Originals

The Originals are the collection with which Swatch was officially born, on 1 March 1983 in Zurich. Developed under the direction of Ernst Thomke at ETA by engineers Elmar Mock and Jacques Müller, these first watches adopted a radical solution: the plastic case was no longer just a container but became an integral part of the movement, ultrasonically welded and therefore not repairable. The number of components fell to just 51, compared with the hundreds in a traditional mechanical watch, making assembly almost entirely automated and the final price affordable for anyone.

Twelve models were shown at the Zurich presentation, priced at 50 Swiss francs each, with colourful dials designed by graphic artists Bernard Müller and Marlyse Schmid, who would shape much of the Swatch look from the 1981 prototypes through to the mid-1980s models. One of the earliest pieces, the GB100 model with a black-and-white dial, is now held in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York as an icon of industrial design. The European debut was accompanied in the same year by an even larger launch on the US market, with twenty-five models offered to the American public.

Commercial success was immediate: the collection sold out quickly and Swatch passed one million watches sold in 1983 alone. More than just a product, the Originals established from the outset the language — colour, irony, accessibility — that would accompany every subsequent collection from the brand, from seasonal lines to collaborations with artists and with the group's maisons.