Citizendia

For other uses, see Swatch (disambiguation).
The Swatch Group Ltd.
TypeLimited
Founded1983
HeadquartersBiel, Switzerland
Key peopleNicolas Hayek
ProductsWatches
Operating income▲ US$5. A limited company in the United Kingdom is a Corporation whose liability is limited by law Year 1983 ( MCMLXXXIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1983 Gregorian calendar) Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Nicolas George Hayek (born February 19, 1928 in Beirut Lebanon) is the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swatch In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need A watch is a timepiece that is made to be worn on a person The term now usually refers to a wristwatch, which is worn on the wrist with a strap or Bracelet. In financial and business Accounting, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT is a measure of a firm's profitability that excludes interest and income tax expenses 941 billion
Employees23,600 (2008)
Websitewww.swatchgroup.com

The Swatch Group Ltd. Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages (SWX: UHR and SWX: UHRN) is a Swiss company and the biggest watch manufacturer in the world (about 25% of the sales). SWX Swiss Exchange is Switzerland 's Stock exchange, based in Zürich. SWX Swiss Exchange is Switzerland 's Stock exchange, based in Zürich. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale It was formed in 1983 through the merging of the two Swiss watch manufacturers ASUAG and SSIH, and took its present name in 1998 (formerly SMH Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watchmaking Industries Ltd).

In 2007, gross sales were 5. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. 94 billion CHF. The franc ( German: Franken, French and Romansh: franc, Italian: franco; code: CHF The Swatch Group has around 23,600 employees.

Contents

History

The Swatch Group formed from two financially troubled predecessor companies. SSIH originated in 1930 with the merger of the Omega and Tissot companies. Swiss watch quality was high, but new technology such as the Hamilton Electric watch introduced in 1957 and the Bulova Accutron tuning fork watch introduced in 1961 presaged increasing high technology competition. A watch is a timepiece that is made to be worn on a person The term now usually refers to a wristwatch, which is worn on the wrist with a strap or Bracelet. Bulova is a New York based corporation making Watches and Clocks. A watch is a timepiece that is made to be worn on a person The term now usually refers to a wristwatch, which is worn on the wrist with a strap or Bracelet.

In the late 1970's SSIH became insolvent due in part to a recession and in part to heavy competition from inexpensive Asian made quartz crystal watches. These difficulties occurred even though it had become Switzerland's largest and the world's third largest producer of watches. Its creditor banks assumed control in 1981. ASUAG, formed in 1931, included the Longines and Rado brands. ASUAG was the world's largest producer of watch movements but failed similarly in 1982. SSIH and ASUAG were reorganized and merged into ASUAG-SSIH Holding Company in 1983, then taken private by CEO Nicholas Hayek, who was born and raised in Lebanon, in 1985, and renamed SMH in 1986, and ultimately Swatch Group in 1998.

The launch of the new Swatch brand in 1983 was marked by bold new styling and design. The quartz watch was redesigned for manufacturing efficiency and fewer parts. This combination of marketing and manufacturing expertise restored Switzerland as a major player in the world wristwatch market.

Brands

The Swatch Group owns several companies which do research (Asulab, EM Microelectronic-Marin, Oscilloquartz SA), produce movements (ETA SA, Valjoux, F. ETA SA is a Swiss producer of mechanical and quartz watch movements Valjoux (for Vallée de Joux, "Joux Valley" is a Swiss manufacturer of mechanical Watch movements. Piguet), produce pieces of watches (Comadur), and numerous watch brands, including Breguet, Blancpain, Jaquet Droz, Glashütte Original, Union Glashütte, Léon Hatot, Omega SA, Tiffany & Co., Rado, Longines, Swatch, Tissot, Calvin Klein, Certina, Mido, Pierre Bal-main, Hamilton, Flik Flak and Endura. Comadur is a Swiss manufacturing company based in the town of Le Locle, near La Chaux-de-Fonds. Breguet is a manufacturer of luxury watches founded by Abraham Louis Breguet in Paris in 1775 Blancpain is a Swiss Watch manufacturer founded in 1735 by Jehan-Jaques Blancpain. Glashütte Original is a German watchmaking company founded in 1994 by the Privatisation of VEB Glashütter Uhrenbetriebe Omega SA is a high-end Watch company based in Biel / Bienne Switzerland. Tiffany & Co ( is a US jewelry and silverware company founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City Rado is a Swiss manufacturer of watches, with headquarters in Lengnau, Switzerland. Longines is a luxury Watch company founded by Ernest Francillon at Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products Tissot is a Swiss Watchmaker company founded in 1853. History Tissot was founded by Charles-Felicien Tissot and his son Charles-Emile Calvin Klein Inc is an American fashion brand founded in 1968 by Calvin Klein. Certina is a Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 1888 by Adolf and Alfred Kurth Balmain is a Fashion house that was founded by Pierre Balmain. The Hamilton Watch Company was an American manufacturer of high quality pocket[[watches]] and Wristwatches. Endura is a watch making subsidiary of the Swatch Group, the largest watch manufacturer in the world with watch brands such as Rado and Tiffany's.

Electronic Systems

The Swatch Group Electronic System provides complete solutions by integrating the individual expertise of the following companies:

The Nicolas G. Hayek Watchmaking School

The Swatch Group started offering their first class for aspiring watchmakers in September 2005. This school is based out of Secaucus, New Jersey. Secaucus is a town in Hudson County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the town population was 15931 Another school is located in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. Other watchmaker schools outside the US are situated in Glashütte (Germany), Pforzheim (Germany), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Shanghai (China). Glashütte is a city in Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge, Free State of Saxony, Germany, which was the birthplace of the German Watchmaking industry

Internet Time and New Technologies

In 1998, Swatch invented "Swatch Internet Time", intended as a global timesystem, which divides the day into 1000 "beats" in a single worldwide timezone. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) Swatch Internet Time was a Decimal time concept introduced in 1998 and marketed by the Swatch corporation as an alternative decimal measure of Time.

In October 2004, Swatch introduced its first smart watch, the Paparazzi, based on Microsoft Corporation's SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology) technology. "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational Computer technology Corporation, which rose to dominate the Home computer

Oscilloquartz SA, a company of the Swatch Group Electronic Systems, also produces NTP time server products. Oscilloquartz, a company of the Swatch Group, is a manufacturer of frequency sources such as quartz Crystal oscillators ( OCXO) GPS receivers The Network Time Protocol ( NTP) is a protocol for distributing the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC by means of synchronizing the clocks of computer systems

Ventures

In 1994, Swatch entered into a joint venture with Daimler-Chrysler to produce the Smart Car, but they later withdrew from this project. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) Daimler AG ( (formerly DaimlerChrysler AG) is a German car corporation (not to be confused with the British car-maker Daimler Motor Company) and Smart, formerly Smart GmbH (formerly MCC Smart GmbH is an automotive brand of Daimler AG, is a manufacturer of Microcars and superminis based

Current CEO of Swatch Group

G. Nicolas (Nick) Hayek, Jr. is the current CEO of the Swatch Group. He is the son of Nicolas G. Hayek, the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swatch Group,

See also

Further reading

External links

Nicolas George Hayek (born February 19, 1928 in Beirut Lebanon) is the co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swatch Pierre Jaquet-Droz (1721-1790 was a Swiss -born Watchmaker of the late eighteenth century
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