#SWATCH SWISS WATCH FULL#
#SWATCH SWISS WATCH SERIES#

With a price between €30 and €40, customers would easily buy more than one Swatch. Hayek believed that these new watches should also be part of that rotation, and people could mix things up. People that love fashion and follow trends often have multiple pairs of shoes, jackets, trousers, and shirts that are part of a rotation. The result was a watch was easily recognizable by its overall case and strap design, outspoken Swiss in its name and logo, and offered a great deal of variety in terms of appearance.ĮTA CEO Thomke and Nicholas Hayek, who was at the helm of SMH that owned brands like Omega, Tissot, and ETA, believed that the small team’s watches were perfect as a second watch, hence the name Swatch. Schmid and Müller were also the teams behind the development of the iconic Swatch logo. Additionally, they also designed almost all the dials from the prototypes in 1981 up to most of the regular production Swatch watches introduced until 1986. They designed the final 34mm case with its characteristic shape and two bridges that strengthen the connection to the strap. So they needed a way to make sure that these watches stood out.ĭesigners Marlyse Schmid and Bernard Müller were brought on board as the creative team. The issue with mass-produced plastic watches like the one they had developed is that they would all look the same. But there was one challenge they had to overcome. Essentially the two men had designed a watch that was durable and ready for mass production. This quest is also known as “Revolution 51”. Mock and Müller also managed to bring back the number of parts to 51, where most movements used at least 91 parts at the time. The bottom of the case also served as the base plate for the quartz movement inside. The breakthrough solution they came up with was a watch that featured a single-piece case made of plastic. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s A single-piece plastic watch Ernst Thomke, who was the ETA CEO at the time. Two engineers who worked at the company, Elmar Mock and Jacques Müller, worked on finding solutions under Dr. The company that put together a small team of engineers to work on the solution was the movement manufacturer ETA SA. These new materials would also lead to a new and cheaper way for the Swiss to produce watches. The new watches needed to be simpler and made from new and innovative materials that most traditional Swiss brands had not used up until then. To save the industry, the Swiss brands had to come up with something new and radical. It went from being a product that would serve you a lifetime to become a cheap and disposable product. It even changed the way the world looked at watches. The traditional approach to mechanical watchmaking was no competition for the cheap, mass-produced quartz watches from Asia that flooded the market. In the late 1970s, the Swiss watch industry was in deep crisis due to the quartz revolution. Most of you will know the story, but it is good to remind ourselves of the important first steps leading up to the creation of brands like Swatch. Image courtesy of Sotheby’s Swatch in the 1980s Little did I know how important Swatch became for the Swiss watch industry as a teenage onlooker.

As someone that grew up in the eighties, I loved seeing this new brand creating waves. The brand created watches that were provocative, loud, colorful. But Swatch took watch design to a completely different level in the 1980s. Often perceived as a decade with a distinct lack of style or rather an abundance of tacky design, the ’80s were often frowned upon. When it comes to style and design, the eighties were a special time. Swatch is a brand that has its roots in the eighties and is a perfect example of the impact of the quartz revolution. In the 1980s, quartz was king, which is reflected with this week’s brand. This is why a lot of Swiss brands ended up in trouble, often with disastrous results. When Seiko started the quartz revolution, most Swiss brands never predicted the enormous long-term effects on the industry. While the 1970s were a decade filled with tremendous change in the watch industry, the 1980s showed the fruits of that change. In this installment, we will take a look at the best Swatch watches from the 1980s. Some of them are priceless, some of them still affordable.

#SWATCH SWISS WATCH SERIES#

It inspired us to come up with a series of articles focusing on the best watches per decade from a select group of brands.

#SWATCH SWISS WATCH FULL#

It’s a world full of history, remarkable watches, incredible stories, and quirky details. While the daily routine is largely focused on the most recent developments in the world of watches, the most fun for many of us lies in the sometimes weird and often wonderful world of vintage watches. We like to talk about vintage watches a lot within the Fratello team.

Swatch swiss watch