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Ernst Thomke (born 21 April 1939) is a Swiss physicist and watchmaker. Training first as a mechanic, he later acquired the Swiss federal maturity degree and pursued academic studies whilst in employment.
Thomke was born in Biel/Bienne in the canton of Bern, on the Franco-German linguistic border. He completed an apprenticeship as a mechanic at the factory of ETA SA in Grenchen, canton of Solothurn. Between 1961 and 1967, he studied natural sciences, mainly chemistry at the University of Bern and University of Lausanne. He then pursued medical studies in Bern while working full-time. He was promoted to doctor in 1975. He completed his education with management studies and marketing at the INSEAD, Fontainebleau.
He worked in research from 1970 to 1977 for the British pharmaceutical group Beecham, mainly at their Swiss laboratories, but also at the pharmacological institute of Gothenburg, Sweden. He was appointed head of marketing and regional marketing director in the group's Europe division.
In 1978, at the peak of the Swiss watch industry crisis, facing competition from Japanese watches, mainly those with Quartz, Thomke became head of ETA SA. He argued that consolidating small companies could save the Swiss watch industry, by ending internal competition between Swiss Ebauches manufacturers.
1978, ETA SA merged with its former rival A. Schild SA. The new ETA, with 2,200 employees, gradually introduced more advanced technology in the manufacturing of quartz movements and full automation throughout its production. Thomke integrated the administrative and production areas of the other factories previously owned by Ebauches SA. In 1982 he became CEO of Ebauches SA and was appointed to the Board of Directors of ASUAG, the holding company of ETA SA.
On the advice of freelance consultant Nicolas G. Hayek, watch groups ASUAG and SSIH merged between 1983 and 1984 into the Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie (SMH), since renamed Swatch Group. Thomke was the new company's first CEO, from 1984 to 1991. In this period, the company integrated all of the Ebauches factories into ETA SA, and regained the brands Omega, Longines and Tissot. The Microméchanique acquired the necessary technology for the manufacture of integrated circuits and chips. In 1989, the consolidated turnover of SMH was CHF 2.1 billion. Thomke left in 1991.
Between 1992 and 1995, Thomke was CEO of Motor-Columbus AG, refocusing its activity on the primary energy sector under the new name of ATEL, with a mandate from the majority shareholder, the Union Bank of Switzerland (now known as UBS).
In addition he worked until 1997 for the Oerlikon-Bührle Holding Company (OBH), as Chairman and CEO between 1991 and 1997 of both Pilatus AG-Flugzeugwerke and Bally International AG. However, after an effective restructuring and streamlining of the latter company, plans to bring it to the Stock Exchange were rejected by the holding company. This decision led Thomke to withdraw from any activities within either company.
In 1995, Thomke became Chairman of the Board at Saurer AG in Arbon. He led Saurer AG until 1996, then became Chairman of the Board until 1999.
He also became an investor in medical technology company BB Biotech, as well as the main shareholder in watchmakers Métaux Précieux SA Métalor and British Masters SA. He has been Chairman of the Board at BB Biotech AG since 1993, Métaux Précieux SA Métalor since 1998, BB Medtech AG since 2000, Nobel Biocare since 2001, and Stiftungsrat, Institut für experimentelle Krebsforschung since 1995.
The Swatch Group Ltd is a Swiss manufacturer of watches and jewellery. The company was founded in 1983 by the merger of ASUAG and SSIH to move to manufacturing quartz-crystal watches to resolve the quartz crisis threatening the traditional Swiss watchmaking industry.
TissotSA is a Swiss luxury watch brand owned by the Swatch Group. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853.
Omega SA is a Swiss luxury watchmaker based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Founded by Louis Brandt in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1848, the company formerly operated as La Generale Watch Co. until incorporating the name Omega in 1903, becoming Louis Brandt et Frère-Omega Watch & Co. In 1984, the company officially changed its name to Omega SA and opened its museum in Biel/Bienne to the public. Omega is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group.
