This page does not contain any fancy pictures but I hope to provide some substantial information for collectors. If you want to see some pictures of interesting swatches then go to my virtual swatch museum. Although I am probably a bit biased, it is highly recommended , especially the section about special packagings.

Older Swatch info

news from 2002 are below:

• Berlin store re-opening tin ZEIT ZUM AUFTAUCHEN.  On 13-NOV, the Swatch store at the Potsdamer Platz in Berlin moved to a different, smaller(!) location inside of Potsdamer Platz Arkaden (the old store will be replaced by a Starbucks cafe).  You can already guess it:  For this event, a special tin called ZEIT ZUM AUFTAUCHEN (time to surface, here is another picture) has been released.   Limitation is 100 pcs as usual.  Thanks to "dee" for the pictures.
• Vienna City Special.  A special Vienna swatch (GZ179) is available in Vienna, Austria, now.  The watch features the giant ferris wheel on the dial.  I have been told that the watch is limited to 4000 pcs, but I cannot confirm this right now.
• Tribute to Style event special.  On 23-SEP, the Jaguar's Tribute to Style event took place in Los Angeles on Rodeo Drive.  Swatch was a co-sponsor of the event.  For this occasion, Swatch released a special packaging Tribute To Style as an entrance pass.  The packaging contains any of the five colorful jelly skins, the one on the picture is yellow.  Here is a report with many pictures from the event.  (update 24-DEC: I added many pictures, check it out if you want to see a real Hollywood party :-)
• James Bond leather suitcase.  In contrast to previous announcements from Swatch and Swatch The Club, it looks as if the infamous James Bond swatch collection leather suitcase will be released!  3000 EURO ($3000 US), 280 pcs(!), 20 swatches.  This is not cheap as you can get the 20 swatches plus the metal case for about $1900 US on ebay...  Here is a picture of the opened leather suitcase.
• Verbier access special.  Another swiss ski resort has its own access special:  Verbier (my favourite skiing area!).  Here is a picture of the access special Verbier Experience (another Clearance access with a nice new strap, SKK103OAC).  The watch is packaged in a special sleeve (back). Thanks to Alain Choisy for the information.
• Munich megastore tin special / Gold & Pioneer Xmas event. A "Jelly Fish" Swatch Flagship Store has been opened in december in Munich, Germany.   Another tin special called MegaInMinga (limited to 100 pcs) has been released for this event, it contains any swatch from the current collection.  As you can read / see in the local newspaper clip one and two, a lot of local VIPs were present at the opening of the Swatch Flagship Store.   Also last week, a Xmas Swatch The Club event for the Gold & Pioneer members took place in Munich.  The Gold & Pioneer members also participated at the store opening.  At the event, the Xmas special Snowqueen with a special tag was distributed in a very limited edition.  The Club members also received a nice little snowdome (with a thin gold sticker around the globe that says "Merry Christmas Swatch") and a special cookie.  Tracey Waldron has sent me a nice report about the Xmas Gold & Pioneer member event (with pictures! [more pictures added on 12-DEC]):  You can read Tracey's report here!  Another report about the event is here at Nikolai's webpage.  Thanks to Tracey Waldron and Christine Tanner  for the pictures.
• German tin inflation.  Die-hard swatch collectors worldwide are aching about the tin special inflation from Germany.  Here is a (hopefully complete) list of German tins since 2000 so that you can complete your collection:  1.  Düsseldorf store opening (OCT-2000), 2. ZEIT IST GELD Göppingen exhibition special MAR-2001), 3. Augsburg store opening (SEP-2001), 4. Augsburg store 1st birthday (SEP-2002), 5. ZEIT IST REIF Dresden store opening (OCT-2002), 6. Weiden store opening, 7. Leipzig Promenaden 5th birthday (NOV-2002), 8. Hamburg store opening (NOV-2002), 9. Berlin store re-opening ZEIT ZUM AUFTAUCHEN(NOV-2002), 10. MegaInMinga Munich megastore opening (DEC-2002).  All tins are limited to 100 numbered pcs, except for the Augsburg store 1st birthday which is limited to 200 pcs.  Most (not all!) of the specials were launched by the company which operates many of the swatch stores above.  If you know of any other German tin, please send me an email and a picture if possible!
• Vendôme / Spiga Xmas special 2002.  The Vendôme store in Paris has released an xmas special called Lueur d'Hiver (SUBW101P), limited to 600 pcs, not numbered.  It is a square swatch with white swarovski stones around the face.  The flexible strap also features swarovski stones. The watch is packaged in a small evening bag with small stones powder on it.  The same watch is also available in the Via Della Spiga store in Milan, Italy.  300 pcs are being sold in Paris, the other 300 pcs in Milan.   Thanks to Philippe Danjean for the picture and to Tracey Waldron for the update.
• Gassan event special.  On the weekend of 22/23-NOV, two Gassan Diamond special packagings of the gent Just Blue (GN715) were launched in the Netherlands at a Swatch The Club event:  A "normal" special packaging featuring the watch with a new strap in a cardboard box, limited to 2,222 pieces.  And an extremely limited edition of the watch in an acrylic display (here is a preliminary picture by Squiggly):  Only 36 numbered pieces (no. 00 to 35; no. 00 of 35 goes to the owner of the Gassan Diamond factory) of this display have been produced.  Inside the display are also five 0.1 Karat diamonds that have the same shape as the pictures on the strap of the watch!  Shop price is 1945 Euro (approx. $1945 US) but it is already sold out.   Here is a small nice report by durch pioneer member Hetto Dijkstra about the event:  On friday 80 participants gathered at The Gassan Diamond center in Amsterdam.  After a warm welcome of Ton Cleijne (now brandmanager Swatch Benelux) and Benno Leeser (CEO of Gassan Diamonds) we did a tour and got information about the secrets of diamonds and its fabrication. During a champagne toast after that the very limited Gassan Special was launched: a beautifull plexiglass box with the watch and 5 real diamonds. 20 participants were drawn as the lucky ones who got a 'right to buy'.  After that we made a canal tour through Amsterdam which ended after 1,5 hour at the special 'Milyonairs Fair' in the Amsterdam harbour county. On that fair the 'right to buys' could be used to get the real box. Also the Gassan Special (without diamonds) could be bought there. The following saturday our foreign guests were offered a 'tour d'Amsterdam', organised by the Dutch gold and pioneer members Henk Seligmann and Hetto Dijkstra. A beautiful walk through the city with its nice buildings, small alleys, canals and bridges, its famous 'red light district', coffee-shops and its special shop center.
