Swatch
| Swatch AG
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|---|---|
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| legal form | Corporation |
| founding | 1983 |
| Seat | Biel / Bienne , Switzerland |
| management |
Nick Hayek ( CEO ) Nayla Hayek ( Chairman of the Board ) |
| Branch | Watch industry |
| Website | www.swatch.com |
The Swatch AG based in Biel / Bienne is a 100 percent subsidiary of the Swiss watch group Swatch Group SA ; At the same time, Swatch (a suitcase word made up of ' Second ' and ' Watch ') is the brand name of the watch of the same name .
history
As the father of the Swatch applies Nicolas G. Hayek ( 1928 - 2010 ). However, it was the two young engineers Elmar Mock and Jacques Müller who, in May 1980, sketched the plans for the original Swatch for their boss at the time, Ernst Thomke at the Grenchen watch manufacturer ETA , with the support of marketing consultant Franz Sprecher, in order to turn the ailing Swiss watch industry against the Far East To strengthen competition. The Swatch was in Zurich on March 1, 1983 launch .
From a technological point of view, however, the history of the Swatch began as early as 1978 with the development of the world's thinnest watch called Delirium . Because only the fully integrated production technology developed for this watch made the production of the Swatch possible.
The Swatch brand has permanently changed the watch industry and made a significant contribution to saving the Swiss watch industry. Many copycat products have been successful at times, e.g. B. Mondaine presented the M-Watch on February 24, 1983, a week before the Swatch, which was CHF 12 cheaper than the ETA / SMH Swatch at 38 francs , and ticked more quietly.
From 1984, under the aegis of Nicolas Hayek, the simple plastic watch was successfully marketed worldwide. The introduction of the new brand at the beginning of the 1980s, in addition to the restructuring of the Swiss watch companies carried out at the same time, played a major role in ensuring that the Swiss watch industry was able to regain world market leadership. In 1987 Peter Petersen joined the Swatch brand as CFO, which he took over as CEO shortly afterwards and headed it until 1998. He helped the Swatch brand to become well known today in the 1990s.
Production numbers
The following list gives an overview of the development of Swatch's production figures:
- 1983: The launch of Swatch is announced in Zurich
- 1984: 1,000,000 Swatch watches produced
- 1984: 3.5 million Swatch watches
- 1985: 10 millionth Swatch
- 1986: The price of a Swatch watch was 65.00 DM or sFr 50.00 (33.24 euros) (RRP)
- 1988: 55 millionth Swatch
- 1992: 100 millionth Swatch
- 1996: 200 millionth Swatch
- 1998: 250 millionth Swatch
- 2006: 333 million Swatch watches
Events
The hundred millionth Swatch watch was produced in 1992. On this occasion, the Swiss group invited the French musician Jean Michel Jarre to Zermatt in September of the same year , where he performed a laser show in front of the Matterhorn .
In 2006 Swatch celebrated the production of the 333 millionth Swatch. On the occasion of the celebration called Splashtival , which took place in Lugano on June 1st, Swatch launched the new Jelly in Jelly product line . Furthermore, the Blue Man Group from New York created the template for a later limited edition Jelly in Jelly Artist Special live on stage . The splash festival , which took place on a large stage on the Piazza della Riforma, was moderated by Michelle Hunziker and ended with a laser show and fireworks on Lake Lugano.
Products
The company is known for its colorful plastic watches , which appear in collections that change every six months. They are available in different sizes, from wristwatches to wall clocks, and with different functions (e.g. Access ). In addition to cheap watches, Swatch also produces more elegant models with metal cases and bracelets ( Irony line ), leather bracelets and / or additional functions (e.g. chronographs ). There is a collector's market for these watches. At irregular intervals there are limited special editions, also in higher-quality designs, e.g. B. with platinum case, mechanical clockwork or with diamond bezel . There is also the retrograde or the flat and delicate skin .
Swatch Touch and Pay
For the first time in 2011 with the Digital Touch model, a wristwatch from the Swatch watch group with a purely digital display was introduced. All important components, including the LCD digital display in twenty different colors, are manufactured by the group's subsidiaries, in particular EM Microelectronic . The name of this model is derived from the touchscreen technology used for operation . One variant is called Digital Touch Zero One . Fitness functions are integrated, which can be useful , for example, when playing beach volleyball . In July 2017, the Swatch Pay (original spelling: SwatchPAY!) Was launched as the second generation of a Swatch watch with a payment function in Shanghai , China. This watch with integrated payment function will be sold in partnership with eleven Chinese banks in China from mid-2017. Standardized wireless transmission of the Near Field Communication (NFC) type is used. An advantage over other smartwatches such as the Apple Watch is the independence from a mobile phone and the low power consumption of a normal quartz wristwatch. Unlike the earlier Swatch Bellamy of the first generation, the Swatch Pay can already be activated for the payment function at the point of sale via a cloud computing solution with a connection to the bank. In January 2019 Swatch Pay was also launched in Switzerland with partners Giesecke + Devrient and Mastercard . The partner banks Cembra Money Bank , Cornèr Bank , Credit Suisse , Swiss Bankers , Swisscard ( joint venture of Credit Suisse and American Express ), UBS and Viseca and from February boon by Wirecard were there at the start.
