Swatch
A sealed plastic watch of 51 parts, engineered to win back the cheap end of the market Switzerland had lost.
Big name·Global·Founded 1983·Members
At a glance
- Founded
- 1983, with twelve models shown in Zürich on 1 March.1
- Founded by
- Ernst Thomke, then chief executive of ETA, with the engineers Elmar Mock and Jacques Müller.1
- Owned by
- Swatch Group, listed in Zurich and controlled by the Hayek family, who hold 26 per cent of the equity and 44 per cent of the votes.5
- What it sells
- Wristwatches, mostly quartz in plastic or metal cases, plus the Sistem51 mechanical.1
- Size
- More than 600 million Swatches sold by 2014, on European Patent Office figures.8
How it got here
1983
1 of 3
The first collection of twelve models goes on sale in Zürich on 1 March, priced at CHF 39.90 to 49.90 and standardised to CHF 50 that autumn.1
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Price
Membership is from $12 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at $144 once a year. Lifetime access is $59, paid once.Membership is from ₹200 a month on the Yearly plan, which is charged at ₹2,400 + GST once a year. Lifetime access is ₹3,999 + GST, paid once.
Sources for what is above
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