Thanks to Hetto Dijkstra for the report and to Holger Brinkmann for the pictures.
• Austria Tourism special.  A special access swatch Austria Tourism (a Clearance access with a new strap, SKK103CB) has been released in Austria.  Limitation is unknown.  Thanks to Roberto Tintori for the information and picture.
• Shaqtacular event special.  A swatch special Shaqtacular VII (a X-Large [what else?] Translucent Dream, SUDK105, with a new strap) was given away as entrance pass during the recent Shaqtacular charity event on 21-SEP.  Here is a (very late) report with a few pictures from the event.  Thanks to Tracey Waldron for the information and picture.
• Portuguese Halloween special.  A Swatch Halloween event took place in Tomar, Portugal, on 31-OCT and 1-NOV.  A special packaging Festa das Bruxas (limited to 66 pcs, with a nice certificate) was made for this year´s Halloween watch Witch Party (GP900).  Here is a nice report by Valter and Nikolai about the event.  Thanks to Ricardo Rocha for the information and pictures.
• Weiden special.  Even more (official!) tin specials from Germany:  To celebrate the opening of the Swatch Store in Weiden, Germany, on 15-OCT, the store has released a limited and numbered packaging  Any swatch from the current collection can be packaged into a specially designed tin numbered to 100 pcs.  Here is another picture of the tin.  Here is a nice picture showing how the swatch is being put into the special tin.
• Hamburg store opening special.  Yet another swatch store has been opened in Hamburg, Germany, on 7-NOV.  A special packaging of the current club swatch Lots of Swatch has been released, it is limited and numbered to 100 pcs.  The sale price of 70 Euro (approx. $70 US) includes the club membership.  Here is a picture of the special tin.  Thanks to Nikolai Kuttler for the information and picture.
• Wristory Club special.  As a surprise gift to club members, Swatch The Club has sent out a nice special packaging called Wristory (not to be confused with the Invitation to Wristory NYC auction special from DEC-2001!).  The packaging contains information about the benefits of being a Swatch The Club member (as if we didn't know :-) and an older swatch (in my case a gent loomi Bleep, GN904, no special strap; other collectors received other, also not rare swatches).  To open the packaging, a special code (not too hard to guess!) has to be entered at the four black wheels at the right side of the packaging.  Very nice and a pleasant surprise!  Thanks a lot!
• Leipzig Promenaden anniversary special.  You can't have enough tins in your collection:  Another tin special has been released by Swatch in Germany.  The Swatch Store in Leipzig has released the Leipzig Promenaden tin special (limited and numbered to 100) to celebrate the 5th anniversary of the "Promenaden Hauptbahnhof" (shopping mall in the main train station) in Leipzig in NOV-2002.  Each tin contains a swatch from the current collection.  The tin also contains a nice grey fleece cap from swatch.
• UK Turnover event.  On 3-NOV, Swatch UK held a Turnover event which focused around the 27th Canton Turn Over Swatch!  You can read a full report with pictures from the event on Rob Gough's excellent webpage.
• Dutch specials.  At the end of November a new Dutch special will be released:  Gassan Diamonds will release the gent The 6 Moons (GN408) with a new strap in a cardboard box. This special packaging will be limited to 2,222 pieces. Furthermore there will be an extremely limited edition of the watch in an acrylic display.  Only 25 numbered pieces of this display will be produced.  Inside the display will also be seven 0.1 Karat diamonds  that will have the same shape as the pictures on the strap of the watch.! Shop price will be 1945 Euro (approx. $1945 US).  Contact Rob Versteeg at squiggly for more details.  Furthermore, another special has been released in the Netherlands:  VNV Beveiliging.  For details and pictures, check outHans van Buuren's excellent swatch page.
• Milan swatch store opening special.  A Swatch store similar to the Vendôme store in Paris has opened on 29-OCT in Milan, Italy.  The location is Via Della Spiga next door to stores like Gucci, Prada, Cartier, Etro, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Roberto Cavalli and other world famous fashion stores.  During the opening event on 29-OCT, the famous italian photo model Valeria Mazza was present (to me, the idea of the dress of Valeria Mazza is not entirely new:  See this picture of gold member Markus Jeanneret at the James Bond London Club event in July).  Unfortunately, Valeria was not for sale :-)  A special Via della Spiga was distributed during the event, limited to 200 pcs.  It was possible to choose the watch (pop or lady [lady was the favourite among collectors]) and the strap for the special: gold / silver / red. Here is a picture of another Via della Spiga special.   At the Milan store, there are swatches exclusive to the Milan store (not available anywhere else) and also swatches from the Vendôme collection (not all).  Price of the swatches at the Milan store is normal italian retail price, so some Vendôme swatches may be a little cheaper in Milan than in Paris.  Here are a few Milan swatches:  Serata Spigata (gent GC105), Altra Scelta(pop PMK149U),Lulubella (lady LK210PU), MUUH (lady LK226U, LK227U, very nice, 75 Euro).  Here is a nice infopage about the Milan store on the official swatch webpage explaining the store concept.  David Rippmann has a very nice report about the Via Della Spiga Opening Event on his excellent webpage.  You can see the complete Spiga collection at Mark Lenzinger's nice webpage!   Thanks to Andrea Faggioli and Roberto Quadrini for the information and to Andrea Martinetto and Emanuele Bertodo from www.wwt.it  for the pictures.
• Inocente Spain Special.  This is news from September last year but with an update:  A special swatch (a Tierra gent with a new strap, ref.no. GK901D) has been given to people or companies donating money to a charity organization in Spain:  Fundacion Inocente.  Here is a picture of the watch and here is a closeup picture of the strap. Update:  Two more special swatches were (are?) available from the Fundacion Inocente:  Glitter (GK216D) and Knox (GB157D). Thanks to Ricardo Rocha for the information and pictures.
