Swatch has rubbished rumors about its partnership with tech titan Apple on the development of iWatch.
Investors who found the idea of an Apple and Swatch partnership quite interesting will be disappointed. The world's largest watchmaker, Swatch Group AG, confirmed to Bloomberg that it is not partnering with the world smartphone leader, Apple Inc., for the development of smartwatches. The news comes just a day after Venture Beat exclusively reported that the two companies are working together on a new line of smartwatches.
"Swatch is not working with Apple on smartwatches," the watch making company said in an e-mail statement to Bloomberg, Friday.
Swatch, which has 19 different brands under its ownership including Breguet, Omega and Harry Winston, among others, revealed no interest in the newly developing wearable space. The company's CEO Nick Hayek is not too take up with the new smartwatch tech, Apple Insider reported. He said last year that an Apple smartwatch would not be "the next revolution" in tech, whereas tech pundits predict otherwise.
It is no secret that Apple is pushing the launch of the much-awaited iWatch. Earlier this month, the Cupertino based tech giant tapped Tag Heuer's VP of global sales, Patrick Pruniaux, who will help with the launch of iWatch and its operations. Other top notch hires include Burberry ex-Chief Executive Angela Ahrendts in May and head of Yves Saint Laurent's, Paul Deneve, last year.
The news of Apple and Swatch partnership boosted the tech giant's shares by 4.2 percent, which is the highest in the last five months, according to Bloomberg. The report of denial did not affect Swatch shares, as they traded 2.6 percent higher at 513 francs at 11 a.m. in Zurich.
Venture Beat also speculated Apple's partnership with Timex but there has been no confirmation or denial from the watch maker. Apple is expected to launch its rumored iWatch this fall with functions like health and fitness tracking.