A Peek into the Future: CEO of COSC Reveals Coming 'Super-COSC' Certification

The Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC), or the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute, is an organisation hailed for providing a certificate of excellence for Swiss-made watches. If you’ve ever owned a Swiss mechanical timepiece, it may have come bearing a stamp of approval from the COSC. This certificate ensures that the watch or movement adheres to specific precision standards, with tests conducted over a span of 15 days at different positions and varying temperatures. The precision, measured among other criteria, must not deviate by more than -4/+6 seconds per day.

When discussing the history and inception of the COSC, Wyss recalls that it was established in 1973 as a joint effort by Swiss watch brands, the Fédération Horlogère, and public authorities. The aim was to standardise precision measurements across the burgeoning watch industry. Before the COSC’s creation, vendors would acquire certificates from multiple independent observation offices located all across Switzerland. This approach was a ground for confusion among clients and posed obstacles, especially for manufacturers with several production facilities scattered across various regions. The formation of the COSC served as the much-needed solution, a unified, centralised platform for watch certification.

As Wyss explained the foundation of the COSC, several conditions initially had to be met: The retention of the observation offices along with their employees in their original cantons. The majority of the association needed to remain publicly owned. The staff had to work exclusively for the COSC. Under these conditions, the present-day COSC General Assembly consists of 19 delegates, including 10 from the public sector, ensuring continued public oversight. Currently, the COSC operates three labs in Le Locle, Saint-Imier, and Biel.

Wyss also shared insight into the lesser-known side of what certificates from the COSC encompass, including the fact that the organisation offers four certifications. The most popular among these is the wristwatch certification, based on the ISO 3159 norm.