• synchro .beat launch.  The new synchro .beat has been launched on 22-OCT in Zurich, Switzerland.  David Rippmann has a report with pictures from the event on his nice webpage.  Mark Lenzinger also has a report on his superb webpage, it looks as if the event was a lot of fun! Here is a picture of the first three models, including a model reserved for members of Swatch The Club, limited to 1000 pcs, price is 135 Swiss Francs.  For technical details and features of the watch, check out the official Swatch website.  Swatch is currently running a synchro .beat TV show casting in Switzerland.   Thanks to David Rippmann for the information.
• Vendôme Nabab, Turn Over & Diaphane Automatic.  At the Vendôme store in Paris, the following swatch watches of new product lines are available.  Nabab:  Folie Periodique (YNS404P);  Turn Over:  Blanche Surprise (SUFK102P);  Diaphane Automatic: Speednik (SVDK1003P).  Thanks to Thomas Sonneville for the information and pictures.
• Austria Beachvolleyball access special 2002.  A special access swatch Sun Ball (SHK101C) has been issued for the Beachvolleyball World Championships which will take place in Klagenfurt, Austria, on 31-JUL to 4-AUG-2002.
• Swatch stamp.  Swatch will be featured on a stamp released on 20-NOV by the Singapore post office.  Here is more detailed info and here is a picture of the stamp.  Thanks to Al Auyong and to Woon Yin for the information.
• Italian Swatch event.  A swatch event took place in Torino, Italy on 12-OCT at the 9th edition of the "Festa della Neve" (feast of the snow, anticipating Torino Olympic winter games in 2006). During the event a special access swatch Festa della neve 2002 (ref.no. SKK103OABC, a Jungfrau access with an extra loop around the strap; the Jungfrau access itself is a refitted Clearance access [confusing, eh?]; limited to 300 pcs: 200 for collectors, 100 for journalists) has been distributed.  Here is the official information by swatch about the event.  During the event, the watches were signed by Swatch Proteam member Eva Bakker.  The famous ski athlete Alberto Tomba was also there and signed irony catalogues for collectors.  Collectors received a set consisting of the watch, a bag, a T-shirt, several catalogues, and more.  Thanks to Andrea Faggioli and Roberto Quadrini for the information and to Andrea Martinetto for the pictures.
• DIE ZEIT IST REIF special.  Yet another tin special, but a very nice one:  To celebrate the opening of the Swatch Store in Dresden, Germany, the store has released a limited and numbered packaging called Die Zeit ist reif:  Any swatch from the current collection can be packaged into a specially designed tin, numbered to 100 pcs.   The special is already sold out.
• German Schnitzeljagd Event.  A Schnitzeljagd (paper-chase) Swatch The Club Event organized by the German Swatch Club took place on 5-OCT in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler.  A special packaging of the Fall In Leaves gent (limited and numbered to only 50 pcs) has been released for the event.  Here is another picture of the special packaging and here is a picture of the card affixed to the bowl (containing moss, a mushroom, and a pine cone).  At the event (it was raining all day), seven teams had to perform at different stations:  throwing horseshoe, biking on a special race course, guessing things (incl. watches) by touching only, archery, guessing distances, and more.  Sounds like a lot of fun (I could not participate :-(  Here is a report (in German) by Nikolai Kuttler.   Thanks to Dirk Blencke for the information and pictures.
• Three new dutch specials.  Three new special packagings called Kamer van Koophandel Haaglanden, SCM, and Sioux have been released in the Netherlands.  For details and pictures, check out Hans van Buuren's excellent swatch page.
• Swatch at World Sports Forum.  From 22 to 24-SEP, the World Sports Forum takes places in Lausanne, Switzerland, at the Olympic Museum.  During this time, Swatch presents an exhibition at the museum:  More than 100 artists, athletes, VIPs (and swatch collectors) have created artworks and sculptures at the Athens Kaleidoscope event (JUN-2002).  At the World Sports Forum, about 50 artworks are presented.  Entrance to the exhibition is free.
• Swatch related US events.  On 21-SEP, Shaquille O'Neal's annual fundraiser Shaqtacular 7 takes place on the Barker Hanger in Los Angeles. Swatch will have a team headed up by legendary Olympian Carl Lewis. Swatch is also presenting the final race - the Obstacle Course with very funny Swatch elements that should make the race both challenging and humerous. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Shaq are the torch lighters. Jessica Simpson will sing the national anthem. After the event, Boyz to Men and Eminem will perform.  On 23-SEP, Tribute to Style in LA on Rodeo Drive:  Swatch will also be involved in this event that supports art education in school. The theme is "Fashion as Art". Swatch will have an item for auction presented by Verne Troyer (Mini Me from the Austin Powers films). The big event is the auction of a new Jaguar XKR convertible; the Jaguar will be auctioned by Christie's auction house.  Thanks to Brian Pier for the information.
• Swatch cow.  Among 100 other companies, swatch sponsors a "Kissy Fishy Muh Kuh" cow at the CentrO in Oberhausen, Germany.  A cow parade of more than 100 cows can be seen there until the 14-SEP.  Afterwards, all cows (also the Swatch cow) will be auctioned for charity.  The minimum bid for the Swatch cow is 800 Euro / US$.
• German Swatch special.  To celebrate the first birthday of the Swatch Store in Augsburg, Germany, the store will release a limited and numbered packaging:  Any swatch from the current collection can be packaged (together with a Swatch necktie) into a specially designed tin, numbered to 200 pcs.   Sale of the tin will start 2-SEP. Thanks to Robert Bienia for the information.
• Wouaf French special packaging.  A special packaging for the nice new gent swatch Wouaf (GK389) has been released in France.  It is probably not limited. Here is a picture of the back of the packaging. Thanks to Philippe Danjean for the pictures.
