Swatch

Swatch is a term with two main meanings. In textiles and design, a swatch is a small sample piece of fabric, color, or pattern used to evaluate appearance and quality before bulk production. Swatches are distributed in catalogs or swatch books and may be viewed in person or digitally to compare textures, hues, and finishes.

Swatch is also the name of a Swiss watch brand founded in 1983 by Nicolas G. Hayek as part of the Swatch Group. The brand popularized inexpensive, quartz-powered watches with bright plastic cases and bold colors, positioned as fashionable personal accessories rather than solely timekeepers. The launch is associated with reviving the Swiss watch industry during the quartz crisis by expanding the market for mid-priced, mass-market timepieces.

Product range and design: Swatch has released numerous collections, including Swatch Originals (the core casual line), Swatch Irony (metal cases), and Swatch Skin (slim designs). The company is also known for collaborations with artists and designers and for limited-edition releases, which often become collectibles.

Corporate structure: The Swatch Group, formed in 1998 from the earlier SMH, is the parent company that owns brands such as Omega, Breguet, Tissot, and many others. Swatch remains its most visible consumer brand and a major driver of the group's mass-market business.

Swatch has had a significant cultural impact in fashion and watchmaking, influencing affordable luxury and color-driven design. The term swatch in general continues to denote a fabric or color sample used in design processes.