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Swatch is a brand of low-level quartz watch owned by the The Swatch Group Ltd.
The first collection of 12 Swatch models was introduced on March 1, 1983 in Zürich, Switzerland. Initially the price ranged from CHF 39.90 to CHF 49.90 but was standardized to CHF 50.- in autumn of the same year. Sales targets were set to 1 million timepieces for 1983 and 2.5 million the year after. With an aggressive marketing campaign and a very resonable price for a Swiss made watch, it gained instant popularity in its home market. Compared to conventional watches a Swatch was 80% cheaper to produce by fully automating assembly and reducing the parts from a usual 91 or more to only 51 components.
Swatches enjoyed their peak popularity in the USA during the mid-1980s, when a series of "Swatch Stores" were founded for the express purpose of selling Swatches.
They have now become fashionable objects, generating specialised models (the "Flik-Flak" for children, semi-automatic movements, and even diamond-decorated swatchs).
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