Swatch® from a plastic nobody to a global brand name in 18 years.

In the 1970s the Swiss watch making industry, worldrenowned for its precision, quality watches, was in crisis. In just ten years its export market had dropped by half, with Hong Kong and Japan now occupying the top spots. In 1978 the Japanese introduced a watch that was just 2 millimetres thick. Switzerland’s largest watch group, ASUAG, rose to the challenge and developed a gold watch that was just 0.98 millimetres thick. This technological masterpiece was a huge success and inspired further research at ASUAG. Could a watch be made entirely of plastic?

The answer was yes. In 1985 Swatch® registered their first trade mark. Up until then, the Swiss watchmakers had been specialists in precision, exclusive and expensive watches. Now, not only had ASUAG produced a watch that was made totally from synthetic material, a completely new phenomenon, but they were pioneers in the world of mass production, producing a watch that was inexpensive and available in a range of colours. This was something completely new in the watch industry and an enterprise with a difference was launched.

Behind the success of Swatch® were the masterminds who believed in their vision. Everything about the watch was innovative, from the technology to the way it was launched onto the market. This dedication to creativity and enterprise has resulted in Swatch® developing over 2000 registered designs.