More than a thousand people have paid a tribute to Nicolas G. Hayek, a leading figure of the Swiss watch industry who died earlier this week.
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Representatives from the world of politics, business and entertainment were among the guests at the public ceremony in the Swiss capital, Bern on Saturday.
President Doris Leuthard praised Hayek as an ambassador for Switzerland and a source of inspiration for politicians.
Other speakers included Swiss astronaut Claude Nicollier and the president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge.
Among the crowd was also Hollywood star George Clooney.
Hayek, who died of heart failure at the age of 82, was buried in his home town of Meisterschwanden on Thursday.
He was the founder and most recently the chairman of the Swatch Group, the number one manufacturer of finished watches in the world.
One of Switzerland’s leading entrepreneurs, he had managed to turn his vision of a strong watchmaking enterprise into reality.
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Launched in 1983, the Swatch has gone on to become a global phenomenon. The inexpensive, classic wristwatch, produced in endless bright, snazzy designs, has even become a cult collectors’ item. Hayek, the Swatch founder who died of heart failure on June 28 at the age of 82, was known to wear several timepieces on each…
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I remember seeing him the first time. It was in Biel when it was announced that the two dying watch groups ASUAG and SSIH were going to merge and he would try to rescue them. Both then, it was the early 1980s, had brands that were household names – Omega and Tissot. He saved them…
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Hayek was the founder and most recently the chairman of the Swatch Group, the number one manufacturer of finished watches in the world. He was often cited as the saviour of the Swiss watchmaking industry. Hayek died “completely unexpectedly while working for his beloved Swatch Group”, the company announced on Monday evening. Considered one of…
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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)
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