1884 Following his apprenticeship in Paris and in Tuttlingen in South Germany, Karl Elsener opens his own cutler's business in Ibach-Schwyz. The energy for the grinding and polishing machines was supplied by a waterwheel driven by the Tobelbach brook.
1891 The Swiss Army was supplied with soldiers' knives for the first time.
1897 On June 12, the Swiss Officer's and Sports Knife was patented.
1989 The launch of Swiss Army watches in America was highly successful.
1992 The company opens the first of its own sales offices in Japan. In the years that follow, further subsidiaries are founded in Mexico, Brazil, Poland, Hong Kong/China, Vietnam and Chile.
2005 The takeover of Wenger SA, Delémont in the Jura region, knife manufacturer since 1893 and also a supplier of the Swiss army, is intended to secure the ongoing further development of the "Swiss Army Knife" and the future of its Swiss-based production.
2006 Relocation of Watch factory to Porrentruy.