TIME IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT
An iconic provocative timepiece that saved the Swiss watch industry, thanks to its visionary founder Nicolas Hayek. Colorful, happy, loud, shrill and forever re-interpreted in different ways. Swiss Made and, thanks to industrial production and only 51 parts, available at a democratic price. Since the “second watch” was born in March 1983, hundreds of millions have been sold. In a very short space of time Swatch has become one of the most famous brands in the world – and all the while remaining true to itself. On average, a new Swatch design is created once every one-and-a-half days, keeping time as part of a Spring-Summer, Fall-Winter or as a Special Collection.
Swatch 1907 BAU Quartz Silicone Strap, White, 16 Casual Watch (Model: GW711) 4.7 out of 5 stars 77. Get it as soon as Tomorrow, Apr 8. Swatch customer service were brilliant, highly efficient, sent a returns pre paid envelope for the original watch and sent me a new watch within 2 weeks. Shame about the original watch but I can't fault the follow up, first class.
Swatch & Art – continues in a similar format, and the offering within the range is an ever-growing and dizzying collection of seemingly endless creativity surrounding that classic Swatch silhouette. The world knows Swatch for its Swiss-made watches of style and character. For almost four decades, the company has brought fun and color to wrists all over the world. An innovator from the start, Swatch is known for creating watches that are accessible, fun and push the boundaries of technology and design. Swatch watches are a popular canvas for artists working in a great range of styles, and arguably the world’s largest art gallery on the wrist. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai offers (artistic) freedom for artists-in-residence from all over the world.
Known for revolutionary concepts, creative models and the pleasure it takes in provocation, Swatch loves to keep on surprising its audience. Swatch watches are a popular canvas for artists working in a great range of styles, and arguably the world’s largest art gallery on the wrist. The Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai offers (artistic) freedom for artists-in-residence from all over the world. With its commitment to niche sports and the Swatch Proteam, the watchmaker has paved the way to popularity for disciplines like Freestyle Skiing, BMX and Drone Racing. But be careful – Swatch is addictive: Swatch Club numbers several hundred thousand members.
| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Watchmaking |
| Founded | 1983; 38 years ago |
| Headquarters | , |
| Nick Hayek Jr.(Chairman, President) | |
| Products | Wristwatches |
| Parent | The Swatch Group |
| Subsidiaries | Flik Flak |
| Website | www.swatch.com |
Swatch (stylized as swatch) is a Swisswatchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is the flagship subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The Swatch product line was developed as a response to the 'quartz crisis' of the 1970s and 1980s, in which inexpensive Japanese-madedigital watches were competing against traditional European-made mechanical watches.
The name Swatch is a contraction of 'second watch',[1] as the watches were intended as casual, disposable accessories.[2]
History[edit]
Swatch began development in the early 1980s, under the leadership of the then ETA SA's CEO, Ernst Thomke with a small team of watch engineers led by Elmar Mock and Jacques Müller.[3]
Conceived as a standard timekeeper in plastic, Franz Sprecher,[4] a marketing consultant hired by Thomke to give the project an outsider's consideration, sought to create a fashionable line of watches.
Swatch was originally intended to re-capture entry level market share lost by Swiss manufacturers during the quartz crisis and the subsequent growth of Japanese companies such as Seiko and Citizen in the 1960s and 1970s, and to re-popularize analog watches at a time when digital watches had achieved wide popularity.
In 1983, the group hired Jacques Irniger—who formerly served as the marketing executive for Colgate, Nestlé—to launch the swatch.[5]
In 1997, the Swatch group opened about 60 stores worldwide.[5]
The first collection of twelve Swatch models was introduced on 1 March 1983 in Zürich, Switzerland. Initially the price ranged from CHF 39.90 to CHF 49.90 but was standardized to CHF 50.00 in autumn of the same year. Sales targets were set to one million timepieces for 1983 and 2.5 million the year after. With an aggressive marketing campaign and relatively low price for a Swiss-made watch, it gained instant popularity in its home market.[6]
Lebanese entrepreneur Nicolas G. Hayek, together with a group of Swiss investors, took over a majority shareholding of Swatch during 1985 in the newly consolidated group under the name Societe Suisse de Microelectronique et d'Horlogerie, or SMH. He became Chairman of the board of directors, and CEO in 1986. Later he changed company’s name to Swatch Group.
This combination of marketing and manufacturing expertise restored Switzerland as a major player in the world wristwatch market. Synthetic materials were used for the watchcases as well as a new ultra-sonic welding process and assembly technology.[6]
Product lines[edit]
There are families under the Swatch brand:
Swatch Malaysia
Swatch Originals[edit]
Swatchhub
The Originals are plastic-cased watches. They are available in various sizes, shapes, and designs. The Originals consist of various sub-families as well.
