« In-House Production or Outsourcing in the Watch Industry »
Make it yourself or have it made? Almost every serious conversation about mechanical watches ends in a debate over in-house calibers versus sourced movements. But what factors shape a manufacturer's make-or-buy decision? Is in-house production always superior? We weigh the merits of both approaches and explain which in-house and off-the-shelf movements are the most influential in the industry.
What Is the Make-or-Buy Decision?
The movement sits, quite literally, at the heart of every mechanical timepiece and confronts its brand with a key question: should the engine be developed and produced in-house through painstaking work ("make"), or sourced from a specialist movement maker such as ETA ("buy")? What is primarily an emotional question for the enthusiast carries enormous economic weight for watch manufacturers – and it is by no means a binary choice. Fully sourcing a movement or producing a caliber 100 percent "in-house" is rare; more often, individual stages such as finishing or assembly of the movement are handled internally. When a caliber may carry the coveted label "in-house movement" is not defined by law and is therefore left to the individual interpretation of each watch brand.
Prestige at a High Price: Manufacture Status Is Coveted
According to the general consensus, true in-house movements should be independently developed and pass through the majority of their value chain at the respective manufacturer. Despite what the word "manufacture" suggests, handcraft is not a requirement, as numerous mass-produced in-house movements – from the Breitling B01 to the Heuer 02 – demonstrate.
Yet even without manual craftsmanship, in-house production comes at enormous cost: when a watch brand designs a new movement, hundreds of components have to be developed over months or even years, machine manufacturing processes adapted and tests completed before the movement is ready for series production. The process swallows millions, carries financial risk and demands strategic foresight. Reaching for proven off-the-shelf ébauches from movement makers would be cheaper, faster and safer. But the immense prestige of being a "manufacture" – as watchmakers with self-developed movements are reverently called in the industry – is reason enough to take the rocky road to an in-house caliber.
"Made In-House" Is Always More Appealing
No matter how reliable and solid a Sellita movement may be, for most watch enthusiasts the allure of an in-house movement is irreplaceable. It proves the brand's technical expertise, delivers a magical sense of completeness and dramatically increases buyers' willingness to pay. Mechanical watches with in-house movements tend to be more expensive than their counterparts powered by standard movements. When it comes to movements, this has long ceased to be a simple make-or-buy decision: long-term brand equity and the question of whether a brand wants to play in the first or second league are directly at stake.
ETA, Valjoux and Co.: The Advantages of Standard Movements
If you rely on sober arguments rather than prestige-driven rivalry, sourced standard calibers from the major movement makers offer clear advantages over in-house movements – and not just financially. Used almost exclusively in the price range up to €1,000 and frequently up to €5,000, they score with decades of technical refinement that translates into high reliability and precision. In addition, standard movements can be serviced easily and inexpensively by almost any watchmaker, whereas in-house movements require an overhaul by the manufacturer on its (typically higher) terms.
The largest movement maker is Switzerland's ETA SA: part of the Swatch Group, the company, founded in 1793, employs more than 8,000 people and is the go-to source for the "buy" side of the make-or-buy decision for dozens of prominent brands. Its best-known movements are:
- Caliber 2824-2: Affectionately nicknamed the "tank," this base movement is considered exceptionally reliable and is extremely widespread in the watch industry. Beating at four hertz, it provides virtually indestructible power to dozens of brands, from Hamilton to Tudor.
- Caliber 7750: The most famous chronograph movement in the world. Tag Heuer, Omega, IWC: many prominent brands use the 7750 as the basis for their own developments. Available as the 7751 with calendar and moon phase.
- Caliber 2892-A2: A popular base for advanced technical developments such as Omega's first Co-Axial caliber from 1999. Often expanded with the manufacturers' own chronograph modules, as at Tudor.
Depending on their budget, manufacturers choose between four quality grades of ETA calibers (Standard, Elaboré, Top and Chronomètre) and often give them their own names. When buying a watch, always ask about the base movement to get clarity on its origin. In-house movements are usually advertised prominently.
From "Assembler" to Manufacture
Many brands that, given their prestige and price ranges, you would expect to use in-house movements exclusively sourced their calibers for decades. Rolex once used Zenith movements in the Daytona, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin obtained their movements from Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Omega equipped its Speedmaster with Lemania calibers. Resolving the make-or-buy decision as economically as possible used to be standard practice, even in the luxury segment, and was not viewed negatively; only in the last 20 years has the importance of the in-house caliber risen dramatically. Rolex, for example, now uses in-house movements exclusively, with a degree of vertical integration close to the magic 100 percent.
A prime example of the journey from humble "assembler" – as watch brands that rely purely on sourced movements are often somewhat condescendingly called – to serious manufacture is NOMOS Glashütte. Founded in 1990, right after German reunification, the company relied on ETA's Peseux 7001 movement until it unveiled its in-house Alpha caliber in 2005. Even the Alpha still bears a strong resemblance to the 7001. The big breakthrough came in 2014 with the "Swing" system, a completely independently developed regulating organ. Since then, calibers such as the DUW 3001 have testified to an engineering prowess that few other watch brands can match.
The Best In-House Caliber of All Time? Rolex, Omega, Zenith and Co.
More prominent is the Rolex 3135, often hailed by enthusiasts as the "best automatic movement of all time." Introduced in 1988, it has been fitted in more Rolex watches than any other movement – from the simple Datejust to the water-resistant Submariner – and has performed reliably for decades. A 48-hour power reserve is nothing sensational, but the movement's resistance to external disturbances – from magnetism to shocks – is legendary. The caliber's derivatives also show that the Geneva luxury brand has clearly taken sides in the make-or-buy decision: from 2005, for example, the Rolex caliber 3186 was used in the GMT-Master II and was only replaced by the 3285 in 2018.
When it comes to chronograph movements, one name enjoys a legendary reputation in the watch world: the Zenith El Primero. First unveiled in 1969, it still thrills its fans today with its high frequency of five hertz. Omega's modern movements also play in the top league: models such as the Master Chronometer caliber 9900 impress with extreme magnetic resistance, hold the hard-won METAS certification and are considered exceptionally dependable.
