Your Swiss watch ... where was it made?

HOW much is the "Made in Switzerland" marque worth to consumers increasingly vigilant about the provenance of everything from what they eat to what they wear? The answer, the makers of luxury watches say, is "a lot."

Protecting the label is essential to the industry's image, profitability and future growth, they say, and studies by St Gallen and Zurich universities do show that the tag can almost double the price of a sophisticated timepiece.

But as with so many other products in a globalized world, there is a grey area around what makes a watch Swiss, and that lack of clarity has consequences for quality - and revenue.

The issue is part of proposed new legislation before Switzerland's parliament to regulate the use of the label for food, services and industrial products.

With politicians and lobbying groups fighting over designations on items as diverse as cheese, pocket knives and textile machines, the chances for passage this year are dimming, however, and many watchmakers are growing anxious at the delay in solving what they see as an urgent problem.

"This law is (like the debate over) the Loch Ness monster," said Richard Mille, whose ultra-light watches are worn by tennis player Rafael Nadal. "I'm not sure if there ever will be a solution."

In the first discussions in the two houses of parliament, the lower house has argued that 60 percent of the value of an industrial product must originate in Switzerland for it to be labelled "Made in Switzerland," in line with the draft law proposed by the government, while the upper house holds that 50 percent is sufficient.

If no compromise is found over the percentage and a myriad other issues, two more sets of debates may be held in each house over the next half year. If no agreement is reached, the bill fails.

Both versions are stricter than the 40-year-old "directive" currently governing the use of the "Swiss Made" stamp used for watches, which says at least 50 percent of the value of only the watch movements must be made in Switzerland.

This means cost-conscious watchmakers in the lower-priced segment can import cases, dials, hands and straps and still mark their watches "Swiss Made" as long as half of the parts of the watch movement are made at home.

The directive also has little weight in international trade disputes, making it a blunt sword in the fight to protect the reputation of "Swiss Made," watchmakers say.