COSC Certified Watches
Previous blogs discussed chronometers and mentioned that an authenticated luxury watch is a chronometer. So, who certifies these watches and determines whether they are chronometers? The Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres (COSC). The COSC Five Swiss areas created the COSC in 1973: Geneva, Bern, Vaud, Neuchâtel, and, Solothurn, together with the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry (FHS). It is, however, a non-profit, independent organization that freely self-regulates watch designers and watch production. The COSC rigorously tests each watch over a two week period in five separate positions, at three temperatures. Inspectors repeatedly adjust and remove movements from the watch and tests each at various different temperatures, in various positions, over certain time periods. Inspectors employ cameras to observe watch functions and take careful measurements to painstakingly compile data, all of which measures th...