The ultimate goal of the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres, or C.O.S.C. for short, was to set a standard in the Swiss watch industry by subjecting the finest Swiss timepieces to a series of accuracy and durability tests. If a watch submitted to the COSC met their rigorous standards, the manufacturer could officially label the watch as a “Chronometer” and allow it to leave Switzerland with the nation’s honor intact.

You may not have heard of the organization, but if you have ever looked at the dial of a Rolex and wondered what “Superlative Chronometer” and “Officially Certified,” means, now you know:

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Sea Dweller 4000 Mens Watch 16600-BSO

The simple fact is that the only reason why COSC certification is held in such high regard is because ROLEX sends almost all of their watches to COSC, and that ALL of the popular Rolex models carry this certification. Out of the three major facilities of the COSC, TWO devote themselves almost entirely to Rolex movements.

The truth, however, is that on the whole less than 5% of all Swiss watches produced in any given year even bother getting this certification.

Why?

Because it is simply NOT necessary. Manufacturer’s own internal tests and standards tend to be just as good, if not better than COSC, so they don’t bother with the cost and the hassle.

What good is a certification anyway if many of the biggest and most respected watchmakers in the world, watchmakers such as A. Lange & Sohne, Breguet, IWC, and one of my favorites, Jaeger Le-Coultre, don’t even bother with it?

In the opinion of your humble presenter, the only reason other non-Rolex watches get “certified” in the first place is because they try to compete with Rolex by saying that because their watch passed the same kind of certification as a ROLEX, it must be just as good.

The best I could figure out though is that COSC certification is only used to offer uneducated turkeys, with a little money in his pocket mind you, some element of peace of mind. And believe me, I’ve heard the sales pitch before:

Basically some normal guy, who would normally buy his watches at Target, walks into a watch store and is duped into thinking that COSC is this magical Swiss agency that gives watches the gold standard and that all watches not certified by them must be junk.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m a HUGE Rolex fan, but if you are new to luxury wristwatches I implore you to not to let this useless certification be a factor in making your choice. The COSC certification, in the opinion of your humble presenter, does mean something, but it is by no means the gold standard in the watch industry that many claim it to be, and most watches as just as good.