Zanuti

ZANUTI INC. is a mechanical watch manufacturer established in 1887 by Albert Favre Zanuti, currently headquartered in Switzerland and with regional offices in the United States and Japan. The company was involved in the early development of the watchmaking industry in Japan, while being funded by a governmental program (O-yatoi Gaikokujin) promoting industrial and cultural reforms. Zanuti was founded in 1887 as a result of 3 major events that took place in Japan during the second half of the 19th century. The first event was the establishment of the Commercial Treaty between Switzerland and Japan during a Swiss diplomatic mission to Asia in 1864, after more than 200 years of Japanese self-imposed isolation from international trade. This agreement signed in Japan by Swiss diplomat Aime Humbert-Droz was paramount in the long-term development of a strong relationship between the 2 nations, leading thousands of Swiss entrepreneurs and other professionals to travel to Japan to initiate trade and cultural exchanges. The second major event was the arrival of the industrial revolution in Japan in 1870. As previously experienced by the western nations in Europe and the United States, the industrial revolution in Japan triggered a period of incredible prosperity and an economic growth rate unlike any other in Japanese history. This period gave birth to the rapid development of its industries, while laying the foundation for the establishment of most industrial conglomerates in Japan still in business today. The third and final event was the creation of a Japanese national program backing foreign investment in the nation as well as the recruitment of European and American professionals to import western technology and know-how into Japanese municipalities and companies (O-yatoi Gaikokujin). This program directly employed thousands of foreign nationals (mainly engineers, economists and academics) who would travel to Japan to apply their expertise to local companies and public institutions, in exchange of great salaries and incentives.