For centuries the Swiss had been the undisputed champions of the clock and watch making industry. The very words 'Swiss Made' spoke of quality and refinement. But, as in so many other fields, the arrival of electronic technology seriously disturbed the existing order in the industry. With the invention of quartz movements it suddenly became possible to manufacture, quite cheaply, a watch that kept time with far greater precision than all but the most expensive mechanical watches.

The principal source of this new technology was Japan. In the past, competition from Japanese watch manufacturers had been little more than a minor inconvenience to the dominant Swiss industry, and one that mainly affected the budget end of the market. The arrival in 1969 of Seiko's groundbreaking 35 SQ Astron changed all that. It was the first production watch to incorporate a quartz mechanism, and its manufacturers claimed it ran with such accuracy that it would gain or lose no more than five seconds a month. Initially produced in a limited production run of just 100 watches, the Astron was hardly a snip at a price of $1,250. Nevertheless, it blazed the trail for the cheaper, mass produced watches that were to follow.

By the end of the 1970s the gradual improvement of quartz technology, by now most frequently coupled with a digital  design, meant that such watches were increasingly accurate and increasingly inexpensive. Although the Swiss industry did its best to adapt to the changing market, the efficiency of Japanese production techniques coupled with an increasing perception of the clockwork watch as yesterday's technology led to a precipitate decline in the Swiss watch manufacturing industry. In just one year sales slumped by a quarter. Some of its most prestigious names, including Omega and Tissot, were facing the prospect of either liquidation or sale to overseas competitors.

It was in the context of this near-collapse of the Swiss watch industry that a Lebanese-born entrepreneur, Nicholas Hayek, was charged with the responsibility of formulating a rescue plan for two of the most important companies, ASUAG and SSIH, which between them owned a sizeable chunk of the country's watch production facilities.

Hayek produced a report recommending, among other things, a merger between ASUAG and SSIH and the launch of a new watch design concept - the Swatch.

By contrast with the imperatives of precision and quality engineering that had driven the Swiss watch industry in the past, the Swatch concept emphasised style, chic and 'emotion'. As Hayek put it: 'We were convinced that if we could add our fantasy and culture to an emotional product, we could beat anybody. Emotions are something nobody can copy.'

The result was one of the most successful and widely-known brands in the history of watchmaking. New models with different designs were produced with breathtaking speed, and there can be relatively few people who have never had a Swatch pass through their hands. Today Swatch watches are highly prized collectors' items: at least one collector has managed to acquire a copy of every single one of the nearly 4,000 Swatch designs produced since the company was founded in 1983.

After his success with Swatch, Hayek did not rest on his laurels, and was responsible for a number of other projects, of which the most familiar is probably the 'Smart' Car, a tiny, highly economical vehicle designed for city driving. More than 100,000 have been sold in Europe since the car's launch.