in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.

The Swiss produced some of the best surveying instruments ever made in terms of accuracy, repeatability, portability and stability. They were so good that they decimated the US surveying instrument manufacturers (The US had several at the time) and there was a hefty import tax on the Swiss instruments. Look up the companies Wild Heerbrugg and Kern. They only got partially displaced when electronic systems came available. Those two companies later merged into Leica (also a Swiss brand) which was initially known for high quality large aperture lenses (ie: f1.2 50mm).

Swiss mechanical watches and timepieces were known for their accuracy and stability (that is why ‘Swiss movement’ was so important in watches). This part of their market evaporated when electronic watches became available from Japan.