MASTER MECHANICS

72 BEHIND THE SCENES europa star
Exotic straps could turn
around and bite you
Visit any high-end watch brand’s facilities and you will discover how the Swiss love to be environmentally
friendly: Their buildings use renewable energy resources, they are constantly reducing the impact their
production has on the environment, they support all kinds of ‘green’ charities, and they are even putting
their press kits on bio-degradable USB keys to avoid wasting paper… but ask them about the origin of the
alligator that ended up as one of their straps, and not only do they not always know, but their heads are
often buried in the sand.
RSophie Furley
Controversial report
On October 7th the Swiss German television
programme Rundschau released an extremely
controversial report denouncing an exotic skin
outlet in Indonesia. Decontextualized images
of lizards in bags with their legs tied and
snakes seemingly being skinned alive were
almost unbearable to watch. The Swiss watch
industry was targeted. The Swatch Group
released a statement, as did the Federation of
the Swiss Watch Industry (FH) and the Geneva
Time Exhibition (GTE). Everyone else made a
call to their local strap supplier to check that
they were covered, and that was that! End of
scandal. Well maybe not…
An orchestrated campaign
So far this television report has been contained
to Switzerland, but what if the international
media decide to broadcast the subject? And
what if consumers worldwide start to get upset
and boycott products? It won’t be enough to
just say that straps come from a reputable
source. Brands will need to be able to prove
where their straps come from and prove that
the animals have been killed humanely. This is
where things get complex; skins pass through
many hands before they are bought by the
leatherworker to be crafted into watch straps.
A skin may originate in Indonesia, for example,
go to Singapore for a first tanning process,
then a second tanning in Italy, before being finished
in France and delivered to a leatherworker
in Switzerland, making traceability an
urgent priority.
Many animal activists are fighting for a total
ban on the use of animal products, but controlled
use of animals is not only beneficial to
sustaining the survival of some of the world’s
most threatened species, but also helps conserve
ecosystems, protects other wildlife and
provides an essential form of revenue for many
of the world’s regions.
What is CITES?
One treaty which is committed to the controlled
use of the world’s endangered
species is the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) with its secretariat based
in Geneva, Switzerland. CITES is a agreement
that was adopted in 1973 and whose
Secretariat is provided by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP). It works
with nations worldwide to ensure that international
trade in wild animals and plants
does not threaten their survival. A name well
known in the watch industry, every exotic
watch strap that leaves Switzerland must be
accompanied by an import and export permit.
The veterinary office of Switzerland has
put in place an express service to deliver permits
in 24 hours for watch manufacturers
who ship watches worldwide every day.
Around 100,000 permits are delivered every
year. If a strap arrives at its destination with-