FrançaisSince its creation in 1973, the Swiss Official Chronometer Control System (COSC) has been tasked with controlling the accuracy of watch movements and awarding the winners the official “chronometer” title. This honor is one of the most prestigious Swiss labels and certifications: this is why, every year, nearly 1.8 million pieces are submitted to the demanding gaze of the COSC laboratories.
The COSC Foundation
At the origin of the COSC, there are several control offices created in different cantons Swiss watchers from the end of the nineteenth century, independent of each other and fiercely competitors. In order to guarantee a uniformity of observation and control conditions, as well as uniform tariffs, proceedings were launched in the early 1970s (in particular by the voice of State Councilor René Meylan of Neuchâtel) in favor of the foundation. an organization to structure the operations of these offices.
Thus the year 1973 saw the creation of the Swiss Official Chronometer Control System, the COSC, under the supervision of the watchmaking cantons of Berne, Geneva, Neuchâtel, Solothurn and Vaud – and the Federation of the Swiss watch industry. Established in La Chaux-de-Fonds, common to the rich watchmaking history, the COSC keeps only three laboratories among those who fought so fiercely: those of Bienne, Le Locle and Saint-Imier. Quickly, the objective explained by Pierre-André Bugnon, the first president of the COSC (put an end to the cacophony that reigned between the different Control Offices), is reached.
The COSC, a guarantor of the Swiss watchmaking tradition
The aim of the COSC is to measure the accuracy of any movement submitted by manufacturers to obtain the prestigious “chronometer” certificate. The laboratories performing the tests are under the responsibility of the COSC management and must strictly follow the instructions issued by the COSC.
A guarantee of quality and crowning exceptional know-how in the manufacture of watchmaking mechanisms, the official “chronometer” title guarantees absolute precision of time measuring instruments. In this sense, the COSC contributes to perpetuating a long-standing watchmaking tradition in Switzerland.
Today, the COSC works to control about 1.8 million movements and watches per year (this number was only 200,000 in 1976). Any manufacturer may submit his time instrument to the measurement criteria of the association’s laboratories – whether mechanical or quartz movements. But in all, only about 6% of the watches exported from Switzerland benefit from “chronometer” certification.
But that’s not all: in addition to establishing the criteria for checking accuracy, coordinating laboratories and ensuring the proper functioning of measuring and recording equipment, the COSC also undertakes communication actions around of the concept of “stopwatch”.
Strict and rigorous control criteria
To obtain the “chronometer” certification, a watch movement must meet seven precision criteria. These criteria are established by the ISO 3159 standard, itself part of the definition of “chronometer-bracelet” (a precision time instrument for measuring long times). Each movement is controlled by criteria tailored to its specificities – so quartz watches and mechanical pocket watches meet different requirements.
Parts subject to control by COSC laboratories are examined for a period of 14 to 20 days, depending on the nature of the instruments tested. The series of tests that the movements must pass is static and applied to unmounted instruments (on unfinished watches). Achieve only the best products: those that are made of quality components and have benefited from the best know-how throughout the assembly phase. For more information, see the official COSC website.
At the end of the process, the COSC issues an “official chronometer certificate”. In addition, each stopwatch has a number engraved with the movement, which makes it unique. The result is a high value-added certification that distinguishes a movement from the mass of global production.