We publish below a new communiqué from the Goldsmiths' Association of Lombardy concerning the distribution of spare parts to independent watchmakers:
While Switzerland prepares to place restrictions on the entry of European workers into the Confederation, Europe unexpectedly accepts the constraints of 'selective distribution' imposed unilaterally by Swiss watchmaking multinationals to the detriment of our watchmaking artisans.
With the warning VERGOGNA EUROPA, the watchmakers of the Goldsmiths' Association of Lombardy are raising the cry of alarm in the face of the European Commission's decision to close, after almost three years of investigation, its investigation into the distribution of watch supplies and spare parts, essentially giving the Swiss watch manufacturers' case against CEHAR (European Confederation of Watchmakers and Watch Repairers).
First of all, we find, says Maurilio Savoldelli, President of the watchmaking category of AOL, that the long duration of the investigation, from December 2010 until September 2013, has allowed watch manufacturers to 'position themselves' in the market and impose their own laws, putting a strain on the survival of thousands of watchmaking workshops across Europe.
We also consider it a serious matter, continues Savoldelli, to have put the billionaire giants of the Swiss watchmaking industry on exactly the same level as the small and medium-sized craftsmen's workshops that have until now ensured widespread watchmaking assistance throughout Europe. The task of the Comm. Eur. s task was to find the right balance between watch manufacturers/suppliers of spare parts and artisan watchmakers in a logic of consumer service, not to bow to the diktats of Swiss multinationals, which cannot set themselves up as arbitrators, judges and impartial and unquestionable guarantors of the quality of watch servicing, since it is in their own interests to keep the entire repair market within their factories or under their control.
We say no to this ex officio and top-down closure of independent laboratories endorsed by the European Commission.
We were expecting (and are still expecting), continues Andrea Sangalli the President of the Associazione Orafa Lombarda, a decision to liberalise the market for watch parts that would delegate the search for technical solutions to the problem to a joint commission composed of both watch manufacturers and watchmakers under the supervision of the European Commission. It is not by washing our hands or, worse, relying solely on Swiss multinationals that we will arrive at a solution to the problem that is fair and respectful of the rights of consumers and independent European watchmakers.
The European elections on 25 May are now just around the corner. We call on all parties," emphasises Rino de Feo, treasurer of AOL, which has always supported the demands of independent watchmakers, "and in particular on the Italian government to take charge of this problem in Italy and Europe by imposing a review of the European Commission's decision. We do not know what to make of a Europe that is distant or even contrary to the legitimate interests of its citizens, consumers and European workers.
We stand alongside Confartigianato, the Italian member of CEHAR, in a spirit of service and cooperation, with the sole aim of protecting consumers and safeguarding the work and independence of watchmakers.
The topic will be at the centre of the debate on Thursday, 10 April, at 3.00 p.m. at the offices of the European Parliament at Palazzo delle Stelline, Corso Magenta, 59, Milan, where a public meeting will be held on the subject of 'INDEPENDENT WATCH Makers: THE RIGHT TO EXIST AND WORK IN ITALY AND EUROPE'. The meeting will be attended by the Hon. Cristiana Muscardini, Member of the European Parliament and Vice President of the International Trade Commission and the Hon. Patrizia Toia, Member of the European Parliament and Vice President of the Industry Commission, in addition to contributions from Andrea Sangalli, President of AOL, Rino de Feo, treasurer of AOL, and the president of the watchmakers of the Goldsmiths' Association of Lombardy, Maurilio Savoldelli.