• Portuguese Fraldinhas special packaging.  A special packaging of the Fraldinhas (GZ176) Baby swatch has been released in Portugal.  The package is a giant safety pin with swatch logo and the watch inside.  Three different editions are available:  The first edition is numbered and limited to 25 pieces (no. 1 to 25). This edition will be auctioned for charity.  The second edition is limited and numbered on the watch and box: 225 pcs (no. 26 to 250).  The third edition is limited and numbered on the box only: 1250 pcs (no. 251 to 1500).  In addition to the special packaging, a  T-shirt, a CD, and a hat is also available.  Thanks to Pedro Coelho, Ricardo Rocha, and Ricardo Menezes for the information and pictures.
• Taiwanese Valentine special.  The chinese valentine day is on 15-AUG (July 7th of the lunar calendar).  For this occasion, Swatch Taiwan will release a special packaging containing two swatches from the new collection:  My Next Holiday (GK383) and Your Next Holiday (LK217).  Here is a promotional picture for the special.  Here is a picture of the opened packaging and here is another one.  Price for the special is 2600 NT (=$80 US).  Limitation is 777 pcs.  The special is also available in China. Thanks to Sophia Chang and Russell for the information and picture.
• Unique Canadian artist maxi swatches.  Read and see all about it here. I simply have to say:  Wow!
• Swiss Gigathlon Access specials.  For the Swiss Gigathlon (7 to 14-JUL-2002, something like a week-long team triathlon around Switzerland), Swatch has given six different access swatches (Clearance access with a special strap) to the participants.  The following watches were distributed:    Gigathlon 7-Days Single (SKK103GI, pink strap), Gigathlon 1-Day Single (SKK103GIA, green strap), Gigathlon 7 Days Teams of five (SKK103GIB, red strap), Gigathlon 1-Day Teams of five (SKK103GIC, dark blue strap), Gigathlon 7-Days Power Teams 6-35 (SKK103GID, yellow strap), Gigathlon Finisher (SKK103???).  The numbers on the strap were emergency phone numbers for the contest.  The Gigathlon Finisher watch was given to those who successfully finished the contest.  Thanks to Christine Tanner for the information.
• London James Bond event special.  A special loomi gent swatch Club Mission 2002 London (GB907) was given to participants at the James Bond Swatch The Club Event in London (26 to 28-JUL).  It is a unique model, not just a regular loomi with a new strap!  Swatch has not done this very often so far (only at the Munich Club Event 2001).  Limitation is only 140 pcs (only 100 pcs were distributed in London).  The watch comes with a special papersleeve (front / back).  Very interesting:  The watch is not an official James Bond 007 product but have a look at the loomi function!  Here is a detailed report with many pictures from this wonderful event.
• Locarno Film Festival 2002.  A special swatch (Oudatchi, YGS710D) will be released for the Swiss Locarno Film Festival 2002.  Here is a picture.  The watch does not come with a special packaging.  Thanks to Alain Choisy for the information and picture.
• Goodyear Eagle F1 special.  A nice mini special packaging has been released by tire manufacturer Goodyear:  The Eagle F1 is a Secret Agent (YCS401D) irony chrono with a special strap looking like Goodyear Eagle F1 tires.  The irony packaging comes in a special paper sleeve.  The watch was a promotion gift in 2002 to buyers of Goodyear Eagle F1 17” tires.  Limitation is 17000 pcs, it has been distributed all over Europe.  This special also exists with the Straight Edge Irony Chrono (YCS1006H).  The Goodyear Straight Edge special was only available in Switzerland and it is limited to only 1000 pcs.  Thanks to Christine Tanner and Alain Choisy for the information and pictures.
• US James Bond Events.  Swatch will be holding a special James Bond event on 8-AUG at the Chicago Swatch Store.  On display will be the James Bond Swatch collection along with many pieces of James Bond memorabilia.  The highlight of the display will be the speed boat used by Pierce Brosnan / James Bond in the film "The World is not Enough".  The 18 ft. / 6 meter speed boat will be on display outside the store on Michigan Ave. all day.  There will be a reception for Swatch The Club members and other collectors that evening from 18:00 - 20:00.  Other similar events (probably without the boat :-) will take place soon in San Francisco and Los Angeles.  Thanks to Russ Bauer and Brian Pier for the information.
• Gold and Pioneer club event.  From 17 to 19-JUN, the traditional gold and pioneer member club event took place in Biel, Switzerland.  To commemorate the event, a special packaging of the 27ème Canton Swatch (GZ174) was released in a numbered edition of 120 pcs.  The watch (no difference to the regular watch) is packaged in a red book similar to the Magic Spell.  The book contains the watch and the manifest of the 27th canton.  I just completed a detailed report about the event with a lot of pictures. Click here to read the report!  You can read other reports with pictures of the event at David Rippmann's excellent swatch page or at Rob Gough's wonderful swatch page or at Marc Lenzinger's swatch page (under construction) or at the official swatch page (if you recognize some of the photos at the official swatch report:  they have been taken from my page [not the other way round :-]).
• NO James Bond Leather suitcase.  Here is an excerpt from an email from Swatch The Club:  "Contrary to any conflicting information that may be in circulation, please note that Swatch The Club will not be producing a James Bond Collection Leather Briefcase."  In my opinion, this is a good idea because the supposed selling price was 3300 Euro! During the upcoming Swatch The Club James Bond London event, "a TOP SECRET Special event Swatch will be unveiled and presented to you to mark the event."  Sounds great to me!
• Berlin Traveling Vendôme Event.  On 2-JUL, a gala to celebrate the Traveling Vendôme Berlin exhibition took place at the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin, Germany.  About 220 guests (including celebrities such as actor Theo Gärtner, Maren Gilzer, Mutter Beimer ["Lindenstraße" :-] and ... 10 german gold members) were invited.  The exhibition shows the special ladders designed for the opening of the Vendôme store in Paris two years ago, the special skins designed for the 1st birthday of the Vendôme store, and more.  During the gala, Vendôme swatches were sold, all money went to charity.  At the end of the party, all guests received a special packaging (related to the ladder theme) of one of the Famous Couple By Ravage swatches:  Aiglon for the men and Aiglette for the ladies.  Here is a picture of the closed packaging and here is a picture of the small card inside of the packaging.  Here is a report about the gala event by Nikolai Kuttler.  Here are photos from the event by Nikolai.  Here is a report in German on the official Swatch website.  Thanks to Holger Brinkmann  for the information and pictures.