Swatch Irony[edit]
The Irony family contains all the metal-cased watches produced by Swatch. These include both quartz driven and automatic mechanical watches that can be serviced. The automatics have a 21J/23J ETA 2842 movement. This movement is exclusive to Swatch and is derived from 2824-2.
Irony Chronograph was introduced in 1996 (type/code: YCS101).
Swatch Skin[edit]
The Skin family contains two sub families: Original Skin and Skin Chronograph. The Original Skin was introduced on 6 October 1997 as a thinner version of the original Swatch watch. It is ultra thin, standing at 3.9 mm (1⁄8 in), hence the name Swatch Skin. The Swatch Skin later went on to enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's thinnest plastic watch. The Swatch Chronograph is simply the Swatch Skin with a chronograph function, adding two additional buttons on the side of the watch.
Swatch Bijoux[edit]
The Bijoux line is the jewelry line that Swatch released in the new millennium. It partnered with Swarovski to encrust the Bijoux line of watches.
Swatch Digital Touch[edit]
The Digital Touch line, launched in 2011, derives its name from the touchscreen technology used. In contrast to other Swatch families, a digital LCD shows the time. Various models in different colors of the display are available, which include backlighting for reading in the dark.[7][8]
Swatch Bellamy and Pay[edit]
These Swatch models of wristwatches with a quartz movement are additionally equipped with a near-field communication (NFC) chip to accommodate contactless payment. As an improved second generation, Swatch introduced model Pay for the Chinese market in July 2017. Unlike the Bellamy, model Pay can be programmed and activated in Swatch shops using a Cloud Computing service operated by several Chinese banks.[9]
Swatch Sistem51[edit]
Swatch introduced Sistem51 at Baselworld 2013 as 'the world's first mechanical movement with entirely automated assembly.'[10] The movement uses 51 components anchored to a central screw with automatic winding and a 90-hour power reserve – and is 100% Swiss made on a 20-metre-long (65 ft) automated assembly line in clean-room conditions, without human intervention.[11]
The movement is permanently sealed in its case with structural adhesive securing both the acrylic crystal over the dial and the caseback, making it invulnerable to environmental conditions including moisture, dust or foreign objects – and also making it maintenance free – i.e. impossible to service.
The movement is made from ARCAP, an anti-magnetic alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc – designed to free the movement from the need for adjustment. The escapement has no manual adjustment or regulator; the initial rate is factory laser-set. Swatch reports precision of −5/+5 seconds per day.[12] The design's peripheral bi-directional rotor allows viewing of movement components through the caseback.[10]
Swatch Bioreloaded[edit]
The Bioreloaded line was introduced by Swatch in 2020. It consists of a relaunch of Swatch's 1983 debut collection, but partially made from 'bio-sourced' materials. The case, strap, and strap clasp of aBioreloaded watch is made of a material derived from the seeds of the castor plant, while the packaging material is a biodegradeable 'paperfoam' created with tapioca and potato starch.[13]
See also[edit]
Https://www.swatch.com/
References[edit]
- ^Swatch Group history
- ^Company History The Swatch Group
- ^'The Swatch co-inventor welds wood – and bones'. Lunch over IP. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
- ^Lury, Celia (2004). Brands: the logos of the global economy – Google Books. ISBN9780415251839. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
- ^ abDonzé, P. (8 April 2014). A Business History of the Swatch Group: The Rebirth of Swiss Watchmaking and the Globalization of the Luxury Industry. Springer. ISBN9781137389084.
- ^ abBold, Kathryn, 'Swatchdogs on the Lookout : Promos give collectors a chance to meet the inventor and pick up some of the 'vintage' timepieces for face value', Los Angeles Times, 3 January 1992
- ^Swatch Touch Watches.A Blog to WATCH. September 27, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2018
- ^Swatch digital touchscreen models with backlight
- ^Sarah Clark: Swatch partners with eleven Chinese banks for second-generation payments watch. In: NFCworld, July 17, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2018
- ^ ab'Exclusive Hands-On Look At The Swatch Sistem51, A Revolutionary Mechanical Watch'. Hodinkee. Hodinkee. 30 April 2013.
- ^Jay Desphpande (28 July 2015). 'The Timepiece That Will Change Everything'. Slate.
- ^Michel Jeannot (16 May 2013). 'Swatch Sistem51: Just How Far will the Revolution Go?'. HH Journal.
- ^https://www.swatchgroup.com/en/services/archive/2020/swatch-getting-bio-reloaded
- 'History of the Swatch Group', The Swatch Group Ltd.
- 'Omega Constellation Collectors: The Outsiders Who Saved Omega and the Swiss Watch Industry'. omega-constellation-collectors.blogspot.com
Bibliography[edit]
- Mudambi, Ram, 'Branding Time: Swatch and Global Brand Management'. Temple University, Fox School of Business, Temple University IGMS Case Series No. 05-001, January 2005
Swatches Meaning
External links[edit]
- Official website
Swatch Watches For Women