Watch out, Rolex: Japan takes on Swiss in bid for wealthy wrists

In a factory surrounded by snow-covered peaks, technicians in lab coats use tweezers to assemble tiny metal parts into self-winding watches.
 
Once they’ve been checked through microscopes for precision and packed in satin-lined boxes, the timepieces are shipped off to Rodeo Drive or Knightsbridge boutiques, where they’ll sell for thousands of dollar.
 
This is Japan, not Switzerland. Forty years after nearly wiping out the Swiss watch industry with cheap quartz models, Japanese brands like Seiko and Citizen are eyeing the high end of timekeeping that’s been the Alpine country’s turf. New boutiques in posh Beverly Hills and London