• Vendôme Diaphane Swatches.  Two Diaphane Swatches are available now at the Vendome store in Paris:  Diaphane Navigator Carpania (SVBK4002P) and Diaphane Chrono Vague Bleue (SVCK4004GP).  Thanks to Thomas Sonneville for the information and pictures.
• Vendôme Butterflies.  3 very nice butterflies (decoration for skin swatches) are now available at the Vendome store in Paris: Butterfly Purple (S689000173), Butterfly Yellow (S689000174), Butterfly Blue (S689000175). Thanks to Thomas Sonneville for the information and pictures.
• Expo.02 specials.  According to this newspaper article from Switzerland, Swatch will sponsor the swiss exhibition Expo.02 as "official time keeper".  Special Swatch watches will be released for this exhibition, see this German press release.  At the Basel 2002 World Watch and Jewellery Show, Swatch presented 4 new special watches called 27. Kanton. Switzerland is divided in 26 Cantons (similar to states in the USA). Mr. Hayek jr. presented a film, shown in Star TV the day before, where he went to House of Parliament in Bern, the capital, and the parliament decided to make the 27th Canton. At the event, Mr. Hayek sen. and Mr. Sofisti (president of Swatch) also spoke to the theme of the 27th Canton.  The four watches GZ172, GZ173, GZ174, GZ175 will be sold starting 20-APR in all Swatch stores in Switzerland. They are sold in a special sleeve, showing that Swatch will be the official time keeper for the opening ceremony of the Swiss National Exhibition Expo.02 on 15.MAY.  A special packaging will also be sold (limited to 2002 pcs, original selling price:  400 Swiss Francs or 265 Euro (about $250 US)):  A big red book (closed / opened, the special looks superb!) with all 4 specials (GZ172, GZ173, GZ174, GZ175) and the meaning of the 27. Canton.  The watches will be 60 Swiss Francs each.  The price of the special packaging it not known yet. Update:  A special version of the 27th Canton swatches has been distributed to employees of the city of Biel.  The watch has an additional "Biel/Bienne" loop around the strap and a special plastic sleeve.  All four 27th Canton swatches are available in this version, ref.no.s are GZ172C, GZ173C, GZ174C, GZ175C.  I have been told that 9000 swatch watches were ordered by the city of Biel, so there are a lot of these around!  Thanks to Christine Tanner, David Rippmann, Jürgen Walther, and Alain Choisy for the information and pictures.
• Extraterrestrial Swatch Store.  will be opened soon!  Read all about it here. Thanks to Thomas Bürki for the information.
• Sölden Access special.  A Clearance access swatch Sölden (SKK103PA) with a nice new strap is available in, right, Sölden, Austria.  Here is a picture of the watch.  No idea about limitation.
• Italian XL collection launch special.  A special launch event took place in Milan, Italy on 28-JUN. It was dedicated to the launch of the new XL collection, and it was based on colors... better the four colors of the new Summer Extra Large watches (orange, red, blue and yellow). Collectors were invited to dinner and afterwards, around midnight, they had the opportunity to buy a pretty nice special packaging (limited to 300 pcs) containing the four new watches.  Together with the special, collectors also received a swatch orange backpack and a special T-shirt from this event.  Thanks to Emanuele Bertodo from www.wwt.it  and to Andrea M. Faggioli for the information.
• Swiss Access specials.  Two access specials have been released in Switzerland.  Both are Clearance access swatches with a nice new strap:  Adelboden Press (SKK103OAA, probably given to journalists at the FIS ski world cup in Adelboden in 2002) and Jungfrau (SKK103OAB).  Limitation is unknown but probably quite low.
• Vendôme birthday special.  At the end of june, several new swatches have been released at the Vendôme store in Paris: A special for the 2nd birthday of the Vendome Store (limited to 600 pcs):Happy Jeans (SUBK104P),  Manchettes de l'Heure (LN138P, with real cuff links), Damier sur Peau Brune (SFB120DP), Attaché à l'Heure (SFK137P), Luciole Verte (SFF105BP), Luciole Rouge (SFF106BP).  Thanks to Thomas Sonneville for the information and pictures.
• Athens Diaphane press special.  Apparently, a special packaging of the new Olympic Swatch Diaphane Chrono Aerinos (SVCK 4006) was given to the press in Athens at a recent event.  The special packaging is limited and numbered to 400 pcs.  Here are more pictures of the special packaging.  Thanks to Marc Lenzinger for the information and pictures.
• Athens Kaleidoscope club event.  Here is a report about the Athens Kaleidoscope Swatch The Club event.  At the event, about 200 of the Kyklos specials (different colours) were released in a special packaging containing (guess what?) a kaleidoscope. Here is a picture of the packaging and here is a picture of the back (the number refers to the watch, not to the special packaging!  There are definitively not 2004 special kaleidoscope packagings, I think that there are only about 200).  Here is some information about the Kaleidoscope event in Athens on the official swatch page.
• Upcoming interesting swatches.  Wanna have a quick look at some of the swatch releases later this year?  Here is a picture of the Xmas special 2002 called Snowqueen, here and here are pictures of the upcoming Irony Nabab (the "macho" swatch), and here is a picture of the fall/winter collection 2002/03.  And here is a picture of the strictly limited James Bond leather suitcase  (update:  this Bond leather suitcase will not be produced!).
• Swatch digs in his vaults.  Look at the result here!  A Haring swatch with a bar code on the sticker?!?!?  Strange times.
• Dutch Amnesty International special.  On June 16 there will be a sponsor run for Amnesty International in Utrecht. For this occasion, the Swatch Store in Utrecht will release a special packaging (222 pcs, numbered on the back) called The Dictator Of Love.  The packaging will feature a transparent skin mounted at the bottom of the picture.  More details can be found here at Hans van Buuren's excellent swatch page.
