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You're being sarcastic, but aren't you accidentally right? Swiss watchmaking started because local bible-thumpers banned jewelry but made an exception for watches, thus creating demand for watches that fill the role of jewelry. Once established, the industry maintains itself.

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Except mechanical watches were very high-tech at the time and were very practical devices.

By the time they became mainly an accessory/status symbol sumptuary laws weren’t a thing.

Mechanical watches were always very expensive, and thus were a status symbol from the beginning.

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