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"A question of prestige in the watch industry" : swiss diplomacy and sports timing (1964-1970) / Quentin Tonnerre
After the Second World War, the intensification of competition between watchmaking companies led them to invest in the field of sports timekeeping for advertising purposes. Thus, from the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games onwards, the Japanese company Seiko gradually undermined the Swiss monopoly on timekeeping for international sports competitions which had been shared until then by Omega and Longines backed by the support they had in international sports organisations. In response, the President of the Swiss Watch Federation, Gérard Bauer, called on his networks within swiss diplomacy to defend the swiss watch industry. This contribution traces the history of a rivalry between swiss companies and an international competition in the field of sports timekeeping.