• Olympic 2004 swatch specials.  The first special swatches for the Olympics 2004 in Athens, Greece, have been released in 2004 pieces each. They are 5 different watches similar to the olympic disks. Each one has a differently coloured inner disk on the dial. They all are numbered in a special packaging (outside / inside) and they will be only available in Greece. There will also be 108 numbered sets of all 5 specials swatches together in one special packaging (acrylic display, the number is engraved on the right side, you can turn the top disc of the acrylic around the metal pin on the left, very nice). Here is a picture of one of the special swatches (Kyklos Galazio, GZ167, blue ring).  The other watches are called:  Kyklos Kitrino, GZ168, yellow ring; Kyklos Mavro, GZ169, black ring; Kyklos Prasino, GZ170, green ring; Kyklos Kokkino, GZ171, red ring.  At the Athens Kaleidoskope Swatch the Club event, about 200 of the Kyklos specials (different colours) were released in a special packaging containing (guess what?) a kaleidoscope.  Here is a picture of the packaging and here is a picture of the back (the number refers to the watch, not to the special packaging!  There are definitively not 2004 special kaleidoscope packagings, I think that there are only about 200).  Thanks to Timotheos Binis and Peter Rollings for the information and pictures.
• Skin Exhibition.   The Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York, a division of the Smithsonian, will present an exhibit called "Skin" from 7-MAY until 15-SEP. The museum describes the exhibit as "An international showcase of products, architecture, and digital media that will explore the role of 'skin' as outer surface and structural form."  Aha.  Here is a link to the press release about the exhibit.  Not surprisingly, a few Skin Swatches will be included in the exhibit. Some Skin Swatches will also be sold in the museum's gift shop although there will be no special or special packaging for the exhibit.  Update:  The official swatch site features a nice report about the exhibition, including some pictures.  At the opening night gala co-hosted by Swatch on May 6th, Swatch presented each guest with a Swatch Jelly Skin that had the exhibit logo imprinted on the band (different colours were available).   Thanks to Brian Pier for the information.
• Holland Casino swatch.  In October 2001, the Holland Casino has released a special Holland Casino Swatch to celebrate their 25th anniversary.  The watch is a Juggler (GK307C) with a special strap.  Here is a picture of the actual watch, here is a picture of the nice packaging.  All visitors of the casino have a chance to win this watch every time they enter the casino and play a game. Update: I just found out that there are two different versions of the packaging, see the stickers on the packaging.  The difference is the text inside of the packaging (the watches are the same):  GK307C and GK307CV.  I think that the GK307C was released in 2001 and GK307CV in 2002. Thanks to Peter Kranendonk  for the information and the pictures.
• Diaphane Swatches.  A new product line of watches called Diaphane will be launched soon, probably during the international "Kaleidoskope" swatch the club event (open to all club members) in Athens, Greece, from 14-16 JUN.  The case of the watches is made of plastic, on the top of the case, there is metal.  There will be four different styles of watches: Diaphane Automatic, Diaphane Chrono, Diaphane Olympic, Diaphane Navigator (a chrono swatch with a scuba ring, remember the Aquachrono? :-).  Thanks to Alain Choisy for the information and pictures.
• Traveling Vendome Berlin / Madrid / Zurich.  The swatch Vendôme collection will be presented during a gala event in Berlin on 2-JUL.  Afterwards, the Vendôme swatches will be available in Berlin for a few days.  In the fall, Traveling Vendôme will be presented in Zurich, Switzerland.  Currently, the Vendome swatches are being sold in Madrid, Spain.  Thanks to David Rippmann for the information.
• Portuguese Baby special.  This week, swatch will release a portuguese only special gent swatch called Fraldinhas. The watch has a baby on the dial, and several on the strap. It comes in a special package with a safety pin with the word “swatch”.  Swatch Portugal has created a charity project called “Quero uma casa deste tamanho” (I want a house this big).  Swatch gives 6 Euros for each watch sold to the institution “Ajuda de Berço” (cradle help).  The watch costs 50 Euro.  A maxi version of this swatch will also be available (in Portugal only) for 95 Euro. Thanks to Pedro Coelho for the information and to Maria from swatch-boavista for the picture.
• Irony Nabab.  Here is another picture of the new Irony Nabab.  It looks like an irony Scuba 200 without the ring or like an Irony X-large.  This watch will be released as part of the James Bond collection, and it is called On Her Majesty Secret Service (YNS402).
• Vendôme mother's day special and more.  12 new swatches have been released at the Vendôme store in Paris.  The best one is a mother's day special limited to 250 pcs:  A Fleur de Coeur (GJ125P).  It is a gent swatch packaged in a sort of hat box.  The other new models are:  Regardez La (GB211P, gent), Regardez Le (SUDB104P, X-Large), Noir de Rose (LB158P, lady), Hypnoidale Bleu (SUBK102DP, square, 100 pcs only), Sang Froid (SUBS100P, square), La Rumaba Chica (SFK160P, skin), Glacon (SUYK101P, skin chrono), Desertique (YCS434P, XL strap with 9 holes), 18 Holes (YGS118P, irony gent big, comes with 2 straps: 1 leather and an extra metal), Simpliciste de Bleu (YGS721P, irony gent big, comes with 2 straps: 1 leather and an extra metal), Simpliciste de Rouge (YGS723P, irony gent big, comes with 2 straps: 1 leather and an extra metal).  More pictures will follow.  Thanks to Thomas Sonneville and Philippe Danjean for the information and pictures.
• Lifeball 2002 charity auction.  A good tradition continues:  For this year's lifeball event (AIDS charity)  in Vienna, Austria, swatch auctions a unique and certainly one-of-a-kind SKIN (a Silver Meshstream with handcuffs!) designed by the House of Moschino, which began with the famed Italian fashion designer Franco Moschino.  The watch will be auctioned online in the next few days.  Here is some more information in German.
• Turkey Soccer specials.  The soccer club Fenerbahce from Turkey has released a special access swatch, a scuba access Freeride with a special strap (SHN101D).  Here is a picture of the watch and here is a picture of the special paper sleeve.  Limitation is unknown. Here and here is a little bit more info about this swatch.  I have no idea if you can order this swatch online.  Update:  Another Fenerbahce special swatch has surfaced:  A Happy Joe Yellow (YGS409GC) with a metal strap engraved with the Fenerbahce logo.  This irony special looks official (see price sticker).  Limitation is unknown.  Thanks to Hans van Buuren for the information and pictures.
