The Genesis

The Swatch phenomenon is in a way not unlike some of the musical hits produced by a popular group such as the Beatles: it is almost impossible to quantify exactly the role of each musician,or to isolate the contribution of one man from that of his colleagues.

A twist of fate, uncertainties in the general economic situation and specifically the watchmaking industry, saw people from very different backgrounds almost unintentionally brought together for the Swatch project. As it turned out, each participant was to have a significant effect on the success of the team as a whole, stimulating creativity and unquestionably strengthening interest in the project.

In this capacity,and particularly in the lead up to final production, two engineers played key roles: Jacques Muller and Elmer Mock,whose close working relationship,and continual interchange of both general and philosophical ideas, were going to fundamentally reshape a section of the watchmaking industry- at times, it must have been akin to rewriting a section of history! However,their extensive technical and personal expertise, enabled them to provide valuable guidance to the company's decision-makers, whilst being careful not to deviate from the previously established guidelines.

In the history of the Swatch it is not just the technical aspect, later to take on so much importance,that is fascinating; it is as much the quasi-philosophical approach of the consumer to the finished product. Equally striking is the fact that although this chronicle of industrial progress charts the lessons and great hopes of those striving to create something genuinely original,it also reveals that each team member held a different and personal view of the challenges to be met and results to be obtained by the team,as well as the actual course of events during the development period.

Clearly, each individual involved in a project aimed at achieving a levelof technical excellence that would result in a better and cheaper product than that manufactured by the competition,would be bound to interpret differently the many difficulties, trials and frustrations that litter the road to success. Even the most primitive stage in the evolution of a living being- be it egg, embryo, or spore -presupposes the existence of a seed. It has often been claimed that the Swatch idea germinated out of the 'Delirium', the famous gold watch launched in January 1979 and hailed as the flattest in the world. Engineers had fitted the fundamental components of the watch to the bottom of the case, foregoing the traditional plate of an ordinary movement.

The history of the Swatch therefore has a prehistory,a fact that was plainly illustrated in 1979 when the ETA management endeavoured to formulate the essential features of a new product which would be derived from the 'Delirium'. Research and associated projects carried the code name "Delirium Vulgaris". Numerous different possibilities were examined including a liquid crystal display and an analogue watch on the Roskopf concept; as it turned out, none was actually retained in the end.

In January 1980, Ernst Thomke drew up a specification for the new project Delirium Vulgaris, which he forwarded to Anton Bally. Almost all the technical criteria pertaining to the future Swatch appears in writing in this "Arbeitspapier fur die Sitzung von 11. Marz 1980 in Vaumarcus -Vertraulich" (Work notes for the session of 11th of March 1980 in Vaumarcus - Confidential). From thereon, opinions differ as to the true significance of the Delirium "seed" for the Swatch.One of ETA's construction engineers expressed the following opinion: "The similarities don't go beyond those which exist between an aeroplane and a goldfish: a general likeness in the shape of the tail..."

Another commented: "The initial confusion originates from another conceptual idea. After the construction of the Delirium by the technical management of Ebauches SA - under the leadership of Andre Beyner - the possibility of manufacturing an economical model in plain metal had been raised and certain plans produced..." In this instance, the witness' name is not quoted as his recollections are somewhat incomplete. But what should be stressed is that, contemporaneous with the launching of the Delirium on 19th of January 1979, a confidential memorandum signed by Andre Beyner, from Ebauches SA, Neuchatel, put forward details of a project called "Deltrem"with a view to "possible improvements, additions and an appraisal of new approaches".
This memorandum also indicates that in 1979 - ten years before it saw the light of day - Tissot's "Two Timer" was already imagined, as witnessed by the drawing attached to the document. Other sections refer to potential new technologies: - the metallic approach, a mixed technology part-moulded approach, and significantly, the plastic approach. The above-mentioned extracts are by no means exhaustive,and the initial proposals were indeed re-worked by the recipients of the memorandum into the framework of a program of joint action -effective 1st of February 1979 - which would specify both tasks and deadlines'.

