Swatch HQ by Shigeru Ban: Office Photos & Benefits

THE SWATCH HEADQUARTERS · SHIGERU BAN · 2019

One of the world's largest timber structures, built as an office

The curved Swatch building is a timber grid shell of about 4,600 beams, wrapped in around 2,800 honeycomb elements — opaque, air-filled translucent cushions, or glass. Inside, five floors step back one above the other around open galleries. There is a cafeteria open to all Swatch employees, small rest areas, “Alcove Cabins” for up to six people, five black olive trees up to two storeys tall, and the “Reading Stairs”: a staircase that leads to nowhere, made for creative breaks.

25,000 m² on 5 floors (≈ 269,000 sq ft)
≈ 4,600 timber beams, Swiss spruce only
9 balconies · 124 wooden Swiss crosses for acoustics
442 curved solar elements in the façade
Design: Shigeru Ban (Pritzker Prize 2014)
Cafeteria open to all Swatch employees

Inside the timber grid shell

Inside, five floors step back one above the other around open galleries, under a grid shell of about 4,600 Swiss spruce beams.

Bright atrium with a long white reception desk and stacked glass-fronted galleries under a wooden lattice — Entrance hall and galleries · © Itten+Brechbühl AG

Open floor with round white tables and chairs under a curved timber lattice roof — Break area under the vault · © Itten+Brechbühl AG

Tall glazed end wall seen from an upper level, framed by wooden beams and a timber walkway — The glazed end wall · © Itten+Brechbühl AG

Looking up at glass-railed stair flights and laminated timber beams — Stairs and timber · Schiplagerheide / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Diamond-shaped window openings set in wooden beams, seen at night — Timber and glass up close · MHM55 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The Cité du Temps and the footbridge

The timber shell arches over the street to the Cité du Temps, which holds the Omega Museum, Planet Swatch and the Nicolas G. Hayek Conference Hall.

Covered footbridge running beneath a timber lattice towards a glass building with a silver oval volume — On the footbridge · © Itten+Brechbühl AG

Timber grid arch ending above a street, next to a glass building with a suspended silver oval — Where the shell meets the Cité du Temps · Schiplagerheide / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Underside of the timber grid arch rising over a glazed entrance façade — The arch over the entrance · MHM55 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Night view of the illuminated glass building and the timber arch above a plaza — Cité du Temps at night · MHM55 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Lit timber lattice with white cross panels curving around a silver oval form at night — The lattice at night · MHM55 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Glass building with arched ground floor and a silver oval under the timber canopy at dusk — Under the canopy at dusk · MHM55 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Looking up at the silver oval volume and a wooden beam under the timber lattice — The oval from below · Schiplagerheide / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

The campus along the Schüss

The 240-metre building runs beside the river, with 442 curved solar elements set into its façade.

Overhead aerial view of a long curved white roof with solar panels, surrounded by greenery and a river — From above · © Itten+Brechbühl AG

Aerial view of the curved building beside a river and park paths — Beside the river · Pablodbds / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Long white curved building seen across a river with tall grass in the foreground — Across the river · Schiplagerheide / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Diamond-patterned curved façade with a small balcony, seen from a lawn — The façade from the park · Schiplagerheide / CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Curved façade with solar panels and a round balcony opening, autumn trees in front — Balcony in the shell · MHM55 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The diamond-patterned façade glowing from inside at night, with round balcony openings — The shell at night · MHM55 / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Facts: Swatch Group press release “Swatch Inaugurates Its Headquarters in Biel” (Oct 3, 2019) · swatch.com “The new Swatch Headquarters”

The Swatch and Omega campus on Jakob-Stämpfli-Strasse

Building	Address
Cité du Temps (Swatch Group office, Omega Museum, Planet Swatch)	Nicolas G. Hayek Strasse 2, 2502 Biel/Bienne, Switzerland
Swatch Headquarters	Nicolas G. Hayek Street, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland (lobby faces the street)
Omega (historic site and new Manufacture)	Jakob-Stämpfli-Strasse 96, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland
Registered office	Faubourg de l’Hôpital 3, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Source: swatchgroup.com Head Office · citedutemps.com · omegawatches.com chronicle 1880 · press release Oct 3, 2019 · See them on the map ↓

