The company was formed by the merging of two already great Swiss
watch manufacturers, ASUAG and SSIH and is currently located in Biel,
Switzerland. Swatch Group makes products in the timekeeping industry,
jewellery and of course watches. Swatch was introduced to the market for
the first time in March of 1983 and has 24,000 employees worldwide.
The meaning of the word Swatch was a combination of the two words
“second” and “watch” and was part of a marketing campaign to
re-establish Switzerland as a major player in the worldwide wristwatch
market. The plan was to introduce a watch that was both casual while
also being fun and functional at the same time. Soon the Swatch watch
began to gain popularity and as it did so captured its place in the
market challenging Japanese manufacturers such as Seiko. Swatch Group
was successful in putting the Swiss back on the map in a big way. Two
years after introducing their line of Swatch watches the Swatch group successfully sold more than 3.5 million watches.
To continue to hold their position the Swatch Group began making
different styles of watches such as the Pop Swatch. This Swatch could be
attached to your shirt or vest and soon became very popular. Artists
from all over lent their creativity in helping the company develop
unique trendsetting original Swatch backgrounds and bands.
Soon the fad of trendy stylish watches became popular throughout the
hip-hop community. Swatch catered to this interest by creating watches
with interchangeable faces and bands. The same watch you wore today
would have a completely different look tomorrow. The Swatch was no
longer just a watch anymore it was a fashion statement that reflected
ones individual tastes. Just as you would carefully select your wardrobe
for the day the selection of which Swatch style or color was just as
important.
Today the Swatch brand has 5 different families of watch brands,
Swatch Originals, Swatch Irony, Swatch Skin, The Swatch Beat and Swatch
Bijoux.
Swatch currently has over a dozen types of watches to include watches
that are designed for diving. There is model known as the Paparazzi
that enables the owner to connect to the internet and download music,
news, sports etc. There is an upper end of Swatch watches which caters
specifically for those who can afford to have nothing but the best. This
line of watches have all the great Swiss craftsmanship and are diamond
encrusted for those who can afford them.
The Swatch Group is still one of the top watch
manufacturers and is the largest in the world. Known primarily for its
watch making Swatch is also the main sponsor for the Beach Volleyball
World Tour and has designed a Swatch specifically for beach volleyball
players. Swatch was also the official timekeeper of the 1996, 2000 and
2004 Summer Olympic Games. By staying on top of growing market trends
and maintaining its quality and workmanship Swatch has insured that it
will be a main player in the watch making industry for years to come.
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