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American Swiss is one of South Africa’s leading producers and retailers of jewelry, watches, and diamonds, with a level of prestige that is matched by few other jewelers in the country.
With over a hundred years of history in South Africa, the company has established a strong presence in the country while also becoming something of a style icon among the fashionable elite. The extremely high level of quality and attention to detail that can be found in most American Swiss products have also contributed to its long-standing reputation as a luxury brand name within the jewelry industry.
While the company’s name suggests otherwise, American Swiss is actually a South African company. The business was founded by Isaiah Hirschsohn, a Russian immigrant who had recently arrived in Cape Town.
Humble beginnings of the iconic jeweler
With him were two suitcases full of watches – the one holding American timepieces, the other Swiss. Hirschsohn set about selling the watches for a living, a small but successful door-to-door business that gradually grew into something more.
The American Swiss Watch Company first opened its doors in 1896 on Caledon Street, Cape Town. Before long, a wider range of watches, as well as jewelry and giftware, were added as the company began attracting more customers with its quality imported products. The business prospered, outgrowing its premises by 1926.
