it? This is exactly what you will learn in this complete guide to COSC.ĬOSC is simply an acronym that stands for Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres. What are COSC certified watches? What does it mean?
