Portal: Watch Knowledge

Swatch - name of the fashion watch “Swatch”, as well as of the “Swatch Group”, the Swiss watch manufacturer and world's greatest watch trust

The foundation stone for the company Swatch was laid in 1983. At that time was the peak of the quartz crisis and the two largest Swiss watch manufacturers, the ASUAG and the SSIH, stood near bankruptcy.

Together, ASUAG and SSIH invited Nicolas Hayek, the managing director of the management consulting company Hayek Engineering, to take their businesses under the microscope. Among various protests Hayek suggested some basic reforms and merged ASUAG and SSIH to a company called SMH. (1998, the SMH was renamed to Swatch Group.)

To stand up against the Japanese cheap quartz watch, a well-priced, but colorful, rebellious, trendy plastic watch was created and its production largely automated the Swatch Watch. The name “Swatch” stands for “Swiss Watch” and was contracted to “S'watch”.

The success of the Swatch brought a scarcely hoped-for comeback for the Swiss watch industry; but it also allowed …

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