Helvetia

When you are very involved and interested in Fine Swiss Watches you can't help but learn a little about Switzerland itself. Something new I just learned was the name Helvetia. Helvetia is the old Roman or Latin name for the area of central Europe we now know as Switzerland. It is the name that Switzerland itself uses when they don't want to use any of their other official languages (French, German, Italian or Romansh). The official Latin name of the country is "Confœderatio Helvetica" abreviated CH - (hence the ".ch" you see at the end of Swiss websites).

Helvetia is also often depicted as a woman, sometimes called the mother of the Swiss nation. She is a symbol of Switzerland much like Uncle Sam is a symbol of the United States.