Mechanical automatic watch sistem51
As a supplement to the previous Swatch quartz wristwatches, a completely newly developed, purely mechanical automatic watch was released in 2014. It consists of only 51 parts and is manufactured on an automated production line in Boncourt . The adjustment of the time accuracy is machine-controlled by means of a laser. In contrast to Roskopf clockworks with a pin- lever escapement , it is a high quality caliber with 17 semi-precious stone bearings and a power reserve of 90 hours when not in use.
In trend sports
For several years now, Swatch has been involved in trend sports such as beach volleyball , snowboarding, especially the Ticket to Ride World Snowboard Tour or freeskiing, and regularly launches watches to match these sports.
In 1995/1996, the Access principle, developed as an electronic ski pass for winter sports enthusiasts, was integrated into the Swatch (see picture below). A built-in microchip allows a wide variety of information to be saved (e.g. access controls at ski lifts, stadiums, etc., cashless payment or interactive "gimmicks"). The integrated sensor ring (antenna) sends this information to a reading terminal: e.g. B. door openers or debiting devices. After “recognizing” the information, the terminal activates the corresponding function (e.g. opening the lift turnstile or payment transactions).
Telephones, pagers, glasses
Attempts to establish a brand transfer to other products usually failed soon. There were Swatch glasses , pagers ( Scall ), telephones and answering machines, all of which disappeared from the market.
Swatch Skin SFK100 Jelly Skin
Swatch Square in 2000
Swatch glasses came in different shapes and colors - Rio Mio from 1991/1992
Swatch Telecom
Swatch Telecom held a certain special position. The products in this division could last for a comparatively long time. The twinphone - on the market since 1988/1989 - made it possible for two people to speak at the same time with one telephone. In 1992 it was also available with an answering machine ( TwinTam ).
With the market penetration of cordless telephones, the Swatch Cordless I and II appeared . While the telephone and answering machine were only available separately at first, the second generation came with integrated devices. (The third generation was no longer delivered.)
From 1991/1992 there was the pager in the watch - Swatch The Beep , initially only as a numeric receiver, later as an alphanumeric version for the transmission of numbers and text messages. With the booming mobile phone market in the mid-1990s, the rather limited functionality of the Scall service was so quickly overtaken that the finished version of the somewhat smaller midi pager was no longer introduced. The Swatch pager, which was not integrated into a watch, was also only briefly on the market.
Swatch Cordless Handset
Swatch pager
Swatch Midi Pager, working model
Flik flak
Flik Flak is Swatch's kids brand. The first watches came on the market in 1987. With the colorful design , the two advertising figures “Flik” (minute hand) and its little sister “Flak” (hour hand), which are supposed to make reading a watch didactically easier, the brand quickly became a successful product line . The advertising characters, initially kept in a simple cartoon style, have now given way to more and more modern versions. The child-friendly robustness is underlined by the washability up to 40 ° C.
Swatch-Mobil
Nicolas Hayek came up with the concept of a small, light, two-seater city car that was to be equipped with an environmentally friendly electric or hybrid drive. He tried to win Volkswagen AG as a partner for the project and founded the Swatch car company SMH Volkswagen AG / SMH Automobile AG. After differences and the partial takeover by Daimler AG in March 1994 , the company was converted into MCC (Micro Compact Car) GmbH and incorporated into what was then the Mercedes Car Group (MCG) .
The project of a two-seater city car was implemented as a Smart Fortwo by the Mercedes company under the Smart car brand , but not in the form with an electric and hybrid drive, as Hayek had originally planned. Major developers of the Swatch-Mobil left MCC and founded Cree AG in 1996 . They developed the two-seat, three-wheeled electric light vehicle Sam Cree , which has been produced in Poland in a further developed form since 2009.
Club and gathering
While the hype surrounding Swatch watches has subsided in the early 1990s, there are still a number of collectors around the world, some of which are organized in the Swatch Club .
