The Swatch Group introduced their first collection of watches on March 1, 1983, and since then, they have produced a large range of different quartz watches. The company began as a way of rebuilding the Swiss watch manufacturing business, which had lost ground to Seiko and other Japanese watch companies during the 1960s.

Swatch's first collection of watches, unveiled in Zurich, Switzerland, introduced a very bold style and design. The watch mechanics were simpler and required fewer parts, a design which made the watches both easier to work on and more efficient to manufacture. It was this innovative new design that helped put Switzerland back on top of the watch market.

Swatch - a name which comes from combining the words "second" and "watch" according to Chairman Nicolas Hayek, launched a very aggressive marketing campaign alongside its new line of watches in 1983, and it was this campaign that allowed the company to easily sell 1 million watches that year. This campaign also saw Swatch reaching its peak in the United States during the 80s. In the US, the Swatch fad quickly caught on. In fact, the brand was so popular that people often wore two of them or used a Swatch to hold up their ponytails. Swatch even started making some very different kinds of watches, like the Pop Swatch, a Swatch that could be attached to shirts or vests. Artists also stepped in to create very unique, very trendy Swatch backgrounds and bands.

Swatch also gained popularity within the hip-hop community. In marketing to this community, Swatch created watches with interchangeable faces and bands. Swatch owners could quickly and easily change their watches look, color, and overall fashion statement by changing the cover and attaching it to a new vinyl band. Day-glow, neon colors, and pastel bands were all the rage.

Today, Swatch sales have dropped since the 80s, but the Swatch Group is still on top of the world's watch manufacturing industry and is the largest watch company in the world. The company has purchases Swiss luxury brands, including Breguet, Omega, Lonines, Tissot, Calvin Klein, Hamilton, and Endura, and has began diversifying its catalogue.

Swatch offers over a dozen different watch types, including specialty watches made for diving. Another innovative Swatch watch called the Papprazzi series allows watch wearers to connect to the internet and download news, weather reports, and more. Another watch, the Flik-Flak, is targeted at children, while the diamond-encrusted Swatches are designed with upper-class erudites in mind.

In addition to being known as a very innovative watch company, Swatch is also the main sponsor of the Beach Volleyball World Tour, for which it specially developed a Swatch for beach volleyball players. The company has also served as the official timekeeper of the 1996, 200, and 2004 Summer Olympic games.