• French Swatch site.  Here is an excellent french Swatch site: www.swatchfolie.com  Excellent design!
• Swatch CEO Hayek to Pass Torch to Son.  Nicolas Hayek will step down as chief executive of Swatch Group.  Read all the details here. Thanks to Martin Maguss  for the information.
• Japanese "Happy Joe" & "Happy Jenny" special.  Starting 1-MAY, a gift box (limited to 2002 pcs, packaged in nice gift paper) of special Happy Joe and Happy Jennyirony swatches (Happy Jenny is a new model, right?) will be released in Japan.  The watches (packaged in nice wrapping paper) will be sold in three new different colours:  Sora (the azure of the high sky), Momo (pink which symbolizes health and happiness), Nibi (an intellectual gray). Thanks to Yuji Tada  for the information and pictures.
• "I SURVIVED TAX DAY" special.  A very interesting special was just given away for free in the USA.  Here is a report by Martin Maguss: "Well Swatch really did it this time - yesterday [15-APR] of course was tax day in the U.S. and if you were lucky enough to go into a Swatch store you would have received a free Swatch.  Yes, seriously, it was the fluorescent watch that is incorporated into the handle of a shoulder bag that was produced last year (Tracolla, GK340).  Also inside the shoulder bag was a postage stamp, a calculator, a pen, a key chain with a neck massager and also a t-shirt too. The shoulder strap had the words printed "I survived Tax day".  Apparently each store had 3-5 of these specials and if you came into the store you would have been given one.  The major launch for this watch was in New York at the post office near the stock exchange - and for those of you who aren't familiar with the area - which of course is very close to the site of the World Trade Center.  Apparently as people arrived at the post office to drop of their tax returns - they were given this special gift.  Neat eh?  So I would assume it is VERY LIMITED - maybe 100 or so. The idea behind this is called "pirate marketing" which I guess in this case was pretty successful."  Here is a picture of the complete set.  Very nice!  Here is the official report by Swatch.  Thanks to Jay B. Siegel for the picture.
• Swatch The Club Events 2002.  The following events by Swatch The Club will take place this year:  An international "Kaleidoskope" event (open to all club members) in Athens, Greece, from 14-16 JUN, the traditional Gold & Pioneer member event (related to Expo.02) in Biel, Switzerland, from 17-19 JUN, and an international James Bond Event in London, UK, from 26-28 JUL.  During the Athens event, a street painting event ("Swatch Sport Objects Street Painting Happening") with well known designers etc. will take place.  Also, a Diaphane 2002 collection (including two olympic watches for Athens 2004 Olympic Games, quartz movements in Diaphane cases [top of case metal, bottom of case plastic]) will be launched.  The gold member contest is open for all club members until 15-MAY.  This years theme is "Swatch and the Olympic Games...  The perfect reationship!  Why?".  So send your entries to the club!  During the James Bond Event in London,  the last 3 watches of the 20 that are being released, will be launched.  These last 3 swatches include probably a Chrono Diaphane and an Irony Nabab (see below).  Thanks to Dennis Hickey for the information.
• New Vendôme swatches.  Seven new swatches have been released at the Vendôme store in Paris.  Two lady swatches seem to be a big "hit", they are selling well:  Reve de Brillance rose (LK212RP), Reve de Brillance jaune (LK212JP).  The other models are: Damier sur Peau Verte (SFB120CP), Mirobolant (SUDB102P), Sang Chaud (SUBV100P), Black Equivoque (SUEB401P), Pensee Noire (YGS420P).  Update:  Two more Irony Swatches have just been released at the Vendôme store:  Enchainée Argentée (YLS414P) and Enchainée D'Orée (YLG114P).   Thanks to Philippe Danjean and Thomas Sonneville for the information and pictures.
• EURO Disney POP special - not official!  You may have seen a nice EURO Disney POP special on ebay or somewhere else.  Alain Choisy has asked Swatch and Disneyland Paris:  Both reply via email (in french) that this special has not been issued by Swatch or Disneyland Paris.  So this special is not official (but still very nice).
• Piggy the Bear French special packaging.  A special packaging (front / back) of the new gent Piggy the Bear (GK 367) has been released in France.  Limitation is 600 pcs, numbered.   The watch is packaged with a nice book, original selling price is 61 EURO.  The book is written by Dominique Glocheux.  He signed a few of the specials during an event in Paris.  Thanks to Maeght for the information.
• Matthias Winkler homepage.  Finally, Swiss artist Matthias Winkler (well known for the swatch specials Zeit2, Instrumental, and Cupid's Bow) has his own homepage.  Check it out here!
• Montreux 2002 special.  Here is a first picture of the Montreux 2002 special swatch (released for the 36th Montreux Jazz Festival).  I assume that the watch has been designed by the British artist Richard James North because he is the designed of the Montreux 2002 poster.   Thanks to Alain Choisy for the information and picture.
• Artist swatches 2002.  The upcoming Spring-Summer collection 2002 will contain five artist swatches designed by Stephen Dean.  Three of them are called Blue Painted Time (GK376), Red Painted Time (GK377), and Orange Painted Time (GK378).  These three models will be available for individual purchase.  The additional two will only be available in a limited edition box set (1000 pcs, silver acrylic display) containing all five watches.  This special packaging will be signed by the artist. Price for the box set will be 265 EUR (about $235 US).   Update: Apparently, the first version of the packaging of the Orange Painted Time (GK378) has been withdrawn.  Now, the following packaging (with a hole in the packaging to see the watch) is used.  So there are two different packaging versions of the standard swatch. Thanks to Alain Choisy and Jonn Rico for the information.
• Spanish Olympia Special.  The city of Madrid (Spain) wants to host the olympic games in 2012 (Madrid 2M12).  For this occasion, a special swatch 2M12 (a Tokyo Musicall with a new strap, SKZ100E) was given to IOC members and sponsors of 2M12.  The watch is limited and numbered to 750 pcs.  Thanks to Jurgen for the information and picture.
