Product design

Swatch

They have names like "Happy Fish", "Lots of Dots", "Ruffled Feathers", "Technosphere" or "Breakdance". They look like vegetables, fried eggs or fried bacon or sometimes come with a bathing cap. They were designed by artists such as Kiki Picasso, Keith Haring, Mimmo Paladino and Alfred Hofkunst.

Soberly considered, the Swatch is a simple quartz watch made of plastic and now relatively inexpensive. Nevertheless, the Swatch became a cult object – and the mix of mass and strictly limited editions with famous partners quickly aroused the interest of collectors. 

The former CEO of the movement manufacturer ETA, with the support of Nicolas Hayek, had revolutionized the watchmaking world. However, Swatch did not achieve a start-finish victory. The 1982 premiere in Dallas was initially a false start. OMD, Falco, Albano and Romina Power were on the radio up and down – but due to a poor marketing plan and lack of strategy, the Swatch could not be positioned as a fashion accessory as planned. The real start was in 1983 after a relaunch of the brand. In just five years, 268 different models were presented and a total of 50 million watches were sold. Swatch was a phenomenon: it brought its makers a turnover that exceeded production costs tenfold, and became the basis for Hayek's "Rescue of the Swiss Watch Industry".

In an almost manic way, fans in the 1980s and 1990s searched for the latest and rarest models, and some paid dizzying sums for them. It was the time when Swatch Watches were traded like diamonds. The Swatch was fun, versatile and therefore ideal for collecting. Like the surprise egg, only more expensive. The hype was mainly due to the company's skilful marketing.

The youth of the 1980s had a very definitive culture, a culture that Swatch not only tapped into but also helped to build. Although the name came from "second watch", it could also have stood for "empty canvas". The simplified architecture of the case and bracelet design made it very easy to constantly redesign and collaborate. It drew parallels to other fashion trends of the time in streetwear – one recalls the neon Elho jackets – and functioned as an easily mass-produced canvas for the bold and colorful aesthetics of the time. Swatch managed to synchronize perfectly with the fashion trends led by graphic design, which seemed to dominate the youth culture of the 1980s, and delivered a timepiece that was both unpretentious and infinitely adaptable.

Swatch Originals. As the term suggests, the originals were there first, and all show plastic cases in various shapes, sizes and designs. The earliest originals had a minimum of color, instead of the rebellious Shadow Symphony that was present in some of the later models. The originals are mostly quite rare: Swatch Watches that sell well at auction.

In 1990, not only the most successful single from Ace of Base, "All That She Wants", was released, but also Swatch's first diver's watch: the Scuba. With rotating bezel, made of plastic or metal with various bracelet materials and with a diameter of 38 mm up to 44 mm. From 1997 even with integrated ski pass.

From 1991/1992, the pager in the watch – Swatch “The Beep“ – was available, initially only as a numerical receiver, later as an alphanumeric version for transmitting numbers and text messages. Due to the booming cell phone market in the mid-1990s, the rather limited function of the Scall service was overtaken so quickly that the finished version of the somewhat smaller midi pager was no longer introduced. Chronos, PoP-Swatches, automatic watches, small watches or in life-size followed.

So Swatch always came up with new and surprising ideas, but unfortunately the hype about Swatch watches ebbed away in the early 1990s. There are still a number of collectors around the world – like I used to be in my youth. But will the success and the run on plastic watches return? Let us be surprised and think of Bon Jovi's song "Keep The Faith".

Here, and there, and everywhere. | All words and photos by The Sturgheons.