Forty years of Swatch How a watch and its creator managed to turn the fortunes of Swiss watchmaking upside down

Forty years ago, in March 1983, the first Swatch model was introduced to the public. It was an immediate success, managing to revive the Swiss watch industry, which at the time was slowly failing due to competition from other countries. Until after the Second World War, Switzerland was the world's largest watch producer, but its monopoly was first challenged by the launch of American watches, then in the 1970s by the cheaper quartz watches made in Japan. The Swiss watch industry, characterised by slow workmanship and expensive luxury products, had mistakenly considered quartz watches a passing fad, but due to Japanese competition it lost two thirds of its workforce and a large part of its market share within a few years. Things changed thanks to Nicolas Hayek, a business consultant from Zurich who is considered to be the man who saved the Swiss watch industry.

One of the company's best-known initiatives was the Swatch Art Special, a programme launched in 1985 through which some of the best-known artists and designers could create their own limited edition Swatch models or collections. Participants included artists and designers such as Damien Hirst, Keith Haring and Vivienne Westwood. Today, the Swatch Group's single-brand shops number more than 3,000 worldwide, and the company, in addition to producing its famous watches - of many different types - also controls some fifteen brands, some popular and some luxury, such as Longines, Tissot, Breguet and Harry Winston. But Swatch's success continues unabated: according to figures released by the company, its sales in 2022 were 25% higher than the previous year.