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18-406: The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company was founded in 1983 through the merger of ASUAG and SSIH , moving to manufacturing quartz-crystal watches to resolve the quartz crisis threatening the traditional Swiss watchmaking industry. The Swatch Group is the largest watch company in the world and employs about 31,000 people in 50 countries. The group owns

36-590: A fuel cell powered car. Swatch began test drives of the car in Switzerland in 2012. However, the Swatch Group abandoned the project for a fuel-cell-powered car in June 2015, to concentrate instead on a new type of battery with high storage capacity. Allgemeine Gesellschaft der Schweizerischen Uhrenindustrie Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG ( ASUAG ; French : Société Générale de l'Horlogerie Suisse SA )

54-978: A global time system, which divides the day into 1000 "beats" in a single worldwide time zone . In October 2004, Swatch introduced its first smart watch, the Paparazzi, based on Microsoft Corporation's SPOT (Smart Personal Objects Technology.) The Swatch Group started offering their first class in the Nicolas G. Hayek Watchmaking School in Miami , Florida , in September 2005. There are other watchmaking schools in Glashütte , Germany; Pforzheim , Germany; Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia; and Shanghai , China. Swiss Timing, under brands such as Omega, Longines, and Tissot, provide timing services for sporting events such as Formula One , Olympic Games , Tour de France , and equestrian events. In 2018 it

72-452: A position that he held until 1991. At that time, newly elected president and main shareholder Nicolas G. Hayek had already become the only person of reference. This Swiss corporation or company article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Baume et Mercier Baume & Mercier was founded as "Frères Baume" in 1830 by brothers Louis-Victor and Célestin Baume, who opened

90-568: The Bulova Accutron tuning fork watch in 1961, presaged increasing technological competition. In the late 1970s, 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 ( Allgemeine Gesellschaft der Schweizerischen Uhrenindustrie ), formed in 1931,

108-597: The Swatch product line and other luxury brands, including Blancpain , Breguet , Certina , ETA , Glashütte Original , Hamilton , Harry Winston , Longines , Mido , Omega , Rado , and Tissot . SSIH ( Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère ), 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

126-522: The Capeland collection for men, and the Linea and Promesse collections for women. In 2015, Baume & Mercier bolstered its sports watch offerings by entering into a partnership with the celebrated American race carmaker Carroll Shelby International . In 2016 the company sold " Shelby Cobra " models, named for the sports car , in its Capeland and Clifton collections. The short-lived, downmarket Baume brand

144-469: The movement parts & Ebauches manufacturers on one side, and through its sub-holding General Watch Co (GWC); many watch brands on the other side. Most of those companies are still active, integrated into the new conglomerate. During the years of crisis, from 1978 until 1991, Dr. Ernst Thomke was at the helm of the restructuring, first as CEO of ETA SA , then Ebauches SA , including a mandate as Administrator of ASUAG, and became SMH's first CEO in 1983,

162-648: The price of a later model. In the 1970s, Baume & Mercier introduced shaped timepieces such as the Galaxie and Stardust models. In 1973, Baume & Mercier presented the Riviera, one of the world's first steel sports watches. In 1988, the Swiss watchmaker joined the Richemont group. Currently, the brand offers the Clifton, Classima and Hampton collections for both men and women,

180-471: The understanding of the Swiss banks and the financial assistance of a group of Swiss private investors (in particular Stephan Schmidheiny and Esther Grether ), it was renamed SMH (Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie) in 1986, and ultimately Swatch Group Ltd in 1998. The " swatch " brand of watch was launched in 1983, by the ETA SA CEO Ernst Thomke and his engineers. The quartz watch

198-892: The watch dealership in Les Bois , a village in the Swiss Jura . The Swiss watch manufacturer established a branch in London in 1851 under the name "Baume Brothers", which led to expansion throughout the British Empire . By the late 19th century, the company had an international reputation, and its timepieces had set accuracy records and won a number of timekeeping competitions. In 1918, company director William Baume partnered with Paul Mercier to found "Baume & Mercier" in Geneva . The firm became specialized in manufacturing wristwatches , particularly models in unconventional shapes. In 1919, Baume & Mercier

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216-912: Was acquired on 26 March 2013 for 711 million Swiss francs . Nayla Hayek became the CEO. The company bought the world's biggest flawless blue diamond, The Winston Blue , on 15 May 2014. The following list includes the brands owned by the Swatch Group: Swatch subsidiary ETA SA , which is based in Grenchen, Switzerland , furnishes many OEM brands, such as LVMH (which markets TAG Heuer , Hublot and Zenith watch lines) and Richemont (which markets amongst others, A. Lange & Söhne , Baume & Mercier , IWC Schaffhausen , Jaeger-LeCoultre , Officine Panerai , Piaget , Roger Dubuis , Vacheron Constantin ). The Swatch Group Electronic System includes: In 1998, Swatch invented " Swatch Internet Time ", intended as

234-608: Was announced that The Swatch Group would hold its own watch fair in Zurich, during Baselworld 2019. In 1994, Swatch entered into a joint venture with Germany's Daimler AG to produce the Smart car, but they later withdrew from this project. Swatch subsidiary Belenos Clean Power AG entered into a joint venture with the Paul Scherrer Institut in May 2008 to develop a hydrogen fuel cell for

252-541: Was awarded the Geneva Seal , the highest international distinction of the time for watchmaking excellence. During the Roaring Twenties , the brand embraced women's emancipation . In the 1940s, Baume & Mercier launched a number of modern watch collections, most notably the 2 Register Chronograph . Early examples of this model with the double-caseback are rare and highly sought after, often fetching more than double

270-482: Was launched on May 15, 2018. Baume watches were sold exclusively online and assembled in Amsterdam. The brand used Ronda and Miyota movements. With an average selling price of between US$ 2,000 and US$ 7,000, Baume & Mercier watches are in the lower-range luxury watch market. In 2016, Baume & Mercier began to present more affordable offerings under US$ 1,000 with the launch of its "My Classima" models,

288-512: Was redesigned for manufacturing efficiency and fewer parts, and the styling and design were updated. Over the years, the Swatch Group acquired various luxury watchmaking companies, including Blancpain S. A. (founded 1735, bought by Swatch in 1992), Breguet S. A. (founded 1775, bought in 1999), and Glashütte Original (Germany, bought in 2000). The company continued to produce watches under these names. HW Holding Inc., owner of Harry Winston, Inc. , an American jewellery and luxury watch company,

306-571: Was the former biggest Swiss Watch Industry Group that had been created with the assistance of the Swiss Government and the Swiss Banks, as an answer to the crisis caused by the Great Depression, in 1931. In 1983, ASUAG and SSIH were forced by the Swiss Banks to merge into Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie (SMH), which now has been renamed Swatch Group . ASUAG grouped most of

324-450: Was the world's largest producer of watch movements and the parts thereof ( balance wheels , balance springs , assortments, watch stones ("jewels")). ASUAG had also integrated an array of watch brands in 1972 into a sub-holding company, General Watch Co . ASUAG failed similarly in 1982. ASUAG/SSIH was formed in 1983 from the two financially troubled predecessor companies, ASUAG and SSIH. Taken private in 1985 by then-CEO Nicolas Hayek , with

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