ArchitectShigeru Ban Architects with Itten+Brechbühl

Floor space25,000 m² (≈ 269,098 sq ft)

Building size240 × 35 m, 27 m high

Façade11,000+ m² (≈ 118,400 sq ft)

Timber≈ 1,997 m³ Swiss spruce

Solar1,770 m² · ≈ 212.3 MWh a year

OpenedOctober 3, 2019

Parking170 cars · 182 bicycles

Source: Swatch Group press release, Oct 3, 2019 · Itten+Brechbühl project page (planning 2013, construction 2014–2019; it gives 21,150 m² surface area)

Office tour videos

Swatch HQ Official InaugurationSwatch (official) · 2019 · YouTube ↗

Benefits & training (Switzerland)

Apprentice holidays7 weeks

Seven weeks' holiday in the first year of an apprenticeship and six weeks from the second year.

Apprentice bonusUp to 50%

A monthly performance-based salary of up to 50% of the base salary (except at companies in the Vallée de Joux and Ticino).

Health insuranceMonthly help

Apprentices receive a monthly contribution towards their health insurance premium.

Books and tools80% paid

The host company pays 80% of textbooks and, depending on the apprenticeship, personal tools.

After the apprenticeship75%

Apprentice recruitment rate; Swatch Group strives to employ all trainees after they finish.

Collective agreement≈ 15,000 people

The Swiss watch industry CLA (renewed in 2024 until 2029) sets working hours, minimum wages, absence pay, modulated retirement and dismissal protection.

Watchmaking schools5 schools

Nicolas G. Hayek Watchmaking Schools; in Glashütte the training counts as an apprenticeship with a training allowance throughout.

Source: swatchgroup.com Apprenticeship · Sustainability: Social (2025) · Nicolas G. Hayek Watchmaking Schools. Benefits for regular employees beyond the CLA are not published on the website.

Why people stay: what Swatch Group itself says

Jobs keptNo short-time work in 2025

The Group deliberately kept production capacity and jobs, without resorting to compensation for reduced working hours.

38%Women in management

Women were 49% of the workforce and 38% of managers at the end of 2025; management roles are filled mainly from inside.

2% or lessPay gap by segment

Annual wage-equality analysis: 2% in Watches & Jewelry and Production, 0% in Electronic Systems, 1% in General Services — all below significance.

Up to 10ETA trainee places a year

Employees can qualify for a new role with a recognised diploma, plus projects, workshops and mentoring.

MobilityMove between units

Swatch Group looks for people who can imagine switching one day from one unit to another within the group.

Source: Key Figures 2025 press release · swatchgroup.com Sustainability: Social · Working at Swatch Group

Who works here

Where people work · 2025 (31,796 people)

Switzerland 15,808Other countries 15,988

Gender · end of 2025

Women 49%Men 51%

38%

of managers are women

592

apprentices at the start of the 2025 training year

64%

covered by collective agreements

30+

countries with a Swatch Group organisation

Source: swatchgroup.com Sustainability: Social and Key Figures 2025 · Swatch Group at a glance

Office history: 140 years in one Swiss town

1880
Omega's founders move to Biel — 119 Route de Boujean
Under the name Louis Brandt & Fils, the company that became Omega moved from La Chaux-de-Fonds to larger premises in Biel/Bienne, first at 119 Route de Boujean, then at 96 Rue Jakob-Stämpfli — still Omega's home today.
Source: omegawatches.com chronicle “1880: A New Home”

119 Route de Boujean, Biel, 1880s · © OMEGA SA (Swatch Group)
1930–31
SSIH and ASUAG are founded
SSIH was formed in 1930 by merging Omega and Tissot; ASUAG, the largest maker of watch movements, followed a year later. These are the two companies Swatch Group grew from.
Source: swatchgroup.com History · The Founder

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1983
The merger and the first Swatch
Following the Hayek Study, ASUAG and SSIH were merged, and the first Swatch was launched: a Swiss Made watch of just 51 parts, assembled on automated lines.
Source: swatchgroup.com History · The Founder

