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“The Sherman Act outlaws all contracts, combinations, conspiracies that unreasonably restrain interstate trade. This includes agreements among competitors to fix prices, rig bids and allocates customers. The Sherman Act also makes it a crime to monopolize any part of interstate commerce. An unlawful monopoly exists when only one firm provides a product or service, and it has become the only supplier not because its product or service is superior to others, but by suppressing competition with anticompetitive conduct”.

A complete service is defined on Cartier's website properly as the work done on your movement, but Cartier/Richemont instructions to their watchmakers to perform a "Complete Service" are as follows:

"Cartier Inc. International Service Policy:

Complete Service,
Replacement of the movement with a factory fresh one."

A movement exchanged is performed in less than fifteen minutes, a complete service takes a minimum of an hour depending of the movement! Cartier/Richemont charged the consumers for a servicing not performed!

Cartier's letter to independent watchmakers states:
"If a customers of yours inquires about obtaining repair on Cartier Watches, please ask them to call 1-800-Cartier"

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words: I asked Swatch President what I was supposed to tell the consumers, is it Swiss Made or made in China? No answer yet.

An Omega course is offered to watchmakers in the U.S. by Swatch. However the Omega course is not just offered but tied to spare parts availability not solely from Omega but all companies owned by Swatch. This is done regardless of the qualifications of the watchmakers.

Mrs. Faivet, President/CEO Swatch U.S. states: "We put our Service Provider Training Program in place in October 2010 for the purpose of protecting the goodwill of the Swatch Group brand names. With this purpose in mind, the program allows us to assess the skills of all watchmakers who have, or desire, parts purchasing privileges for the applicable brands of
our Group. The Program provides these watchmakers with the latest training techniques and skills to best service the customers and products of our Group."

Protecting the watch owners: technical skills have been ruled upon, furthermore closing the parts accounts to graduates from the most prestigous Swiss Technicum schools is not protecting consumers against anything but quality work.

As far as the privilege to purchase parts at Swiss price and Swiss Made, see the picture above. Omega clientele should be protected against such deceit.

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/11/952&type=HTML
EUROPEAN COMMISSION - PRESS RELEASE
Antitrust: Commission investigates luxury watch manufacturers:
Brussels 5 August - The European Commission has opened formal anti-trust proceedings to investigate an alleged refusal by several luxury watch manufacturers to supply spare parts to independent repairers, in breach of EU competition rules.

For anti-trust, anti-competitive practices that include:
Monopoly, Price fixing, Tying arrangement, allocation of costumers, Fraud, Deceit.

From millions in damages to a zero recovery for the watchmaker's class. Was Cartier/Richemont monetary power a factor? Was the lack of ethics of the attorneys Simon and Spellberg a factor? or both? be the judge, click on Fleury V Cartier.

Swatch and Cartier’s policies do not supersede settled law that prohibits monopolistic behavior, and precludes any requirement that watchmakers must pass a test or satisfy licensing requirements in order to earning a living. For example, in State of Oklahoma v. Wood, 207 Okla. 193 (1952), that Court surveyed the laws that apply to watchmakers and found that there is no excuse for requiring a watchmaker to pass a test as to his technical qualifications, which is what Cartier and Swatch are doing. More information about the Oklahoma case at:

"Price fixing is an agreement among competitors to raise, fix, or otherwise maintain the price at which their goods or services are sold. It is not necessary that the competitors agree to charge exactly the same price, or that every competitor in a given industry join the conspiracy. Price fixing can take many forms, and any agreement that restricts price competition violates the law."

Some Swiss watch companies after taking your money still act as they own the watch you just purchased and believe you own!!!