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'Swatch' is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products. In 1982, 'Swatch' was conceived and it was introduced on the market in Switzerland in March 1983.

Contents

Origin

A Concept

Derivation of the Name 'Swatch'

The First Collection

Popularity

A Fashion Statement

Luxury Brands

Diversified Offerings

Official Sporting Timekeepers

References

See also

External links

Origin

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, and to re-popularize analog watches at a time when digital watches had achieved wide popularity. 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. Synthetic materials were used for the watch cases as well as a new ultra-sonic welding process and the assembly technology. The number of components was reduced from some 100 to 51, with no loss of accuracy.

A Concept

In light of the economic state of the Swiss watch industry at the time of the introduction of the Swatch, its directors understood that it was not enough to offer a good watch. The watches needed to be attractive, cheeky and good fun, daring in design and aggressively priced, with high quality and innovative flair. The Swatch watches were high-tech and came in a variety of fashion and art designs.

Derivation of the Name 'Swatch'

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.^[1]

The First Collection

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.

Popularity

Swatches enjoyed their peak popularity in the United States and elsewhere during the mid-1980s. 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.

A Fashion Statement

Also in the mid-1980's, mainstream Swatch fashion statements came about in the rising hip-hop scene with the introduction of various colored and interchangeable watch faces and wrist bands (made of vinyl). Colors included bright, day-glow and pastels. The key standard accessory was the so-called "face-guard", a braided rubber-band like "twistie" that would stretch over the watch face. A good number of "Swatchies" sported two face guards (one horizontal, one vertical). Whether or not these "guards" really protected the watch face from breaking and/or scratching remains to be addressed.

Luxury Brands

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.

Diversified Offerings

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.

Official Sporting Timekeepers

Swatch was official timekeeper to the 1996 Summer Olympics, 2000 Summer Olympics and 2004 Summer Olympics.
The Swatch and FIVB (the International Volleyball Federation) signed the partnership deal in Lausanne, Switzerland on Feb. 27, 2003. Swatch became title sponsor for the Beach Volleyball World Tour.
Swatch, being quite experienced in the field of innovations, has provided FIVB with financial support as well as timing and technical innovations, with the electronic scoreboards supply and speed of service measurements among many others.
Through its international partnership with FIVB, Swatch supports the growth of public and media interest in beach volleyball, appreciated worldwide as one of the most rapidly developing summer sports. As the company has continuously maintained links with the world of sports, the global sponsorship agreement with FIVB became another important step in that involvement.
Swatch has participated in all beach volleyball events through establishing points of sales and organizing merchandising activities. As part of the partnership, the company has also developed the Beach Volleyball Swatch watch.

References

1. http://www.swatchgroup.com/company/present.php

See also

★ Swatch Internet Time

★ SWATCH-FIVB World Tour - Five Years of Success

★ Swatch Case Study, Branding Time: Swatch and Global Brand Management, by Ram Mudambi, Temple University, 2005

External links

★ Official Swatch homepage

★ Official Swatch Group homepage

★ All the latest news and infos from the world of Swatch watch collecting

★ Swatch Forums in English and Spanish, also collection information

★ Swatch History, Club Information and Message Board at World Collectors Net