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Swatch is a
brand of quartz watches (some available in Automatic) produced by The
Swatch Group Ltd. Swatch was originally intended to re-capture entry
level market share lost by Swiss manufacturers during the aggressive
growth of Japanese companies such as Seiko in the 1960s and 1970s. The
launch of the new Swatch brand in 1983 was marked by bold new styling
and design. The quartz watch was redesigned for manufacturing efficiency
and fewer parts. This combination of marketing and manufacturing
expertise restored Switzerland as a major player in the world wristwatch
market.
The name "Swatch" is often misconstrued as a contraction of the words
"Swiss Watch", but Nicolas Hayek, the Chairman of the Swatch Group,
affirms that the original contraction was "Second Watch" -- the new
watch was introduced with a new concept of watches as casual, fun, and
relatively disposable accessories.
The first collection of 12 Swatch models was introduced on March 1, 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 1 million timepieces for 1983 and 2.5 million
the year after. With an aggressive marketing campaign and a very
reasonable price for a Swiss-made watch, it gained instant popularity in
its home market. Compared to conventional watches, a Swatch was 80%
cheaper to produce by fully automating assembly and reducing the number
of parts from the usual 91 or more to only 51 components.
Swatches enjoyed their peak popularity in the United States during the
mid-1980s, when a series of "Swatch Stores" were founded for the express
purpose of selling Swatches. Such 80s fads included wearing two Swatches
and using a Swatch as a ponytail band. Some models, like Pop Swatch,
allowed wearers to attach Swatches directly to clothing.
During this same time, Swatch introduced the idea of partnering with
noted artists, including Keith Haring and others. Artist watches gave a
new cachet to what had previously been a trendy youth article.
 Although
sales of Swatch watches are now considerably lower than in previous
years, the Swatch Group remains the world's largest watch company, and
the Group has accelerated its acquisition of Swiss luxury brands in
recent years. These brands include: Breguet, Blancpain, Jaquet Droz,
Glashütte Original, Union Glashütte, Léon Hatot, Omega, Rado, Longines,
Tissot, Calvin Klein, Certina, Mido, Pierre Bal-main, Hamilton, Flik
Flak and Endura. Swatch itself has also diversified its offerings
considerably, and the company now sells more than a dozen different
types of watches, including metal-bodied watches (the Irony series),
diving watches (the Scuba series), thin and flat bodied watches (the
Skin family) and even an Internet-connected watch that can download
stock quotes, news headlines, weather reports, and other data (the
Papparazzi series).
They have now become fashionable objects, generating specialized models
(the "Flik-Flak" for children, semi-automatic movements, and even
diamond-decorated Swatches). The company also produces watches with
seasonal themes.
Swatch was official timekeeper to the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer
Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics.
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