The most sought-after collector's item from a financial point of view is the Swatch Art Special oigol ORO (GZ 113), created by Mimmo Paladino in 1989 in a total edition of 140 pieces , which was distributed in a first series (numbered from 001 to 100/100) to 99 personalities known by name. At the auction for contemporary art on December 7, 1991 in the Rudolf Mangisch Gallery in Zurich, an example from the second series, which was intended for the artist and Swatch (No. XXXII / XL), achieved the maximum price of CHF 56,000.
Swatch GZ121 Lots of Dots , (1991) was the second club Special and was designed by Alessandro Mendini created
Swatch watch GZ116 Hollywood Dream : X-Mas Special from 1990, edition: 9999
Swatch Swiss Autoquarz , 1998: Autoquarz uses the Automatic Generating System developed by Seiko , later known as Kinetic (charging the battery through movement).
Swatch Museum
A picture of the extensive Swatch collection with around 6,500 watches on display can be found by collectors in the Swatch Museum Biel , which opened on June 2019. The museum is located in the new Cité du Temps building by architect Shigeru Ban , which will also include the Omega Museum from July 2019 .
Swatch watch timeline
Current clock lines are highlighted in green in the table .
Many watch lines also come as an irony version with a metal case and possibly also with a metal bracelet. Irony watches can be made from various metals such as aluminum, steel, or even platinum.
| Period | Line & family |
annotation | example |
|---|---|---|---|
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1981 - 1982 |
Development of various first prototypes, which led to the final form. Didn't go on sale. |
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1983 - today |
Original Gent | Quartz watches, from 1984 each watch has its own name, in addition to the reference number. The Gent has established itself as a unisex watch, although it is considered a Gent (gentlemen). 33mm large diameter. A special model of the " Collectors Club Watch " has been published annually since 1990 , as well as limited " Swatch Specials " , some of which are designed by artists for special occasions . From 1996 also as swatch access with access function using an RFID memory chip (e.g. Snowpass ). |
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1991 - 1997 |
Original Gent Automatic | Watches were available as " Automatic " with mechanical ETA automatic movements. 38mm diameter and transparent back. The current automatic line from Swatch is the "sistem51" . Size of a normal gent. | |
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1993 - 1998 |
Original Gent Musicall | Quartz clocks as "Musicall" with an additional alarm function. The adjustable alarm time could be switched on or off by pressing a button on the crown. Size of a normal gent. | |
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1995 - 1997 |
Original Gent Solar | Quartz clocks as "solar" with an additional solar function. The solar surface is located on the dial, which supports the energy supply. Size of a normal gent. | |
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1983 - today |
Original lady | Small ladies' watches with quartz movement. 25mm large diameter. From model year 1996 "Irony Lady" models made of metal are also available. | |
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1986 - today |
Original pop | Quartz watches that can be clipped into a case with a wide strap, chain and other accessories. 39 or 45mm ( New Pop ) large diameter. For a time also as a Midi Pop Swatch with a smaller 32mm diameter. Came from 1986 with an optional Recco reflector bracelet. | |
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1990 - today |
Original scuba | Quartz watches with rotating bezels, plastic or metal models "Irony Scuba" with various strap materials. Diameter of 38 mm, 44 mm for Scuba Libre models and water resistant up to 20 bar. From 1997 also as Swatch Scuba 200 access with access function using an RFID memory chip (e.g. Snowpass ). |
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1990 - today |
Original chrono | Chronograph, plastic models up to 1998, Irony Chrono models made of metal from 1996 onwards. 43mm diameter.
