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| The Valjoux 7750 or ETA 7750 is a widely used chronograph movement. Photo credit: Wikipedia |
A Sunday morning fire completely destroyed the Swatch Group's ETA workshop in Grenchen, Switzerland, the company said in a statement. No one was harmed as the facility was not in operation.
The fire broke out at approximately 8:45 a.m. at the galvanic department of the main building and was under control at 9:30 a.m., Swatch Group said. The fire did not spread to other buildings in the complex, which contain other Swatch Group watch production subsidiaries.
"Thanks to the swift and efficient intervention of the ETA-internal fireworkers and the fireworkers of the town of Grenchen, the fire could not expand to the neighboring workshops," Swatch Group said in its statement.
The reason for the fire is not yet known, Swatch Group said, adding that it's too early to place a price tag on the damage. Company officials did not say how this will impact production. Local police informed nearby residents due to the heavy smoke.
ETA is a subsidiary of Swatch Group. It designs and manufactures mechanical and automatic watches and watch movements. It is best known as the supplier of the overwhelming majority of movements found in Swiss watches.
Swatch Group Ltd., Biel, Switzerland, designs, manufactures, distributes and sells finished watches, watch movements, watch components, electronic systems and jewelry.
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