Talking of "made in Sweden".

[DaveH]

Over on the Watch forum there was a long discussion some time ago about how reliable - or not - the label Made in Switzerland was. It turns out that as long as the watch is assembled in Switzerland, and it doesn't even have to be the whole watch, the bits which go to make up the watch can be from anywhere - usually China. I'm not knocking Chinese watches btw. I own a watch with a Chinese movement and it works fine. The point is that if you pay a premium for a Made in Switzerland watch, you want it to be made in Switzerland.

I wonder how much of the Made in Sweden Abu's is actually made in Sweden?

 

[stan m]

Their very first multiplier, Abu Admiral was made in Italy by Everol

 

[Topwater]

'Assembled in' doesn't quite have the same ring to it, nor does it allow the same price hike

 

[wingnut55]

Over on the Watch forum there was a long discussion some time ago about how reliable - or not - the label Made in Switzerland was. It turns out that as long as the watch is assembled in Switzerland, and it doesn't even have to be the whole watch, the bits which go to make up the watch can be from anywhere - usually China. I'm not knocking Chinese watches btw. I own a watch with a Chinese movement and it works fine. The point is that if you pay a premium for a Made in Switzerland watch, you want it to be made in Switzerland.

I wonder how much of the Made in Sweden Abu's is actually made in Sweden?

Cuckoo clocks are "made in Switzerland"..

Ian.

 

[Dutchman]

Cuckoo clocks are "made in Switzerland"..

Ian.

Where are Alarm clocks made then?

 

[wingnut55]

Where are Alarm clocks made then?

Blimey, you don't know..

Ian.

 

[wingnut55]

Where are Alarm clocks made then?

By ADT of course..

Ian.

 

[Dutchman]

When i first looked i thought it was a post about Ulrika Johnson!

 

[blakdog is back]

Over on the Watch forum there was a long discussion some time ago about how reliable - or not - the label Made in Switzerland was. It turns out that as long as the watch is assembled in Switzerland, and it doesn't even have to be the whole watch, the bits which go to make up the watch can be from anywhere - usually China. I'm not knocking Chinese watches btw. I own a watch with a Chinese movement and it works fine. The point is that if you pay a premium for a Made in Switzerland watch, you want it to be made in Switzerland.

I wonder how much of the Made in Sweden Abu's is actually made in Sweden?

Very little for a lot of years now ... Taiwanese parts were creeping in as early as the 90s, then eventually much of the parts production went to mainland China.

 

[Mike hemming]

I wear omega watches and they are 100% made and assembled in Switzerland and they are guaranteed to be made and assembled in Switzerland

 

[Trampster]

I wear omega watches and they are 100% made and assembled in Switzerland and they are guaranteed to be made and assembled in Switzerland

I was given an Omega gold quartz watch for my 18th Birthday, but as usual with my old man, it took 3 years to arrive, so on my 21st.
That would have been about 1978. I think the watch cost around £120 back then, and I had it serviced quite a few times over the years, which also cost around £120 a time. Got fed up with paying out for the servicing, so it's sat in a drawer for many years, and I'm now happy to make do with my £30 smart watch which monitors my health,

 

[Mike hemming]

I was given an Omega gold quartz watch for my 18th Birthday, but as usual with my old man, it took 3 years to arrive, so on my 21st.
That would have been about 1978. I think the watch cost around £120 back then, and I had it serviced quite a few times over the years, which also cost around £120 a . Got fed up with paying out for the servicing, so it's sat in a drawer for many years, and I'm now happy to make do with my £30 smart watch which monitors my health,

I have 3 seamasters of different designs I only use the one on a daily basis the other 2 are kept as investments. It costs me 1500 to have it serviced last February not bad in my eyes as the watch is 12 years old from new

 

[DaveH]

I have 3 seamasters of different designs I only use the one on a daily basis the other 2 are kept as investments. It costs me 1500 to have it serviced last February not bad in my eyes as the watch is 12 years old from new

My daily wearer is a 1980's Seiko Diver with a 7002 movement. I had it serviced and re-sealed earlier this year, but not by Seiko - £150, which I thought was good. the watch is automatic (clockwork) and loses about 30 seconds over a couple of months.

Another company whose goods contain some Chinese components is S and S. They make, amongst other things, engines for Harley Davidson.

 

[goose]

My daily wearer is a 1980's Seiko Diver with a 7002 movement. I had it serviced and re-sealed earlier this year, but not by Seiko - £150, which I thought was good. the watch is automatic (clockwork) and loses about 30 seconds over a couple of months.

Another company whose goods contain some Chinese components is S and S. They make, amongst other things, engines for Harley Davidson.

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company manufactures its own engines at the Pilgrim Road Powertrain Operations facility in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson has been making engines since 1903, when the company's founders began hand-crafting small flathead engines for their motorcycles.
S&S engines I thought were made from Harley and screaming eagle parts in Sweden and used by Swedish custom bike builders because the import duty on Harley Davidson's makes them ludicrously expensive in Sweden .