At this point, it is important to add another item to the file: the notes of Andre Beyner, the engineer who was awarded a gold medal by the Swiss Chronometry Society, ex-technical manager of Ebauches SA,and today an adviser to ETA. They describe the possible link between the Delirium project and the development of the Swatch: "I went back to my lab notes of 1978 and 1979 and to my diaries, although I didn't undertake further archive research in specific files which are still held at Asulab's headquarters in Neuchatel'.
First of all, my memories of the Delirium.

An article written by Mr. Bally entitled ESA ETA calibre quartz 999 - a plate of fine gold indicating the time - aptly recounts the whole story,and one may therefore refer to it. What I mention now are some of the project's key points. In my lab notebook No 13, there is a sketch - dated 26th of July 1978 - of the technical concept which led to the production of a quartz watch with a total thickness inferior to 2 mm. A few of us had remained in Neuchatel to man the premises during the holidays: Messrs Maurice Grimm, Remy Grandjean, Claude Lassère and myself'. Discussions were centered around some preliminary ideas. Very quickly though, we became quite carried away with the concept and embarked on a feasibility study. In actual fact, everything revolved around the possibility of creating a very small battery and a minute motor, but using a quartz which already existed on the market and a chip we knew Marin manufactured'. We soon became convinced that we could achieve the intended result by integrating all the components onto an interior plate, and de-centrallising them as much as possible so that we could position the hands to turn in a sort of recess. The mechanism would be held in place by a band and capped by a very thin sheet of sapphire glass. This project was christened "Ultra-thin Delirium" by Maurice Grimm - which became its given name.

I mentioned it on a number of occasions: on 21st of August, during a session with the general management and on 24th of August, with ETA management, who decided to form a team with the engineers of the technical department, and carry the project to its conclusion. On 29th of August, Mr. Renggli5 was informed. During the months of September and October, we worked intensively on construction and on initiating the development and production of prototypes for the different components. At the same time, M. E. Thomke was working on the marketing concept of this quite exceptional piece of watchmaking technology, and on 26th of October 1978, a detailed breakdown of the various tasks was worked out between the technical management of Ebauches SA and ETA. In Neuchatel, the preparation of a dozen prototypes, already under way, was sped up. Grenchen staff were working furiously on perfecting 100 pilot production units which had to be ready not only for the prototypes in December, but also for the pilot production scheduled in January. No one had any spare time during this period of intense activity, and the telephone lines between Neuchatel and Grenchen were usually busy during weekends!
On 12th of December, Mr. Thomke came to Neuchâtel with Messrs. Grinberg from Concorde, Laumann from Longines and Morf from Eterna to check on progress and examine the very first units produced. On 20th of December, a detailed plan was drawn up for the proposed January 1979 launching,and by the 23rd of December, in Neuchatel, the first prototypes were completed. During the Xmas and New Year holidays, some of us stayed on duty to carry out the preliminary measurements and tests on these prototypes. At the same time, Grenchen was making good progress with the pilot production units,and the decision to present the project at a press conference on 12th of January was taken and confirmed early in the month (on the 4th or 5th). On the 12th, press conferences arranged by our customers took place simultaneously in New York - at the 24 Carat Club - as well as in other cities (Zurich, Geneva, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Rome, Paris and Munich). The technical achievements of Ebauches SA and ETA were duly acknowledged.

