Swatch Watches
In the mid 70s, the Swiss watch industry was in the midst of its worst ever crisis. Technologically speaking, the Japanese competition had been outclassed in 1979 with the launch of the ‘Delirium’, the world’s thinnest wristwatch with a limited number of components. But the event that marked the upturn in the industry’s fortunes was the founding of SMH, the Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watch making Industries. Its answer to the crisis was Swatch, a slim plastic watch with only 51 components that combined top quality with a highly affordable price.
Swatch is a brand of watches 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 Swatch watch was launched in 1983, and in the intervening period it has developed into a functional art form. The watches were water-resistant, shockproof, available in range of bright colours and originally developed as an affordable, low-priced, and expendable product. Collectors viewed them differently and with two new collections a year to choose, great colours, unique designs and ever increaing inventiveness, it is not surprising that the Swatch watch became collectible early in its life.
Over 2000 models have now been designed, so collectors have a wide variety of themes and styles to specialise in. Early models and limited editions can reach substantial prices at auction.
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 Swatch Collectors of Swatch Club’ was formed in 1990. Initially based in Switzerland, it soon expanded to other countries. By the end of the first year the club had over 20,000 members.
Members received among other incentives a free gift. The first of these was ‘Golden Jelly’ (pictured top left) which had a transparent strap, case and dial which revealed the watch’s movement.
The club name changed in 1996 to ‘Swatch the Club’ and continues to grow. For the year 2005/06, members receive a free club watch ‘be here at’. Members also receive all the club publications including the Swatch World Journal, all the brand’s catalogues, frequent inside information, plus VIP invitations to special events, and additional chances to get hold of Swatch Specials and limited editions.
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, GlashA?tte- Original, Omega, Rado, Longines, Tissot, Calvin Klein, Mido, 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, diving watches, thin and flat bodied watches and even an Internet- connected watch that can download stock quotes, news headlines, weather reports, and other data.
Swatch was official timekeeper to the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics.
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