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1985
SMH, and Swatch Ltd. in Biel
ASUAG-SSIH was renamed SMH, with Nicolas G. Hayek as CEO, and Swatch Ltd. was established in Biel to run the Swatch brand. SMH became The Swatch Group Ltd. in 1998.
Source: swatchgroup.com History

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2008
Swatch works inside the Omega buildings — and plans its own
Swatch Ltd.'s headquarters was then located in the Omega buildings. The board decided to grow Omega and Swatch on and around the Omega site; Swatch applied to buy the 19,200 m² “Gygax Site” opposite for CHF 12.75 million.
Source: Swatch Group press release, Mar 28, 2008

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2011–12
Shigeru Ban wins the competition
Shigeru Ban's design won the architectural competition for a new Swatch Headquarters, a new Omega Manufacture and the Cité du Temps, keeping Omega's listed early-industrial buildings and protected trees.
Source: Swatch Group press releases, Feb 20, 2012 and Oct 3, 2019

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2017
The new Omega Manufacture opens
The first of the three new buildings went into operation; it shares groundwater heating and cooling with the later buildings.
Source: Swatch Group press release, Oct 3, 2019

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2019
The Swatch Headquarters and the Cité du Temps
After almost five years of construction, Swatch inaugurated its timber headquarters on October 3, 2019. Next door, the Cité du Temps holds the Omega Museum, Planet Swatch and the Nicolas G. Hayek Conference Hall; the Group's office address is Nicolas G. Hayek Strasse 2.
Source: Swatch Group press release, Oct 3, 2019 · swatchgroup.com Head Office

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Map: how the headquarters moved

Since 1880 the story has stayed in Biel: from Route de Boujean to Jakob-Stämpfli-Strasse, where Omega's old factory, the new Omega Manufacture, the Cité du Temps and the Swatch building now stand side by side along the river Schüss.

Loading map…

1 · 1880119 Route de Boujean, Biel — Louis Brandt & Fils (later Omega) settles in Biel
2 · 2008Omega buildings, Jakob-Stämpfli-Strasse 96 — Swatch Ltd.'s headquarters inside the Omega buildings
3 · 2019Swatch HQ & Cité du Temps, Nicolas G. Hayek Strasse — Shigeru Ban's timber headquarters; group office at No. 2

Addresses: omegawatches.com chronicle 1880 · Swatch Group press release Mar 28, 2008 · swatchgroup.com Head Office · citedutemps.com

What The Swatch Group does

Swatch Group calls itself a fully vertical company: it makes its own movements, cases, crystals, hands and other parts in about 150 production sites in Switzerland, and sells 16 watch and jewelry brands — from Swatch and Tissot to Omega, Longines, Breguet and Harry Winston — through a global network.

Segments: Watches & Jewelry, Production, Electronic Systems (plus General Services).

Net sales, 2025CHF 6,280M−1.3% at constant rates (−5.9% at current rates)

Operating profit, 2025CHF 135Mmargin 2.1%

Net profit, 2025CHF 25Mmargin 0.4%

Brands16 + 2watch & jewelry brands + retail brands

Source: Swatch Group “Key Figures 2025” ad hoc release · Swatch Group at a glance

Growth: revenue vs. people

0.83×net sales, 2016 → 2025
CHF 7.6B → CHF 6.3B

31,800employees, end of 2025
15,808 in Switzerland

YearRevenueEmployees

FY2016

CHF 7.6B

—

FY2017

CHF 8.0B

—

FY2018

CHF 8.5B

—

FY2019

CHF 8.2B

—

FY2020

CHF 5.6B

—

FY2021

CHF 7.3B

—

FY2022

CHF 7.5B

—

FY2023

CHF 7.9B

—

FY2024

CHF 6.7B

—

FY2025

CHF 6.3B

31,800

Fiscal years end December 31. Net sales at current exchange rates: Swatch Group “Key Figures” ad hoc releases 2016–2025. Employees: Swatch Group at a glance (2025); earlier yearly headcounts are only in the PDF annual reports. Multiple calculated by eciffo.