On 19th of January, management representatives of both companies jointly handed over a Delirium watch to the International Watchmaking Museum in La Chaux-deFends. From 12th to 19th of January, the press recounted these events in great detail,and it was therefore not surprising that a whole series of questions were raised regarding the Delirium watch: "Why did you make this watch? Why did you make it in gold? Why not in brass? Why not larger? Could you make new things with it?" Of course, these questions had already been asked elsewhere. As development progressed, we began to more or less see clearly the potential of this new concept. During the press conference held at the International Watchmaking Museum, I concluded my brief presentation with the following statement "Clearly numerous possible industrial applications may derive from this first product. I do not wish to consider them here. I hope you will understand my reservations. As regards these future potential applications, it seems likely that you will want to ask us a number of questions. It is also possible that we will be unable or unwilling to answer them in detail. The reasons for this discretion are easily understandable, in view of our desire to continue our efforts in this field and to look towards other applications, other products, other markets. An important part of our industrial strategy is at stake.
" The following week, on 22nd of January, I sent a three page confidential memorandum to Rene Besson and Remy Grandjean (Ebauches general management) and to Ernst Thomke, Urs Giger and Anton Bally (ETA management) entitled "Deltrem project - possible improvements, additions and appraisal of new approaches". This document raised the matter of improving projects such as Deltrem with other potential models in mind: a thinner version, one destined for competitive sports, an economical version and one with additional features, A few hand-drawn sketches were included with my thoughts. In my opinion, this is where the true affiliation between the Delirium and the Swatch is to be found. The economical version as a possible extension of the Delirium was mentioned; as for the attached rough sketch, it unquestionably stimulated the imagination with regard to an integrated plastic approach. There was never any suggestion, on the part of Ebauches SA's technical management, to develop a plastic product based on the Delirium. There were however a few preliminary discussions regarding the manufacturing of a base metal version - possibly in brass -but these were not pursued any further. All the credit for the plastic approach is owed to the Grenchen team for its remarkable efforts with regard to the technical aspects, as well as those made in the field of marketing. When the Swatch was finally launched in October 1982, the press release referred to the Delirium filiation, quoting for the main part Asuag's communique of 21st of October. Some newspapers brought up the matter of filiation in the Autumn of 1982, but when the product was launched in Switzerland in the early days of March 1983, all reference to the Delirium, to my knowledge, was avoided."

It is quite clear from Andre Beyner's personal account of the sequence of events, that even if it was competition between the Swiss and Japanese watchmaking industries that led to the original idea of the Delirium - and all opinions tend to concur on this point - there was certainly not a single technician, watchmaker or even non-specialized journalist who did not immediately see the possible openings for this new concept as regards mass production, and the use of more modern and cheaper materials in place of gold. Reference to the newspapers of the time makes it quite clear,but visualising something and realising it are two very different matters.

The turning point between prehistory and history, between the dreams, aspirations and the realities of the Vulgaris, alias Popularis, alias Swatch project, is precisely the moment when Ernst Thomke received the real go-ahead from Pierre Renggli to take on responsibility for "economic" development of the concept. It should be said that Thomke had already raised the possibilities of mass production with Msr.Rengli,at the time chairman of the Asuag group - of which Ebauches SA (later ETA) was part. Asuag, of course, would eventually join other companies under the SMH umbrella (Societe Suisse de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie SA).

A major difficulty had still to be overcome. ETA, which had previously limited itself to the manufacturing of movements and components, was about to become a fully-fledged watch manufacturer, potentially placing itself in direct competition with other companies on the market - whilst remaining their supplier. In this respect,it is perhaps interesting to cite the "Aktennotiz" dated 7th of March 1980 where, under the heading "Conceptual ideas formulated on 9th of January 1980 by E, Thomke'', the following mention appears: "Verkauf nur von fertigen Uhren" (Sales of completed watches only).

The internal discussions generated by such a novel perspective are not difficult to imagine. At the time, managers were in the great majority drawn from the traditional source -those who had worked in the area of convential mechanical watchmaking. Furthermore, a sub-group by the name of General Watch Co SA (GWC) figured prominently in Asuag's organization chart, and consisted of such finished product brands as Longines, Technos, Oris, Roamer, Rado, Mido, Certina, Rotary, Eterna, etc. Those responsible - for the main part family members who had linked their names and companies to Asuag - felt it imperative to consider some form of commercialization outside ETA's normal distribution channels.They believed that any future economical watch should be clearly seperated from the movements and prototypes manufactured at the Grenchen plant. Indeed, at the time there was no clear long-term view,for no one could have possibly foreseen how successful the Swatch would become.