The Swatch Group Ltd. is the Swiss company that holds the all the rights concerning the famous watch brand that goes by the name of Swatch. It was formed in 1983 by the combining action of the two Swiss watch companies ASUAG and SSIH. This action was meant to overcome the Swiss crisis from the mid-seventies, and to assure the comeback of the Switzerland's finest watches producers that have joined forces.



Until the ?birth? of the Swatch watch, the profile industry had been taken over by the Japanese competition. This competition was soon to become outclassed by the SMH ? the former name of The Swatch Group Ltd, which took its present name in 1998.

The answer to the crisis was a Swatch watch, a watch that brought something new to the business. It was a slim plastic watch made out of 51 components. The usual watch was made out of at least 91 parts.

The price of the first Swatch was more than affordable, compared to other Swiss watches and their Japanese competitors. This high quality product came with an affordable price, and was launched on the market in the same year that witnessed the birth of The Swatch Group Ltd.

And the year of 1983 was one to remember, since that particular Swatch watch was the first member of the soon-to-be very famous wristwatch family that can easily be referred to as the most successful of all times.

The bold new style and design of all the Swatch watches represent a new era in the quartz watch industry. The classical quartz watch was redesigned in fewer parts, top class quality, and off course that all lead to manufacturing efficiency. With a new marketing plan, alongside with the new line of Swatch watches, and manufacturing expertise that followed, Switzerland was again a heavy contender to the first place in the world wristwatch market.

A new class of Swatch watches was born. From the standard Swatch watch in plastic, to Irony ? a Swatch made out of metal, to world's thinnest chronograph ? Swatch SKIN Chrono, to the swatch that acts as a ski pass at many ski resorts from all around the world (it has a built-in access control function) ? Swatch Snowpass, and the Swatch Beat, that features the Internet Time, all Swatch watches all high class products that make your money worth spending.

And as a supreme proof that the Swatch watches are market leaders since their ?birth?, stands their role as the Official Timekeeper in the recent Olympic Games and Ski and Snowboard World Cup competitions.

The outstanding progresses in the fields of science and technology will bring us even more high-class products from the Swatch watch generation and will continue to be a strong player on the wristwatch market. As long as the customer will have new tastes and desires The Swatch Group Ltd. will bring on the market Swatch watches to match everyone's wrist, from classy to sport, and from plastic to metal.