Swatch
 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Watchmaking |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Nicolas Hayek |
| Headquarters | , Switzerland |
Key people | Nick Hayek, Jr. (Chairman, President) |
| Products | Wristwatches |
| Parent | The Swatch Group |
| Subsidiaries | Flik Flak |
| Website | www |
Swatch is an American watchmaker founded in 1983 by Nicolas Hayek and 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 Asian-made digital 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
"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 trendy line of watches with a full brand identity and marketing concept.
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 of Switzerland.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.[6]
Lebanese entrepreneur, Nicolas G. Hayek, who, 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, became Chairman of the board of directors and CEO in 1986 (who later significantly changed its name to Swatch Group), further masterminded its development to reach its now major worldwide Swiss watch brand status within the lower end of watch prices.[citation needed]
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. The number of components was reduced from 91 or more to 51, with no loss of accuracy.[6]
Sistem51
Swatch introduced Sistem51 at Baselworld 2013 as "the world's first mechanical movement with entirely automated assembly."[7] 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 65-foot-long automated assembly line in clean-room conditions, without human intervention.[8]
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 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.[9] The design's peripheral bi-directional rotor allows viewing of movement components through the caseback.[7]
The Sistem51 was very poorly reviewed when judged on their mechanics.[10] However the watches still continue to sell due to their excellent marketing and the typical buyers general lack of knowledge on mechanical watches.
See also
References
- ^ The Amazing Adventures of the «Second Watch»
- ^ Company Info History The Swatch Group today the swatch group
- ^ "The Swatch co-inventor welds wood – and bones". Lunch over IP. 14 May 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
- ^ Brands: the logos of the global economy – Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 11 April 2010.
- ^ a b Donzé, P. (8 April 2014). A Business History of the Swatch Group: The Rebirth of Swiss Watchmaking and the Globalization of the Luxury Industry. Springer. ISBN 9781137389084.
- ^ a b 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
- ^ a b "Exclusive Hands-On Look At The Swatch Sistem51, A Revolutionary Mechanical Watch". 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.
- ^ "Review: A trip inside the Swatch Sistem51 / ETA C10111 | Watch Guy". watchguy.co.uk. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- "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
- 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
