Swatch was founded by Nicolas Hayek in Biel, Switzerland in 1983 and since then has taken the world by storm. The name Swatch comes from the abbreviation of 'second watch', as the watches thought as casual everyday wearing accessories.
The company, since the beginning, managed to have and maintain a low price in comparison to other watch brands by using innovations in automation and assembly but without compromising quality. They reduced the components from 91, that a usual watch have, to 51 while keeping accuracy.
Swatch quickly became more than a watch; it became a statement piece worn at any time by people of all ages. It achieved to transform watches to stylish fashion accessories with artists and designers around the world on board creating unique watches. In 1985, the Swatch Art Special collection started with the collaboration with French artist Kiki Picasso. Since then a plethora of names have been added to the list of collaborators such as Vivienne Westwood, Keith Haring, Spike Lee, Frank Kozi, Tadanori Yokoo, Jeremy Scott, Stephen Dean, Jad El Khoury, Alessandro Mendini (creator of many Alessi products); to name a few.
Akira Kurosawa, Pedro Almodóvar and Robert Altman designed Swatches named "Directors Set" and part the of Art Swatch Specials.
In 1999, Swatch launched its Art collection in Georges Pompidou Center of Contemporary Art in Paris. Renzo Piano, the architect who designed the Centre, creates the Jelly Piano watch. The biggest billboard ever made, getting in the Guinness Book of Records, was placed outside Pompidou to promote the occasion.
Apart from art, Swatch also got involved in cutting-edge sports that shared the companies passion and philosophy; snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, mountain biking, beach volley, surfing and more. The Swatch Pro Team was created in 1989. Furthermore, Swatch had a big part in the Olympic Games and was named official timekeeper at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996.
There are numerous things to mention about Swatch, but we'll conclude by saying simply how excellent Swatch watches are; a stylish 'time-machine' on your wrist.