Mechanical Watch: French Bank BNP Paribas

Swiss Watch Dept: He is one of a growing number of people attracted to a career in horology as Swiss watch firms vie for staff to meet buoyant Asian demand for high-end timepieces and to fill the hole left when industry heavyweight Swatch decided to cut the volume of mechanical watch parts it sells to others, according to The Star. Legislation to tighten the rules on what can be called a Swiss made product also means that watch companies are ploughing millions into new factories at a time when many Swiss firms are thinking of moving production abroad and nEUCHATEL, SWITZERLAND Andrew I-Jen Chen swapped a career crunching numbers at French bank BNP Paribas to take up an apprenticeship at one of Switzerland s most prestigious watchmaking schools. In banking you just sit there working with numbers that don t mean anything, the 29-year-old from Taiwan said as he turned a hand lathe to painstakingly cut the tip of an axle, a component used in the balance wheel, which makes a watch tick. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.