How a $30 Plastic Toy Saved the Swiss Watch Empire

Swatch’s $30 plastic watch helped save Omega, Longines, Blancpain, Breguet, and the Swiss watch empire from collapse. In the early 1980s, Swiss watchmaking was on the edge of extinction. The Quartz Crisis had destroyed tens of thousands of jobs, factories were closing across the Jura valleys, and legendary names like Omega and Longines were nearly reduced to assets for liquidation. Then came something no one expected: a colorful, cheap, plastic quartz watch called Swatch. This documentary tells the dramatic story of how a $30 fashion watch became the financial engine that helped rescue the Swiss watch industry, rebuild the Swatch Group, and protect some of the most prestigious names in horology. From the collapse of ASUAG and SSIH to the rise of Nicolas G. Hayek, from the 51-part Swatch movement to the rebirth of Omega, Blancpain, Breguet, and Longines, this is the story of how Swiss watchmaking survived by reinventing itself.