Overview
- .swatch is a brand generic top-level domain (gTLD) applied for and managed by The Swatch Group Ltd.
- The TLD is intended to serve as a trusted, hierarchical and intuitive namespace for Swatch Group goods and services (watches, jewelry, movements, components, electronic systems).
- The registry operator is Verisign and the gTLD has been delegated in the DNS root.
History
- Application reveal: 13 June 2012 (application submitted as part of ICANN's New gTLD Program).
- Delegation: The .swatch string was delegated to the Root Zone on 26 June 2015.
- Manager/Applicant: The Swatch Group Ltd served as the applicant and manager for the gTLD; Verisign is listed as the registry operator.
Usage and Audience
- Primary users: Intended for Swatch Group, its qualified subsidiaries and affiliates (in particular the Swatch brand).
- Business purpose: To provide a consolidated namespace for Swatch Group’s online presence, digital storefronts, marketing and intellectual property activities.
- Migration intent: Swatch Group planned to migrate traffic from its existing portfolio of second-level domains across various TLDs to the .swatch namespace.
- Registration volume estimate: Swatch Group estimated fewer than 10,000 second-level registrations in the first five years under its projected business plan.
Registration Rules
- Initial eligibility and restrictions:
- Swatch Group planned to initially limit registrations to Swatch Group entities and qualified subsidiaries/affiliates.
- This limited distribution was intended to help establish operations and to meet conditions in Specification 9 of the template Registry Agreement.
- The limited distribution was also intended to exempt Swatch Group from annual Code of Conduct Compliance requirements.
- Potential expansion:
- After Year 3 the registry planned to evaluate whether to expand registrations to licensees, strategic partners or other parties, conditioned on compliance reviews and business sustainability.
SEO and Brand Impact
- Brand control: The .swatch gTLD was intended to protect Swatch Group’s online identity and provide a secure, brand-controlled channel for products and services.
- Marketing and trust: The applicant described the gTLD as a means to expand marketing and promotion, consolidate intellectual property activities, and offer a trusted namespace for customers.
- Consolidation benefits: Moving to a single brand gTLD was described as a way to simplify the Swatch Group’s domain presence and improve consistency across regions and storefronts.
Notable Plans and Examples
- Rollout plan: The applicant outlined a four-stage rollout:
- Stage One — limited internal registrations for testing and security checks.
- Stage Two — wider internal corporate allocation and evaluation of migration strategies; begin considering limited external registrations.
- Stage Three — permanent migration of traffic to .swatch and possible extension of registration rights to affiliates/licensees depending on compliance with Specification 9.
- Stage Four — assessment of further expansion, potentially to broader licensees or customers depending on experience and industry changes.
- Related plans: Swatch Group indicated intent to submit an application for .OMEGA as part of its broader brand gTLD strategy.
Operator
The Swatch Group Ltd
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: SWATCH
organisation: The Swatch Group Ltd
address: Seevorstadt 6
address: Biel / Bienne CH-2501
address: Switzerland
contact: administrative
name: Digital Project Manager
organisation: The Swatch Group Ltd
address: Seevorstadt 6
address: Biel / Bienne CH-2501
address: Switzerland
phone: +41 32 343 68 11
fax-no: +41 32 343 69 11
e-mail: swatchgtld@swatchgroup.com
contact: technical
name: TLD Registry Services Technical
organisation: Nominet
address: Minerva House,
address: Edmund Halley Road,
address: Oxford Science Park
address: Oxford OX4 4DQ
address: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the)
phone: +44.1865332211
e-mail: registrytechnical@nominet.uk
nserver: DNS1.NIC.SWATCH 213.248.219.139 2a01:618:403:0:0:0:0:139
nserver: DNS2.NIC.SWATCH 103.49.83.139 2401:fd80:403:0:0:0:0:139
nserver: DNS3.NIC.SWATCH 213.248.223.139 2a01:618:407:0:0:0:0:139
nserver: DNS4.NIC.SWATCH 2401:fd80:407:0:0:0:0:139 43.230.51.139
nserver: DNSA.NIC.SWATCH 156.154.100.3 2001:502:ad09:0:0:0:0:3
nserver: DNSB.NIC.SWATCH 156.154.101.3 2001:502:2eda:0:0:0:0:3
nserver: DNSC.NIC.SWATCH 156.154.102.3 2610:a1:1009:0:0:0:0:3
nserver: DNSD.NIC.SWATCH 156.154.103.3 2610:a1:1010:0:0:0:0:3
ds-rdata: 46125 8 2 f8f63257d53d748eac6844c412a246db125e330f646d32922fd947e9f6a1fac2
ds-rdata: 63214 8 2 2cca5b625235170eea1b1151293b5ec127a83984bc6dd2af8cce71dd93d2a495
whois:
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: http://www.swatchgroup.com/
created: 2015-04-23
changed: 2025-01-28
source: IANA
