Countries That Make the Absolute Best Manufactured Product(s)

[BristolCavendish]

For the sake of discussion/comparison, I'm going to exclude items like home appliances and personal computers as global manufacturing under proprietary names tends to cloud the issue. The same can be said of certain automobile makes and we won't even get into the France vs Napa Valley wine debate (or internationally and locally crafted-beers).

To start things off:

Sweden - Hasselblad (perhaps the finest 2-1/4 film camera ever created).

Germany - Leica (they invented 35mm photography and raised the bar higher than any other manufacturer).

Switzerland - Patek Philippe (amongst other noteworthy watchmakers)

The Netherlands/Switzerland/Belgium - while I'm unfamiliar with the key chocolatiers, these three countries seem to have the corner on chocolates.

Great Britain - (1) Hardy split-bamboo fly rods (though originally a reel-maker).

Scotland - (1) high-end single-malt whiskey and (2) Linn turntables.

USA - (1) Snap-On tools (an industry standard). (2) Fender/Gibson/Martin guitars (although the older ones are better). (3) vintage tube stereo equipment (i.e. McIntosh). (3) 1950-70s era HP electronic test equipment

Here's where some folks can chime-in as there are other categories and countries to add as well. I would imagine that there is an eventual cut-off point (in terms of overall quality and innovation) as we downslide towards countries that have no on-site manufacturing (whether their own or under the supervision of major international companies). Then again, perhaps certain examples of primitive/cultural tooling has its place (somewhere).