Nicolas Hayek, a look back
-
Nicolas G. Hayek, entrepreneur, in 1999 RDB -
Then Economics Minister Kurt Furgler, left, accepts the 10 millionth Swatch watch in September 1985. Looking on are Pierre Arnold, centre, and Nicolas Hayek. Keystone -
Nicolas Hayek and singer Samantha Fox at a party in 1987 RDB -
Nicolas Hayek as a torch-bearer at the 1996 Olympic Games RDB -
Hayek while shooting a crossbow with model Cindy Crawford in 1996 RDB -
Hayek and Martina Hingis at a just-for-fun tennis tournament. His gift to Hingis: an Omega Dynamic pilot's watch Keystone -
Nicolas Hayek test drives a Smart City Coupe in 1998 Keystone -
The French Embassy in Bern made Hayek an officer of the French Légion d'Honneur in 2003 Keystone -
Hayek and Australian actress Nicole Kidman at the opening ceremony of the new Geneva Omega store in 2006 Keystone -
Hayek posing as a James Bond-style bad guy for the launch of the Swatch 007 Villain Collection Keystone -
Tennis player Anna Kournikova and Nicolas Hayek in 2001 RDB -
Nicolas G. Hayek, right, talking to his son Nick Hayek at a news conference in Biel in 2002. It was then that he announced that he would step back as president of the company and leave the job to his son RDB
Celebrating the life of Switzerland's best known watch entrepreneur.
This content was published on June 29, 2010 - 14:20
The patriarch of the Swiss watch industry, Nicolas G. Hayek, passed away on June 28, 2010, at the age of 82. He was the founder and most recently the chairman of the Swatch Group, and was often cited as the saviour of the Swiss watchmaking industry. (Pictures: RDB and Keystone)
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.