Swatch - The Last Great Innovation in Horology?
By A Collected Man
By now, everybody knows the story of the Quartz Crisis. The rise of battery-powered watches from Japan reshaped the Swiss watch world in a matter of years, causing a seismic disruption to a centuries old industry. From this impact, radical new designs began to spring forth from some of the oldest houses – see Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe’s steel sports watches. However, even these forward-thinking designs didn’t come close to the divergence achieved by the subject of this article. Machine-made, plastic, monobloc construction with a rubber strap and a quartz movement. The Swatch was as far away from a traditional “Swiss Made” timepiece as it was possible to be; yet the company that they were born from, ETA SA, has probably produced more Swiss movements than anyone else.
If you only look at the retail price, these are the most affordable and accessible watches that we’ve taken the time to write about here, and by quite some margin. However, this in no way takes away from their intrinsic quality – on the contrary. While the story of these watches was only supposed to go as far as keeping the Swiss watch industry afloat, it has in fact, created a whole new section of watch collecting. A fun, easy-going, “non-compete” watch that has far more variations and permutations than any other example on the market today.
Keith Haring's Modele avec Personnages.
Referred to by some as more akin to an objet d’art than a timepiece, the artist collaborations that Swatch started in 1985 with Kiki Picasso have also become cult favourites. Some have even become collectable in their own right, with the auction value of the most desirable models having far surpassed expectation. Not only were Swatch engaging with artists for design collaborations, but they were also positioning themselves more widely, by sponsoring events such a music festivals and sporting competitions. Over time, they became a feature in their own right, of popular culture.
In this article, we’ll delve into the world of Swatch, aiming to understand its origins and just why the brand is so central to modern horology, in a way which is often forgotten or disregarded. We also talked to some of the collectors that enjoy these pieces, with a few surprises along the way. Did you ever think that John Goldberger, the established Italian collector, would own a plastic Swatch, alongside his Patek Philippe perpetual calendars and Rolex split seconds chronograph? Turns out he has a few.