 

[DaveH]

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company manufactures its own engines at the Pilgrim Road Powertrain Operations facility in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Harley-Davidson has been making engines since 1903, when the company's founders began hand-crafting small flathead engines for their motorcycles.
S&S engines I thought were made from Harley and screaming eagle parts in Sweden and used by Swedish custom bike builders because the import duty on Harley Davidson's makes them ludicrously expensive in Sweden .

I could be confusing Harley and S and S. I was shown the inside of a Harley engine which I was told was made by S and S in Wolverhampton (guy was a tuner, fettler, and general expert on Harley's). He showed me the new Chinese bits, but for the life of me I can't remember what they were, compared to the older parts which presumably were made by Harley. My only experience with bike engines was a 1976 Moto-Guzzi big-block twin on a Triking chassis which I owned for a few years. The Chinese parts were certainly less robust than anything on the older Harley, or my Moto-Guzzi. Morgan used the S and S engine on their 3-wheeler I believe. A 2-litre engine which was meant to be mounted fore-and aft, being turned 90 degrees so that the cylinders were side-by-side. They had a few problems with their transmission trains I believe . The Triking three-wheeler on the other hand had the engine, gearbox, and shaft-drive mounted as per on the donor bike. Less posh design, and more function - fast, mostly problem-free, and rattled a bit.

Series 1 Triking.

 

[Angrybear]

I could be confusing Harley and S and S. I was shown the inside of a Harley engine which I was told was made by S and S in Wolverhampton (guy was a tuner, fettler, and general expert on Harley's). He showed me the new Chinese bits, but for the life of me I can't remember what they were, compared to the older parts which presumably were made by Harley. My only experience with bike engines was a 1976 Moto-Guzzi big-block twin on a Triking chassis which I owned for a few years. The Chinese parts were certainly less robust than anything on the older Harley, or my Moto-Guzzi. Morgan used the S and S engine on their 3-wheeler I believe. A 2-litre engine which was meant to be mounted fore-and aft, being turned 90 degrees so that the cylinders were side-by-side. They had a few problems with their transmission trains I believe . The Triking three-wheeler on the other hand had the engine, gearbox, and shaft-drive mounted as per on the donor bike. Less posh design, and more function - fast, mostly problem-free, and rattled a bit.
View attachment 71732

Moto Guzzi bikes are shaft drive so the engine, gearbox & rear hub/diff are a straight fit in to a car frame.
S&S make custom parts for Harley Davidson bikes, so custom builders will buy a factory build S&S motor as a cheaper alternative to buying a brand new stock Harley engine and then having to customise/tune that.

 

[DaveH]

Moto Guzzi bikes are shaft drive so the engine, gearbox & rear hub/diff are a straight fit in to a car frame.
S&S make custom parts for Harley Davidson bikes, so custom builders will buy a factory build S&S motor as a cheaper alternative to buying a brand new stock Harley engine and then having to customise/tune that.

My understanding, but properly put! The Triking uses as much as it can from the donor bike (in the case of my Triking - a Spada) - lights, brakes etc.
Sometimes disparagingly called "a shopping trolley" the Series 1 Triking can get up to 100mph (but not with me in it, thank you), and 0-60 is about the same as the Spada, depending on wind direction. The donor bike was evidently a write-off.

 

[Angdeviis]

Personally, I get the frustration of paying a premium for a “Made in Switzerland” watch, only to realize that a lot of the parts could be from elsewhere, like China. But when it comes to watches, even if they're assembled in Switzerland, the craftsmanship can still be top-notch. It makes me wonder about the Made in Sweden label on things like Abu’s gear, though. How much of it is really Swedish-made, and how much is just assembly? I guess it’s all about transparency. Also, while I don’t always go for the best fake watches to buy sometimes a high-quality clone can give you a similar look and feel without the hefty price tag! What’s your take on the whole “Made in” thing?

 

[LeighamFox]

90% of our tackle companies make nothing and haven't for years. Do people think this is the only trade that applies to.

Here's one for you I worked for a company years ago engineering supplies. They imported large size taper shank drills. When the arrived the had no points on them. Yet put the point on in a tool room in the UK they could then be sold as Quality British made tooling.

Stupid laws allow this to happen all over the world. But until you see it first hand you would never know.

 

[stan m]

The long deceased CEO of a major tackle company based in USA and Europe offered to bring me rods over at stupid prices for given quantities, I declined as was never into mass production. Anyway he, with first hand knowledge told me the "American" rods were made in far east but shipped to USA with the tip guide taped to the handle. The tip guide was not a rod but without it the rest of the rod could not be used as a rod so merely 2 component parts. USA glue the tips on and hey presto "made in USA"