Swatch Watch a Design Classic

Design Classic – Influential and important design

Swatch

• Manufacturer: Swatch, Switzerland

Swatch has revolutionised the watch industry over the previous four decades. The Swatch became the fashion item of the 1980s thanks to its combination of Swiss technology, design, and low price. It is the first watch that has become a classic look, with a black plastic band and a basic watch face.

Collections on Offer

The company offers collections every season, limited editions for loyal collectors, and a range of classic designs kept in production while adhering to fashion industry marketing guidelines. Watch design has always reflected trends throughout the twentieth century. Still, the business was the first to develop various styles and colours that propelled the firm to global prominence.

Origins

Three engineers, Ernst Thonke, Lacques Muller, and Elmar Mock, designed the prototypes. They created the first fully integrated watch, in which the action was not distinct from the rest of the watch. Then came the quartz Swatch, which broke the link between plastic and unreliability by providing consumers with cutting-edge technology. Swatch made a virtue of these workings by manufacturing a transparent version in which the components were entirely visible. It comprised fifty-one pieces, as opposed to over ninety in regular watches.

Sources

Byars, M., & Riley, T. (2004). The design encyclopedia. Laurence King Publishing.

McDermott, C. (1997). Twentieth-century design. Carlton.

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