How CIA Turned a Swiss Watch Factory Into a Secret Espionage Empire

Описание: In the early 1960s, the CIA quietly seized control of a respected Swiss watch company and turned it into one of the most effective espionage fronts of the Cold War. Hidden behind ticking gears and polished steel, CIA officers built recruitment pipelines, smuggled classified documents, and mapped out communist industrial networks—while Switzerland believed it remained untouched by foreign intelligence games.

The agency transformed the Geneva facility into a covert command center with reinforced rooms, encrypted communications, and undercover case officers disguised as watch executives. From this “neutral” sanctuary, the CIA spied on Soviet bloc delegations, stole technology from European industries, and cultivated sources who would never have been accessible inside their home countries.

For nearly two decades, the Swiss facade held. Diplomats bought the watches. Executives toured the factory. Workers took pride in their craft. None of them knew the company had become a silent weapon in America’s secret war. When the CIA finally sold the company in the late 1970s, it erased every trace of its presence—leaving only a vanished brand and a buried chapter of Cold War espionage.