Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products. In 1982, Swatch was conceived and it was introduced to the market in Switzerland in March 1983.
The first meaning of the name "Swatch" was "Second Watch" -- because the new watch was introduced with a new concept of watches as casual, fun, and relatively disposable accessories. However Franz Sprecher conceived it as the contraction of Swiss (Made) Watch: "S'Watch", soon became "Swatch" as it is today perceived worldwide.
From the original cult plastic watches, Swatch has diversified its offerings considerably, and the company now sells more than a dozen different types of watches, including metal-bodied watches (the Irony series), diving watches (the Scuba series), thin and flat bodied watches (the Skin family) and even an Internet-connected watch that can download stock quotes, news headlines, weather reports, and other data (the Paparazzi series).
They have now become fashionable objects, generating specialized models (the "Flik-Flak" for children, semi-automatic movements, and even diamond-decorated Swatches). The company also produces watches with seasonal themes.
There are five families under the swatch brand. The five families are
Swatch Originals: The Originals are plastic cased watches. They are available in various sizes, shapes and designs. The originals have sub-families as well.
Swatch Irony: The Irony family contains all the metal cased watches produced by swatch. They too come in different sizes and shapes.
Swatch Skin: The Skin family contains two sub families: Original Skin and Skin Chronograph. The original skin was introduced on October 6, 1997 as a thinner version of the original swatch watch. It is ultra thin, standing at 3.9 mm, hence the name Swatch Skin. The swatch skin later went on to enter the Guinness World Book of Records as the world's thinnest plastic watch. The Swatch Chronograph is just the swatch skin with a chronograph function. It has two additional buttons on the side of the watch.
Swatch Beat: The Beat family launched in 1998 and incorporated beat watches across the three existing family but adding twists. Swatch Beat is the digital line and integrate Internet Time.
Swatch Bijoux: The Bijoux line is the jewelry line that Swatch released in the new millennium. A company that is known for innovations and fashion it went the next step. It partnered with Swarovski to encrust their Bijoux line and watches.