nown the world over for its multifunctional pocket knives, Victorinox is, like Caran d’Ache and Ovomaltine, an ambassador for the Alpine nation’s manufacturing expertise.

Alongside its knives and travel gear, since 1989 the company has been making watches, and so we went not to its historic headquarters in Ibach, in central Switzerland, but to Delémont, in the Jura, where Victorinox operates its Watch Competence Center.

Whether suitcases, cutlery or chronographs, Victorinox engineers its products to last — which for its watches means a 5-Year Warranty as standard (with guarantees beyond this period).

Ariana Frésard is head of the Watches Category at Victorinox.

Consequently, we spent a large part of our visit observing the gruelling test regimen which guarantees the durability and reliability of the different Victorinox models (though none on the scale of one particularly memorable advert in which a bulldozer drives over an I.N.O.X. watch!).

Testing, testing…

The battery of tests that we saw during our visit to the Center include the air pressure test which verifies water-resistance by simulating immersion of each watch head to a 100-metre depth; the water pressure test for models built to withstand a depth of 200 metres; the resistance test that subjects straps to a traction force of 200 Newtons; the shock-resistance test that uses a 6kg hammer (twice the industry standard of 3kg) and moisture testing during which watches are left for 12 hours at 40°C and 93% humidity, followed by an additional 12 hours in tropical conditions of 70°C and 93% humidity. This cycle is repeated for a total of 48 hours.

“Testing is an integral part of the brand’s ethos,” says Arianna Frésard, who is head of the Watches Category at Victorinox. “This goes back to Victorinox’s origins as a knife manufacturer. We think of every possible situation a product might encounter in daily use.”

An aerial view of the Watch Competence Center in Delémont.

Victorinox (“inox” is another word for stainless steel, anchoring the brand’s core competency in its very name) saw daylight in 1884, when Karl Elsener opened a knifemaking workshop in Ilbach, a mountain village in the canton of Schwyz. In 1891 he delivered his first batch of soldiers’ knives to the Swiss army then, six years later, patented the “original Swiss officer’s and sports knife” — now known throughout the world as the Swiss Army Knife^TM. In doing so, he laid the foundations for a thriving, world-class business. Present in more than 120 countries, Victorinox is still family-owned, managed by the fourth generation of Elseners.

The Watch Competence Center

Having acquired its main competitor Wenger (including its watch division) in 2005, Victorinox set about integrating its watch production. After the I.N.O.X., first to benefit from this verticalization when it launched in 2014, in-house capabilities were gradually extended to other components in stainless steel then titanium.

An investment of more than CHF 30 million in 2016 gave an unprecedented dimension to the Watch Competence Center in Delémont, where the entire watch division is gathered under the one roof of a 10,850-square-metre building, whose 2,750 square metres of solar panels generate 500,000 kWh of electricity a year. Case bands, case backs, casing rings and bezels are not just assembled but manufactured on-site.

In stainless steel, the Swiss Army collection covers Quartz, Chrono and Automatic models in a 42mm size. Shock-resistance and water-resistance to 100 metres are ISO-certified. 5-Year Warranty +.

Arianna Frésard is quick to point out that “our production far exceeds the criteria for Swiss-Made.” Each of the group’s two brands occupies a distinct segment, with Wegner positioned between CHF 100 and CHF 300, and Victorinox, which uses Ronda quartz movements and Sellita automatic calibres, at a higher price point, starting in the region of CHF 500.

“As fast as flicking the blade of a knife”

In 2023 Victorinox embarked on a complete overhaul of its watch collections, introducing more streamlined designs, reducing diameters and building on the results of in-depth research into ergonomics to optimize wearability, including for the more “muscular” models. The I.N.O.X. remains the core range and the baseline for all the collections, whether quartz or automatic.

Swapping out the interchangeable straps, in steel, rubber, textile or paracord, has to be as fast as flicking the blade of a knife.

“Symbols, colours, functions, everything must have a purpose,” says Frésard. “We must offer high added value and innovation without overshooting our price range.”

Examples of this ethos are the brand’s intention to introduce longer power reserves on Sellita movements, while preparing next year’s launch of its first solar-powered model.

Sustainability is a genuine priority, such as straps in recycled PET which the brand sources locally and within Europe, and the incorporation of between 70% and 90% recycled 316L stainless steel into cases, bezels, case backs and crowns. As Arianne Frésard notes, “Given our profile, innovating with materials that still have to be extremely durable and resistant is one of our biggest challenges.”

The brand recently released new Automatic and Small versions of its I.N.O.X. The Alox dial pattern riffs on the characteristic casing of the brand’s pocket knives.

Since 2023, the brand has ramped up its presence in Europe, in particular France, and in Latin America which, alongside the Middle East, make up its top three markets. There are plans to grow sales in the US, India and Japan, although this will take longer. Unlike the market for knives, where it dominates, Victorinox (and more so Wenger) faces hundreds of other brands in a particularly competitive segment of the watch market, with new players appearing on an almost daily basis. Not forgetting that the Swiss watch ecosystem is increasingly geared towards the high end.

Outside of Swatch Group, Victorinox is one of the few major brands offering Swiss-Made for less than CHF 1,000. A lot of its business, across all its product categories, is in travel retail, where it has had to deal with changes brought on by the Covid pandemic.

The Dive Pro with screw-down crown is ISO 6425-certified and guaranteed water-resistant to 300 metres. Available with a Ronda 715 quartz movement or a Sellita SW 220-1 automatic movement. Case in stainless steel or titanium, manufactured at the Watch Competence Center in Delémont. Interchangeable strap.

“We put quality before volume,” Arianne Frésard continues. “We apply stringent quality standards and it would be hard to maintain these if we were making 500,000 watches a year. We’re looking to deliver something different; a more exclusive proposition that taps into the fantastic legacy of the Swiss Army Knife.”

The Journey 1884 takes inspiration from mountain hiking. The shape of the hands is modelled on Swiss trail signs while the dial centre suggests the texture of hiking paths. The counterweight on the seconds hand mimics the shape of Victorinox’s Swiss Army Knife.

The brand makes 20% of its sales through Victorinox stores worldwide (a share that is increasing) and the remainder through partners. “There are always ups and downs in distribution. I’ve been in watches for the past 25 years and it’s never been plain sailing. You just have to keep moving forwards and never take anything for granted. Our expertise in knifemaking remains fundamental. It’s our best calling card. We’re a knifemaker that also makes watches. In fact you can see the shape of the knife in many of our watches’ details.”

The group also makes Wenger watches in the CHF 100-300 range. Shown here, the recent Terragraph Chrono.

At Victorinox, as at many other brands, the long-term trend is to favour automatic over quartz (Wenger is quartz-only). Starting next spring, certain Victorinox watches will be equipped with La Joux-Perret’s G100 automatic calibre. Meanwhile, the brand is running a battery of tests that should ultimately see the introduction of a solar-powered Ronda quartz calibre instead of a conventional quartz movement. There are plans to launch a square case, which will also be put through its paces at the Delémont facility: a philosophy of always testing to the max which, like the company itself, is passed from generation to generation.