Swatch is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1983 by Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller. It is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group. The Swatch product line was developed as a response to the "quartz crisis" of the 1970s and 1980s, in which inexpensive, battery-powered, quartz-regulated watches were competing against more established European watchmakers, focused on artisanal craftsmanship producing mostly mechanical watches.
ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse designs and manufactures quartz watches and both hand-wound and automatic-winding mechanical ébauches and movements. Commonly referred to as ETA, the company is headquartered in Grenchen, Switzerland, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Swatch Group.
Nicolas George Hayek was a Swiss businessman of Lebanese descent, and the co-founder, CEO and Chairman of the Board of The Swatch Group.
Glycine Watch SA, or simply Glycine, is a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1914 in Biel/Bienne (BE), Switzerland, where its manufacturing and headquarters remain today. In 1930, Glycine released the first mass-produced automatic watches, and in 1959, it developed vacuum-sealed cases, allowing for more durable and water-resistant timepieces. The Glycine Airman, the first watch capable of tracking two 24-hour time zones, has been used extensively in commercial and military aviation, as well as in spaceflights; notable examples include its use by United States Air Force pilots during the Vietnam War and astronaut Pete Conrad during the Gemini 5 and Gemini 11 spaceflights.
Blancpain SA is a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, headquartered in Paudex/Le Brassus, Switzerland. It designs, manufactures, distributes, and sells prestige and luxury mechanical watches. Founded by Jehan-Jacques Blancpain in Villeret, Switzerland in 1735, Blancpain is the oldest registered watch brand in the world. Blancpain has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Swatch Group since 1992, and is regarded as a top-tier watch brand.
The quartz crisis (Swiss) or quartz revolution was the upheaval in the watchmaking industry caused by the advent of quartz watches in the 1970s and early 1980s, that largely replaced mechanical watches around the world. It caused a significant decline of the Swiss watchmaking industry, which chose to remain focused on traditional mechanical watches, while the majority of the world's watch production shifted to Japanese companies such as Seiko, Citizen and Casio which embraced the new electronic technology.
Certina S.A. is a Swiss watch brand, part of the Swatch Group, founded in Grenchen in 1888 by Adolf and Alfred Kurth. All Certina watches bear the "Swiss Made" seal of origin.
Adolph Saurer AG was a Swiss manufacturer of embroidery and textile machines, trucks and buses under the Saurer and Berna brand names. Based in Arbon, Switzerland, the firm was active between 1903 and 1982. Their vehicles were widely used across mainland Europe, particularly in the interwar period.
Georges NicolasHayek Jr. is a Swiss businessman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Swiss-based Swatch Group.
Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH) is a former group of Swiss watchmakers comprising the brands Omega, Tissot and Lemania.
Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG was the former biggest Swiss Watch Industry Group that had been created with the assistance of the Swiss Government and the Swiss Banks, as an answer to the crisis caused by the Great Depression, in 1931.
General Watch Co. (GWC) was the watch companies holding of ASUAG.
Société de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie was the name of the holding company created by the merger enforced by the Swiss Banks in 1983 of the SSIH and ASUAG, renamed The Swatch Group in 1998.
Endura S.A. is Swiss watch manufacturer founded in 1966 by General Watch Company (GWC) in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, for the purpose of manufacturing watches under "private label". This company was also part of the merger between ASUAG and SSIH into SMH, now the Swatch Group. Now attached to ETA SA Manufacture horlogère Suisse, Endura SA is the private label and licensing division of the Swatch Group.
Metalor Technologies, previously Métaux Précieux SA Metalor, founded in 1852, is a subsidiary of Japan's Tanaka Kikinzoku Group. Metalor has become one of the major world suppliers of precious metals related products & procedures. It makes a wide array of alloys, especially for the watch and jewellery industry, supplying many of the Swiss watch brands, although it has expanded its activities far beyond its primary sector.
Langendorf Watch Company was a Swiss watchmaker known for its fine craftsmanship and great attention to detail. Around 1890, it was probably the largest producer of watches in the world. The company produced watches in Langendorf, Switzerland for exactly a century, from 1873 to 1973.
