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OK, who here has ever owned a Swatch?
Swatch changed the watch industry by making Swiss watches affordable, fun, and fashionable again during the quartz crisis of the 1980s.
Instead of treating watches only as luxury products, Swatch turned them into colorful lifestyle accessories people could collect. Its low-cost production and strong branding helped revive the Swiss watch industry and proved that design and marketing could matter as much as precision.
I honestly think must of us don't know or don't remember how important that brand was for the entire watch industry.
I'm sure the landscape would have been totally different today if in the 1980's Mr Hayek wouldn't have launched Swatch.
Swatch became a massive global success: by 1992, it had already sold over 100 million watches. The brand helped save the Swiss watch industry during the quartz crisis and attracted younger buyers with affordable, fashionable designs.
Today sources tell me they sold over 700.000.000 watches since the start.
Swatch became important for watch culture because it transformed watches from purely functional or luxury objects into fashion and collectible items. I was 12 when I bought my first one and tbh ... I probably had 20 or more. Not all at the same time but back then it was the must have when you were 12 to lets say 18 years. Once in a while I bought an extra one ... And watches I got tired of after wearing them for a long time, I could always swap with friends who had different Swatches.
My very first one was this 'Don't be too late' ... I don't have it anymore but do remember it very well
A picture from the Swatch book tells my it was made in 1984 ... I was a 12 year young kid 
And in 1986 They launched the POP Swatch.
Another huge succes.
This is on eI still have
I was only 14 and I do remember that thing was HUGE on my wrist
Well , huge when in it's specific case
the watch itself was not that big ... 39,4 mm
Now, will I buy the new Swatch X Audemars Piguet ?
No idea, I did not buy the Omega nor the Blancpain
But tha AP .... maybe
Anyway ... Hail to Swatch !!
For all they did to the industry, all the joy they give me when I was a kid ... and probably being responsible for making me a watch enthusiast / collector
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OK, who here has ever owned a Swatch?
Swatch changed the watch industry by making Swiss watches affordable, fun, and fashionable again during the quartz crisis of the 1980s. Instead of treating watches only as luxury products, Swatch turned them into colorful lifestyle accessories people coul...
Me, me, me, Hail to Swatch 😎😇😎
See my old thread on my very first wristwatch here: www.watchprosite.com
🙏🏼
None of the current lineup are to wear - more just interesting items that popped up along the way and which will be given to the grandkids (when I have them).
Swatch was what I collected as a boy
Every summer holiday I would go on a holiday trip with my parents and they would give me some pocket money for the trip. I remember it like around 50 €. That would be exactly enough to by myself a new swatch. And so I would build my first watch collection...
I owned, wore and traded during the Swatch hype (ca. 1987 - 1993) about 80 Swatches.
That was a nice hobby in the early days. At one point (luckily early enough) I sold all of them, except the GB101 (first series in black, which I still own) and with the profit paid my taxes for that year and bought my first vintage watch. Cheers, HSTE
Yeah, I remember the days when people traded Swatch watches very often.
These watches didn't speak to me, I ignored the hype at that time.
I think most of is have or had something from Swatch at some point.
I do have several but must admit i have almost never worn them 😬
Just a few!
Hi Bought quite a few! Have to say my yellow jelly skin, is probably the watch that has been most commented upon. Cheers JML ...
I fell prey to the Marketing...
I have about 8-10 still somewhere languishing in a cardboard box in a box in the garage... Fond memories from 1991 when I started out in SF and used to go up to Macy's off Union Square to buy them during my lunch hour. Haven't looked at them for a number ...