• Unofficial Malaysian Specials.  According to a reliable source in Malaysia, the following specials from Malaysia are not officially released by Swatch:  Hairy Harry, Just Born, Love Layers.  They have been created by dealers on the "grey market".  The specials look really nice but they are not official.  The low limitation number (20 to 50) is also a hint for "unofficial".  Thanks to Auyong for the information and pictures.
• James Bond swatches / box set / launch events.  A collection of 20 James Bond swatches will be released during 2002, each watch is related to one James Bond movie.  There will be a special box set of all 20 James Bond Swatches (see below). Of course, all 20 watches will be available separately. Included in the series is the first Square Chrono (mid march) and a Square where you can flip the front.  Here are the names of the first five James Bond Swatches (mid march): Dr. No (Chrono Square SUEB400), You Only Live Twice (Skin SFB116), Thunderball (Skin SFK154), Goldfinger (Chrono Irony YCG401), From Russia With Love (Big Irony YGS423, interesting notice by Rob Gough:  this swatch has on the strap the year "1964", when both the PR and the catalogue says: "1963", an error?!?), The Man With The Golden Gun (gent). Here are pictures of almost all James Bond swatches.  Among the most interesting James Bond Swatches is the Chrono Diaphane The World Is Not Enough (SVCK4003, a quartz chrono movement in a Diaphane case [top of case plastic, bottom of case metal) and the Irony Nabab [see below] On Her Majesty Secret Service (YNS402).  Prototypes of the 20 Bond swatches were seen at the Wristory auction in New York in December 2001.  Update:  A launch event "007 Swatch Night" took place on 18-FEB in Milano, Italy.   A similar launch event organized by Swatch The Club Germany took place on 10-MAR in Frankfurt, Germany.  Here is a short report about the German event.  During the event, a special aluminium suitcase (closed / opened) was released.  The suitcase contains:  Dr.No square, set of 19 glossy Bond prints (Milano only(!), representing the posters of the 19 Bond movies produced so far), space for 19 more Bond swatches, and a James Bond Swatch catalogue (preview of the swatches that will be released later).  The aluminium suitcase is not numbered, it should not be too hard to get.  1200 pieces of the aluminium suitcase have been made.  For price info, see my report.  Yet another launch event will take place on 20-MAR in London, UK (here is a wonderful report by Robert Gough) and on 28-MAR in Miami, USA.  The event in Miami will take place in South Beach.  A dinner will be served at the trendy new restaurant, "Kiss", on Lincoln Road.  The evening's program will follow at approx. 8pm.    The second batch of James Bond swatches will be:  Goldeneye, Live and Let Die,The Man With the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Licence to Kill. These swatches will be shown at the Basel Watch Fair, Switzerland (4 to 11-APR).  There will be an International James Bond event held in London from 26-28 JUL.   Thanks to Russ Bauer, Alain Choisy, Nikolai Kuttler, David Rippmann, Peter Rollings, and Filip Jochums for some information and pictures.
• Inhorgenta 2002 special.  For the watch & jewelry fair Inhorgenta 2002 in Munich, Germany, swatch has released a special access swatch Inhorgenta 2002 (a Ski Patrol access with a special strap, SKO100C).  The swatch is limited to 3000 pcs.  300 pcs (of the 3000) have been given in a nice special packaging to VIP customers of swatch.
• Four new dutch specials.  Four new special packagings have been released in the Netherlands:  1.: 2002 Calendar (300 pcs, numbered, comes with Jelly Skin, photographs by Mike King of the Dutch Playboy).  Update:  The approval of Swatch for the release of this calendar has been cancelled.  So the calendar has been withdrawn from sale.  Only 100 pcs are in circulation, making this a very rare special!  2.:  Prime Time (300 pcs, numbered, designed by Marcel Bierenbroodspot). 3.: The Winners Game (300 pcs, numbered, comes with FC Utrecht access, designed by Marcel Bierenbroodspot).  4.: The Losers Game (200 pcs, numbered, comes with FC Utrecht access, designed by Marcel Bierenbroodspot).  More detailed information can be found at Hans van Buuren's excellent swatch page.
• Valentine's special 2002 / signing by Matthias Winkler.  The valentine special 2002 will be designed by ....  Matthias Winkler, well known for Instrumental (Montreux Jazz Festival), Zeit2, ... Here is a first picture of Cupid's Bow (GK371) and here is a picture of the packaging.  I love it!  Superb!  Update: On 2-FEB, Matthias will be at the Swatch Store in Den Haag (The Hague) and on 3-FEB, he'll be at the Swatch Store in Amsterdam to sign his new Valentine's special.  Maybe Matthias will sign some Maxi's as well.  Matthias was also in Portugal to sign the Valentine's special.  Click here for a nice report about the events in Portugal (it also shows two different acrylic displays released in a limited edition of 50 pcs each for the event of the signings).  Thanks to Christine Tanner, Ricardo Rocha, and Wouter Land for the information and pictures.
• Re-released swatches.  Four older swatches have officially been rereleased with a new strap.  Somehow, swatch has to clean its warehouse...
• Vendôme valentine special 2002.  A nice valentine special called Through My Shiny Heart (SFK163P) designed by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada (Spain, she also designed Agatic Agatac) is available in a limited edition of 300 pcs in the Vendôme store in Paris.  It is a skin with golden hearts on the strap packaged with a silk scarf.  Beautiful!  On 14-FEB (valentine's day), Agatha Ruiz de la Prada was present at the Vendôme store in Paris to sign the special.
• Davos / Klosters access special.  A special access Davos / Klosters (SKK103NA, Clearance access with a nice strap) is currently being sold in Klosters and Davos in Switzerland.  No idea about the limitation. Thanks to Marc Lenzinger for the information and pictures.
• Dutch Ben Sneeuwklokje special.  A nice special packaging of the Monte Da Lua access with a new strap (SKK113C) has been distributed by the Dutch mobile phone operator Ben.  More details and pictures on Hans van Buuren's excellent page.
• Adelboden Access.  During the ski world cup event in Adelboden, Switzerland, on 6-JAN-2002, swatch has sold a special access swatch Adelboden (SKK103AD, a Clearance access with a nice strap).  Limitation is 300 pcs so far.  Another (similar?) Adelboden swatch may be released later.  Thanks to Christine Tanner for the information and pictures.