The launch of the US$400 automatic timepiece, a collaboration between the entry-level Swatch brand and the ultra-luxury marque Blancpain, prompted long lines and sold-out stock at Swatch stores when it debuted on September 9.

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Hayek, whose late father Nicolas Hayek Sr. is often credited with saving the Swiss watch industry from the quartz crisis of the 1980s with the introduction of accessible Swatch watches, wants to make clear that the new timepiece isn’t made of plain old plastic.

The CEO went so far as to produce a patent application filed with the World Intellectual Property Organization titled “Article Made From a Heavy Plastic Material” that details the compound.

“Without the patent and this innovation of bioceramic we would not have done these collaborations,” Hayek says, referring to the MoonSwatch and the joint effort with Blancpain, which have helped revive the fortunes of the Swatch brand. Swatch Group owns both Omega and Blancpain.

The patent application reveals that bioceramic does, in fact, contain polymer material – technically plastic. However, it accounts for less than half of the compound and is made from castor oil derived from plants rather than petroleum. Ceramic powder, similar to what’s used in dental work, accounts for at least half of the compound, the patent filing shows.

Swatch says the ceramic improves the feel of the watch case and makes it more durable, while the castor-oil-based polymer gives it the flexible characteristics of plastic.

Hayek says he’s been contacted by carmakers expressing interest in using bioceramic in luxury vehicles in place of traditional plastics. The Swatch CEO doesn’t identify the car companies though and says it’s unlikely the watchmaker would provide the material.

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The once mighty brand lays claim to producing the first watch specifically for divers in 1953. But its models have since been overshadowed by rival offerings, including Rolex’s Submariner and Omega’s Seamaster, the watch now worn by the title character in the James Bond films.

The collaborations have already boosted demand for other Swatches, according to Hayek, who says sales – excluding the MoonSwatch and Scuba Fifty Fathoms – have increased by 20 per cent to 30 per cent.

The new watch isn’t without detractors, however. Critics online and in YouTube videos have complained that US$400 is a hefty price for a plastic watch – hence Hayek’s effort to clarify the composition of the material. The use of an automatic movement that can’t be serviced – Swatch’s Sistem51 – has also drawn social media scorn.

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Hayek says the movement can be replaced if a customer has an issue and components from the used movement will be recycled.

Swatch is already preparing for another collaboration, most certainly made of bioceramic. Hayek wouldn’t say whether it would be another brand under the Swatch Group umbrella, such as Breguet, Tissot or Harry Winston, or something else.

“We have created a new market,” Hayek says of the Swatch collaborations. Other brands have seen “there is an opportunity to reach the younger people without harming your own image”, he said.