Swatch watches had on enormous impact on the Swiss Watch Industry. I am sure everyone is familiar with the Quartz scare which was prompted by the introduction of the Quartz movement. In the 1970's and 1980's, Quartz watches flooded the market. The incredible impact this development had on the watch industry brought manufacturing down from its high in 1970 ,where 1,620 Swiss Watch companies were employing 89,000 people, to 600 employing only 32,500 in 1985. Swiss Watchmakers can still recall the dark days of 1982 when Swiss banks lent more than $400 million to keep the industry afloat. Swiss Watchmakers needed to reclaim their industry from Japan in order to continue their watchmaking legacy. It was in this shaky time Nicolas G. Hayek, leader of the Swatch Group, made a crucial decision. He decided to release of the Swatch Watch.
The survival of the Swiss Watch Industry depended on the success of the Swatch Watch, and successful it was. The Swiss Watch Industry made an enormous come back, even bringing companies back from dormancy like Blancpain - now a Swatch Group Company.
The Swatch Group owns a whole slew of Watch Brands including Breguet, Omega, Longines, Rado, Tissot, Hamilton, Tiffany & Co as well as ETA, a producer of mechanical and quartz watch movements.
