First, we're talking pretty specifically about Geneva becoming an important center of watchmaking, not all of Switzerland. But Switzerland in general was poor, and so had a lot of young men without any prospects of land or employment.. In the later 15th c., the Swiss were known for being superb mercenary soldiers, using their polearms in mass charges to great effect in the Italian Wars. But that mobile workforce was useful also in the later 16th c. , when a few watchmakers already resident in Geneva were joined by others fleeing the religious war in France. The established route for the refugees went through Geneva. They were encouraged by Calvin, who said " let those who believe they do not have the strength to testify to their faith go into exile ". After the Edict of Nantes in 1598, there were fewer...then it picked up again after 1685, when Louis XIV revoked the Edict.

Geneva watchmakers pretty quickly in the 17th c. created a very efficient system of manufacture. Watches were immensely time-consuming to make- typically, one watch per workman per month. Geneva watchmaking was divided into different tasks in order to maximize production. To save labor costs, there were many ( like fire gilders, wheel makers, case polishers) that were paid fairly poorly, and a few at the top ( assemblers, regulators) who were paid quite well. To sell all the watches resulting from their increased production, like the Swiss mercenaries of the 15th c., the Geneva watchmakers were also not afraid to travel: they would set up shops in Amsterdam or Constantinople, and do business with anyone. They would make watch movements for other watchmakers. They would change their product to target a clientele: make watches with lunar dials for Muslims, and clocks in the shape of crucifixes ( sorry Calvin, it's business) for Catholics. They also realized the benefit of credit: Geneva bankers would regularly loan money for weeks or months so that watchmakers could buy supplies and materials . That credit system eventually could go to great lengths: in the late 18th c., when there was a great drop in demand, the watchmakers association even bought a lot of watches in order to keep the industry from collapsing.

But they were not able to actually contain their watchmaking within Switzerland. As in almost any business, success will be imitated. As the watchmakers of Geneva grew wealthy, and wages rose, watchmaking also became an occupation in the poorer Jura next door. Nor was watchmaking limited, ever, to Geneva. It was a powerhouse of production, but in the 17th and 18th c., the finest, most accurate watches were made in London and Paris.

David S Landes: Revolution in Time