The mantra in the Swiss wine business today is that it’s all about quality and Swiss wines can do what Swiss watches have done, creating an enviable reputation for top quality – even if, clearly, the quantity and export part of the Swiss watch success story can’t be replicated.

But here is some food for thought, from the NY Times, on just what the watchmaking success story entailed. Kindly remember that there was a time when the Swiss were good at copying their neighbours’ watches. A little bit of history never hurt any industry, as long as it remembers to review it.