From 2009 to 2011 also the "Irony Chrono Automatic" line . From 2015 also the "XLITE" line . |
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2001 - 2005 |
Original X-Large | Quartz watches that are around 30% larger than the standard Gent models. Case diameter 45 mm. | |
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2002 - today |
Original Square | Clock models with square cases. Case width 24 or 29mm. Irony Square models also available from model year 2007 . |
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2002 - 2005 |
Original turnaround | Clocks with reversible cases showing different motifs. For the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008, another turnover model "Dragon Celebration Beijing 08" was only sold in Beijing. | |
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2003 - 2004 |
Original touch | Analog clocks with touch functions that trigger various functions. Random function for decisions is an example. | |
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2004 - 2008 |
Original fun | Quartz watches with different functions, such as B. depth gauge (40 m), dive display, Swatch snowpass, and much more. | |
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2006 - 2010 |
Original jelly in jelly | Unisex quartz watches made entirely of plastic on the outside (including crown and battery cover). 38mm large diameter. Partly with ski pass function using a contactless 125 kHz RFID chip. | |
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2008 - today |
Original Chrono Plastic | New edition of the chronograph with plastic case. 42 mm large diameter. | |
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2010 - today |
Original New Gent | Quartz clock with a diameter of 41 mm. Plastic case and silicone tape. | |
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2013 - today |
Original sistem51 | Watches with an automatic movement, the mechanism consists of only 51 parts. Is produced fully automatically by robots. 90 hours power reserve. 42mm large diameter. | |
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2016 - today |
Original Bellamy | Quartz watches with contactless NFC payment. Debit and credit cards are supported. | |
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2017 - today |
Pay | Quartz watches with second generation contactless NFC payment. Activation in the Swatch shop is currently only available in China. | |
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1997 - today |
skin | Very flat quartz watches. 34mm in diameter for Skin Classic . Also as Skin Regular with a 37mm diameter. Skin beat with digital display. |
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2001 - 2009 |
Skin Chrono | Very flat chronograph with quartz movement and 37 mm diameter. | |
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2017 - today |
Skin big | Very flat quartz watches with a slightly larger 40mm case. | |
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2000 - 2013 |
Skin .Beat | Very flat quartz watches with digital display. When you touch the display, Swatch's "Internet Time" is displayed. | |
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1991 - 1996 |
Swatch telecom beep | Analog quartz clocks with an additional small digital display. This display was used for the pager function in order to receive (alpha) numeric messages (e.g. using the Cityruf radio paging standard , later also Scall ). 1991: Swatch Pager, 1993: Swatch BeepUp Tone, 1993: Swatch BeepUp Numeric, 1994 & 1995: Swatch theBeep Numeric ( Scall ), 1996: Swatch theBeep Alphanumeric ( Scall ) |
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1998 - 2003 |
Digital. Beat | Quartz clocks with digital display. Plastic or aluminum versions. Many functions such as alarm, background lighting, chronograph, date, stop function, timer, second time zone, "Internet time" , and much more. |
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2004 - 2004 |
Digital paparazzi | The first " Smart Watches " from Swatch were four watches from the paparazzi family from 2004, which had a large graphic display and could receive wireless information via MSN Direct . Only was MSN Direct only available in the US and was replaced by smart phones soon, so then this service has been discontinued. It remained with four watch models, with many of the functions of a modern digital watch. | |
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2011 - today |
Digital touch | Quartz watches with domed touch-sensitive digital display and six functions. | |
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2015 - today |
Digital Touch Zero One | Quartz watches with domed touch-sensitive digital display. Many sensor functions can also be controlled via Bluetooth using the Swatch app. | |
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1986 - today |
Maxi Swatch | Large wall clock from Swatch. Length 2.10 m. |
As of September 2017
See also
literature
- Berndt Schulz : Swatch. Or the success story of Nicolas Hayek . Lehrach, Düsseldorf 1999, ISBN 978-3-9806151-2-9 .
- Jürg Wegelin : Mister Swatch. Nicolas Hayek and the secret of his success . Nagel & Kimche , Munich 2009, ISBN 978-3-312-00447-8 .
- Roland Carrera: Swatchissimo. Geneva 1991.
- Joseph Hanhart: Swatch o 'Clock. Neuallschwil (Basel) 1986.
Web links
- Swatch official website
- 2008: Focus - Swatch: The fun watch turns 25 and NZZ - Swatch: A plastic idea conquers the world
- Swatch official website
Individual evidence
- ^ Swatch - Swatch Group. Retrieved May 13, 2020 .
- ↑ The Swatch Group SA : Swatch Group History (yesterday) Retrieved August 18, 2010 (English)
- ↑ See chronology on swatchforum.com ( Memento from May 29, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Annual Report of the Swatch Group 2012 (English): [1] , accessed July 29, 2014
- ↑ Hayek presents the first Smart Swatch. NZZ am Sonntag, March 1, 2015, p. 35
- ^ Sarah Clark: Swatch partners with eleven Chinese banks for second-generation payments watch. In: NFCworld , July 17, 2017, accessed March 3, 2018
- ↑ Mathias Müller: Chinese customers think differently. In: NZZ , March 3, 2018, p. 31
- ↑ SwatchPAY! The coolest way to pay! In: swatch.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Michael Heim: Credit Cards: International costs are higher than stated. In: handelszeitung.ch . January 17, 2019, accessed January 21, 2019 .
- ↑ Wirecard cooperates with Swatch for the launch of SwatchPAY! In: finanztreff.de. Retrieved January 17, 2019 .
- ↑ Description of the fully automated production of the Swatch sistem51
- ↑ Swatch sistem51 purely mechanical automatic watch
- ↑ a b brand eins online: So Smart ( Memento from March 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), accessed January 22, 2013.
- ↑ luxgallery.it: Alessandro Mendini ( Memento from July 1, 2016 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ bellevue.nzz.ch: New main building for Swatch in Biel
- ↑ Swatch Watch Finder: Swatch watches query according to criteria Retrieved on September 19, 2017 (English)