The emergence of the Swatch Watch:
Quartz Crisis:
Prior to the ‘Quartz Crisis’ of the 1970s the Swiss watchmaking industry had been responsible for producing around 95% of all mechanical watches that were sold across the world. It was also responsible for the jobs of 90,000 people in Switzerland. Part of Switzerland’s successes in the industry can be traced back to the Second World War, as they assumed a neutral position which meant that they were able to develop without the threat of invasion.
However, this dominance soon came in jeopardy in the 1970s, in the face of the development of quartz technology. Quartz powered watches could guarantee far greater accuracy than mechanical watches, this gave way to the notion that Swiss-made watches were imprecise and overpriced. Quartz movements used far less pieces, which made them far cheaper and easier to produce and therefore cheaper to purchase. Consequently, the Swiss watch industry suffered greatly, 63% of Swiss companies had gone into administration by 1984 and the number of jobs in the industry had fell to 33,000 in 1984 too.
The Swiss Response:
The domestic watch industry in Switzerland was severely dependent on the financial support of the banks in the early 1980s. This led to the banks commissioning a leading industry consultant, Nicolas Hayek, to help save the brands. Hayek merged the two largest Swiss watchmaking groups, ASUAG and SSIH they formed the Swatch Group.
The concept behind the success of the Swatch company was simple, it was to produce a low cost watch that could be mass produced and yield a high profit margin. It was also reliant upon the development of the Sistem51, this reduced the number of components in the quartz movement to 51 from the typical 91. This therefore made the watches cheap and easy to design, and as a result this meant that the company had more autonomy on the way they were designed. Swatch’s innovative designs and commitment to popular culture gave way to Swatch’s worldwide appeal.
The first Swatch was released in 1983 and it was met with immediate success, by 1986 over 23 million pieces had been sold and by 1992 over 100 million had been sold. This new collection of Swatch watches is called ‘1983’ and they are a contemporary interpretation of the original models, in alignment with new innovative materials and technologies.
Swatch 1983:
Prior to this collection Swatch watches were made from 6 different materials that were 100% fossil bases, however this new collection of watches are composed of just 2 materials that are largely bio-based. They are sourced from materials such as starch, cellulose, wood, sugar and biomass. All of which are renewable and sustainable. Each model comes packaged in a biodegradable material/
The collection consists of six models that emulate the design codes of the early days of Swatch’s illustrious spirit.
Quartz Crisis:
Prior to the ‘Quartz Crisis’ of the 1970s the Swiss watchmaking industry had been responsible for producing around 95% of all mechanical watches that were sold across the world. It was also responsible for the jobs of 90,000 people in Switzerland. Part of Switzerland’s successes in the industry can be traced back to the Second World War, as they assumed a neutral position which meant that they were able to develop without the threat of invasion.
However, this dominance soon came in jeopardy in the 1970s, in the face of the development of quartz technology. Quartz powered watches could guarantee far greater accuracy than mechanical watches, this gave way to the notion that Swiss-made watches were imprecise and overpriced. Quartz movements used far less pieces, which made them far cheaper and easier to produce and therefore cheaper to purchase. Consequently, the Swiss watch industry suffered greatly, 63% of Swiss companies had gone into administration by 1984 and the number of jobs in the industry had fell to 33,000 in 1984 too.
The Swiss Response:
The domestic watch industry in Switzerland was severely dependent on the financial support of the banks in the early 1980s. This led to the banks commissioning a leading industry consultant, Nicolas Hayek, to help save the brands. Hayek merged the two largest Swiss watchmaking groups, ASUAG and SSIH they formed the Swatch Group.
The concept behind the success of the Swatch company was simple, it was to produce a low cost watch that could be mass produced and yield a high profit margin. It was also reliant upon the development of the Sistem51, this reduced the number of components in the quartz movement to 51 from the typical 91. This therefore made the watches cheap and easy to design, and as a result this meant that the company had more autonomy on the way they were designed. Swatch’s innovative designs and commitment to popular culture gave way to Swatch’s worldwide appeal.
The first Swatch was released in 1983 and it was met with immediate success, by 1986 over 23 million pieces had been sold and by 1992 over 100 million had been sold. This new collection of Swatch watches is called ‘1983’ and they are a contemporary interpretation of the original models, in alignment with new innovative materials and technologies.
Swatch 1983:
Prior to this collection Swatch watches were made from 6 different materials that were 100% fossil bases, however this new collection of watches are composed of just 2 materials that are largely bio-based. They are sourced from materials such as starch, cellulose, wood, sugar and biomass. All of which are renewable and sustainable. Each model comes packaged in a biodegradable material/
The collection consists of six models that emulate the design codes of the early days of Swatch’s illustrious spirit.