An electrical contact element includes a support component of an effectively electrically insulating material, especially silicon, the support component including a supporting body and an armature integral with and hingedly connected to the supporting body, the armature carrying at least one electrical contact. The electrical contact element is accommodated in a housing which is hermetically sealed and either filled with an inert gas or evacuated. The housing includes at least one fixed contact, and the supporting body is shaped as a frame which has a recess in which the armature is received when electrical contact is established between the electrical contact carried by the armature and the fixed electrical contacts carried by the housing. The electrical contact element is made by material-removing techniques from a single substantially plate-shaped member and then the electrical contact is vapor-deposited thereon.