Device (left): Wrist watch

Dial case manufacturer: Swatch

Model: Once Again GB743

Year: 1999

Strap manufacturer: Casio

Model: F-91 W

Year: 1991

 

Device (right): Wrist watch

Dial case manufacturer: Casio

Model: F-91 W

Year: 1991

Strap manufacturer: Swatch

Model:Once Again GB743

Year: 1999

 

Hard-wired year: 2011

Serial number: HWD-CS-001

Collection: Casio-Swatch

Dimensions: 25x10x1 cm

Power: Battery

 

In 1950, Switzerland had 80 per cent of the watch market, but by the late 70s, cheaper Japanese competition was hitting hard, with some of the big names facing liquidation. Then along came Swatch by merging two longstanding Swiss watchmakers. The new company's brief was simple - make a high-tech, low-priced, but stylish analogue watch. Swatch had its worldwide launch on March 1st 1983, with 27 unisex models, designed initially as purely functional timepieces, but over time becoming more fashionable objects.

 

Casio was established in 1946 by Tadao Kashio, an engineer specializing in fabrication technology. Kashio's first major product was the yubiwa pipe, a finger ring that would hold a cigarette, allowing the wearer to smoke the cigarette down to its nub while also leaving the wearer's hands free