Chief executives

No free-to-use photo.

2003 – today

Nick Hayek

President of the Executive Group Management Board since 2003; with Swatch since 1992, first as Swatch VP Marketing, then Swatch President.

No free-to-use photo.

1985 – 2003

Nicolas G. Hayek

Appointed CEO of SMH in 1985; Chairman and Delegate of the Board from 1986 until his death in 2010.

Founder: Nicolas G. Hayek (1928–2010), who merged ASUAG and SSIH. Chair of the Board since 2010: Nayla Hayek.

Source: swatchgroup.com The Boards · The Founder · History

The Swatch Group's official social accounts

Accounts of the Swatch brand, linked from swatch.com. swatchgroup.com does not link to group-level social accounts.

YouTubeyoutube.com/swatch ↗X (Twitter)@swatch ↗LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/swatch-ltd- ↗TikTok@swatch ↗

The Swatch Group: questions people ask

Where is Swatch Group's headquarters?

The administrative head office is in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, at Nicolas G. Hayek Strasse 2 (postal address Seevorstadt 6). The registered office is in Neuchâtel. The Swatch brand's headquarters by Shigeru Ban stands next door on the same campus.

Source: swatchgroup.com Head Office

Who designed the Swatch headquarters?

Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, winner of the 2014 Pritzker Prize, with Itten+Brechbühl as general planner. He also designed the Cité du Temps and the new Omega Manufacture on the same site.

Source: Press release Oct 3, 2019 · Itten+Brechbühl project page

How big is the Swatch building?

240 m long, 35 m wide and up to 27 m high, with 25,000 m² (≈ 269,000 sq ft) of floor space over five floors and a façade of more than 11,000 m².

Source: Press release Oct 3, 2019

What is the Swatch building made of?

A timber grid shell of about 4,600 beams, using only Swiss timber — mainly spruce, just under 1,997 m³ — covered by about 2,800 honeycomb elements, 442 of them with solar cells.

Source: Press release Oct 3, 2019

Can you visit the Swatch headquarters?

The Cité du Temps next to it, with the Omega Museum and Planet Swatch, is open to the public free of charge, Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–17:00 (closed Mondays and public holidays). Take bus 2, 3, 4 or 72 to the stop “Omega”.

Source: citedutemps.com

What is inside the Swatch headquarters?

Offices for Swatch International and Swatch Switzerland, a cafeteria open to all Swatch employees, rest areas, “Alcove Cabins” for up to six people, five black olive trees and the “Reading Stairs”, a staircase leading nowhere.

Source: Press release Oct 3, 2019

How many people work at Swatch Group?

About 31,800 people at the end of 2025, roughly half of them (15,808) in Switzerland. Women made up 49% of the workforce and 38% of management.

Source: swatchgroup.com Sustainability: Social

Does Swatch Group offer apprenticeships?

Yes. Every year 32 Group companies train over 500 apprentices in more than 50 professions, with seven weeks' holiday in the first year, a performance-based monthly bonus of up to 50% of base pay and 80% of textbooks paid.

Source: swatchgroup.com Apprenticeship

Who is the CEO of Swatch Group?

Nick Hayek, President of the Executive Group Management Board since 2003. Nayla Hayek has chaired the Board of Directors since 2010.

Source: swatchgroup.com The Boards

The Swatch Group Headquarters & offices · Biel/Bienne, Switzerland

A 240-metre timber grid shell of about 4,600 Swiss spruce beams — with olive trees indoors and a staircase that leads nowhere, built for thinking.

One of the world's largest timber structures, built as an office

Inside the timber grid shell

The Cité du Temps and the footbridge

The campus along the Schüss

The Swatch and Omega campus on Jakob-Stämpfli-Strasse

Office tour videos

Benefits & training (Switzerland)

Why people stay: what Swatch Group itself says

Who works here

Office history: 140 years in one Swiss town

Map: how the headquarters moved

What The Swatch Group does

Growth: revenue vs. people

Chief executives

The Swatch Group: questions people ask

Want to work at The Swatch Group?

The Swatch Group in our features

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