The Swatch Group Ltd

Place: Bienne

Born: 1983

Biography:

Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The Swatch product line was developed as a response to the 'quartz crisis' of the 1970s and 1980s, in which inexpensive, battery-powered, quartz-regulated watches were competing against more established European watchmakers, focused on artisanal craftsmanship producing mostly mechanical watches. The name Swatch is a contraction of both 'Swiss Watch' and its concept a 'second watch' for the consumer, as the brand manufactures watches with the intention of being casual, disposable accessories.