Swatch Explained

Swatch Ltd.
Logo Upright:0.8
Type:Subsidiary
Location City:Biel
Location Country:Switzerland
Key People:Nick Hayek Jr. (chairman, president)
Industry:Watchmaking
Products:Wristwatches
Subsid:Flik Flak
Parent:The Swatch Group

Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is a 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, battery-powered, quartz-regulated watches were competing against more established European watchmakers focused on artisanal craftsmanship producing mostly mechanical watches.

The name Swatch is a contraction of both "Swiss Watch" and its concept of a "second watch" for the consumer, as the brand manufactures watches with the intention of being casual, disposable accessories.[1]

History

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.[2]

Conceived as a standard timekeeper in plastic, Franz Sprecher,[3] 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 of mechanical watches and the subsequent growth of Japanese companies such as Seiko and Citizen in the 1960s and 1970s. It was also meant 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 and Nestlé—to launch the swatch.[4]

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 the autumn of the same year. Sales targets were set at one million timepieces for 1983 and 2.5 million for 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.

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 the 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 watch cases as well as a new ultra-sonic welding process and assembly technology.[5] In 1997, the Swatch Group opened about 60 stores worldwide.

Product lines

There are families under the Swatch brand:

Swatch Originals

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

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 to 2822. Irony Chronograph was introduced in 1996 (type/code: YCS101).

Swatch Skin

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, 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.

Bijoux

The Bijoux line is a jewelry line Swatch released in the new millennium; it partnered with Swarovski to encrust the Bijoux line of watches.

Digital Touch

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.[6] [7]

Bellamy and Pay

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 the model Pay for the Chinese market in July 2017. Unlike the Bellamy, Pay can be programmed and activated in Swatch shops using a Cloud Computing service operated by several Chinese banks.[8]

Sistem51

Swatch introduced Sistem51 at Baselworld 2013 as "the world's first mechanical movement with entirely automated assembly." 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 65feet automated assembly line in clean-room conditions, without human intervention.[9]

The movement is permanently sealed in its case with structural adhesive securing both the acrylic crystal over the dial and the case back, 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 seconds per day.[10] The design's peripheral bi-directional rotor allows viewing of movement components through the caseback.[11]

Swatch x You

In 2017 Swatch introduced Swatch x You, a product that allows one to design their own Swatch by selecting the category and design one wishes to use. An outline of a watch is superimposed over the user's image to assist with designing. [12] [13] [14]

Bioreloaded

The Bioreloaded line was introduced by Swatch in 2020, consisting of a relaunch of Swatch's 1983 debut collection, but partially made from "bio-sourced" materials. The case, strap, and strap clasp of a Bioreloaded watch is made of a material derived from the seeds of the castor plant, while the packaging material is a biodegradable "paperfoam" created with tapioca and potato starch.[15]

Swatch x Omega

The Swatch x Omega collaboration debuted in 2022, with MoonSwatch, a collection of reimagined Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatches in eleven different color variants themed after the Sun, Moon, and planets of the solar system. The collection uses the 4 jewel chronograph quartz movement used in other Swatch chronographs and Swatch's BIOCERAMIC composite material.[16]

The MoonSwatch collection was released March on 26, 2022, at select Swatch stores.[17] The New York Times called the release "the watch industry's defining moment of 2022".[18] The collection sold out internationally on its release date, with lines formed at most Swatch boutiques where it was carried.[19] Swatch initially stated each consumer could purchase up to two watches but later limited each consumer to one watch. While Swatch initially added the product to their online catalog, it later announced the collection would not be available for sale online.[20] The MoonSwatch is neither a limited nor numbered collection.[21]

See also

References

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. http://www.swatchgroup.com/company/present.php Company History
  2. Web site: The Swatch co-inventor welds wood – and bones . Lunch over IP . 14 May 2008 . 11 April 2010 . 17 May 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080517175636/http://www.lunchoverip.com/2008/05/the-swatch-co-i.html . dead .
  3. Book: Brands: the logos of the global economy – Google Books . 11 April 2010. 9780415251839 . Lury . Celia . 2004 . Routledge .
  4. Book: Donzé, P.. A Business History of the Swatch Group: The Rebirth of Swiss Watchmaking and the Globalization of the Luxury Industry. 2014-04-08. Springer. 9781137389084. en.
  5. Bold, 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
  6. https://www.ablogtowatch.com/swatch-touch-watches/ Swatch Touch Watches.
  7. http://www.swatch.com/en/watches?timeperiod=1983%3B2015&function=6&movement=1%2C3 Swatch digital touchscreen models with backlight
  8. Sarah Clark: Swatch partners with eleven Chinese banks for second-generation payments watch. In: NFCworld, July 17, 2017. Retrieved March 3, 2018
  9. Web site: The Timepiece That Will Change Everything . Slate . Jay Desphpande . July 28, 2015 .
  10. Web site: Swatch Sistem51: Just How Far will the Revolution Go? . HH Journal . Michel Jeannot . May 16, 2013 .
  11. Web site: Exclusive Hands-On Look At The Swatch Sistem51, A Revolutionary Mechanical Watch . Hodinkee . April 30, 2013 .
  12. Web site: June 20, 2017. Jack. Forster. Introducing: The Swatch X You Lets You Design Your Own Custom Swatch. 2022-01-26. HODINKEE. en.
  13. Web site: Pick a design, make your Swatch - Swatch Group. 2022-01-26. www.swatchgroup.com.
  14. Web site: Swatch launches Swatch X You, a custom design system for true watchanistas. 2022-01-26. TechCrunch. en-US.
  15. News: Swatch to launch first BIOCERAMIC Big Bold watch collection soon . Bharat Bhushan . April 15, 2021 . dlmag . April 26, 2021.
  16. Web site: Broer . Robert-Jan . 2022-03-23 . Hands-On: The New Omega × Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch "Mission to Mars" . 2022-10-10 . Fratello Watches . en-US.
  17. News: MoonSwatch Mania. Jason Pitsch. April 20, 2022. Financial Times. May 4, 2022.
  18. News: Swithinbank . Robin . 2022-08-10 . MoonSwatch: Has the Frenzy Changed the Future? . en-US . The New York Times . 2022-08-11 . 0362-4331.
  19. Web site: 2022-03-24 . The Omega x Swatch 'MoonSwatch' Brings the Speedmaster to the Masses . 2022-08-11 . Esquire . en-us.
  20. Web site: Bowers . Ben . Love . Zen . 2022-07-17 . The Coveted MoonSwatch Will Be Available Again Soon . 2022-08-11 . Gear Patrol . en-US.
  21. News: 2022-03-26 . Low-Priced Omega Speedmaster Prompts Global Swatch Store Chaos . en . Bloomberg.com . 2022-05-06.