Recent Swatch info (Last updated: 25-MAR-2023)

• WANTED! Mimmo Paladino (#021/100). I am asking for your help:  The Mimmo Paladino Swatch (#021/100) has been stolen on its way from the UK to Germany.  Apparently, the package was opened during transport (with TNT Express) and the watch (incl. the metal box) was taken out of the parcel.  If this watch shows up somewhere or is being offered for sale:  Please inform me so that I can forward the info.....
• WANTED! Perfect Timing Swatch (#332/700). I am asking for your help. The following bad incident has happened to a friend of mine without internet access: The Perfect Timing Swatch (#332/700) has been stolen on its way from the USA to Germany. Apparently, the package was opened during transport and the watch (including the plexi glass tube) was taken out of the parcel. The outer white cardboard tube was still in the parcel and can be seen here. If this watch shows up somewhere or is being offered for sale (remember that it will come without the white paper tube), I would be VERY happy if you could inform me about the seller. This watch has been STOLEN!  Back to the regular news service:
• Beijing 2022 Olympics IOC special.  Another special Beijing 2022 Olympics IOC Swatch has surfaced (with the additional Olympic Rings on the dial):  A SISTEM51 AM51 IOC (SO30Z400) in a special packaging.  The back of the watch has a special imprint "Limited Edition 2022".  It is based on SISTEM51 AM51 (SO30B400), part of the 1983 Bioreloaded collection.
• Paris Destination SwatchXYou.  Another prefabricated Destination SwatchXYou special is now available in Paris since January:  Greetings From Paris (SUOK137-035, 105 EURO).  The watch is prefabricated Destination SwatchXYou special #4, packaged in the brown Destination paper sleeve.  Thanks to Thomas Sonneville for the photos.
• Swatch collection book / download.  Pioneer Club member Hans van Buuren is planning to offer his huge Swatch collection for sale.  You can now download a big catalogue of his collection with tons of photos for free from his website (1GB download!  712 pages!).  Lots of great, unseen stuff.  The next best thing to a new Swatch Clopedia I guess.  Update:  At the end of DEC-2021, the printed Thirty Years Of Swatch Collecting book became available in a numbered and limited first edition of 40 pcs.  It is thick and heavy (more than 3 kilograms!).  Update 2: The Swatch collection of Hans van Buuren will be auctioned on 09-MAY.
• Swatch Art Journey collection.  Swatch invites to an Immersive Art Journey in Lisbon (Convento do Beato) on 09-MAR.  I assume that this is a press event not open to the general public.  Speakers are:  Alain Villard (CEO Swatch) and Carlo Giordanetti (CEO Swatch Art Peace Hotel).  Launch of a Swatch art collection?  Update:  Portuguese Swatch Club members are invited one day later on 10-MAR.  Update 2: French Swatch Club members are invited to an "avant-première" of a new "Swatch collection arty" on 14-MAR.  Update 3:  Interesting spelling error in the Art Journey Swatch Instagram teaser.  Update 4:
  
  The Swatch Art Journey collection has now been unveiled in Portugal. It will be released in three batches (March, April and May): 
  16-MAR:
  • Two Swatch x MoMA watches:  1. Bio-sourced Gent Reverie By Roy Lichtenstein, The Watch (SO28Z117) in special packaging;  2. New Gent Girl By Roy Lichtenstein, The Watch (SUOZ352) in special packaging with printing on the back side of the watch.
  • Two Swatch x Magritte watches:  1. Bio-sourced New Gent La Trahison Des Images By René Magritte (SO29Z124) in special packaging with printing on the back side of the watch; 2. New Gent Le Fils De L'homme By René Magritte (SUOZ350) in special packaging with printing on the back side of the watch.  This watch will also be available as a SwatchPAY! The Surreal Pay! (SVIZ103-5300) for contactless payment.
  13-APR: 
  
  • Two Swatch x Le Gallerie degli Uffizi watches:  1. Gent Nascita Di Venere By Sandro Botticelli (GZ360) in special packaging; 2. New Gent Allegoria Della Primavera By Botticelli in special packaging (SUOZ357).
  • One Swatch x Louvre Abu Dhabi watch:  The Great Wave By Hokusai & Astrolabe (SUOZ351) in special packaging with printing on the back side of the watch.  Features artwork by Japanese artist Hokusai on the front and imagery from the astrolabe by Muhammad ibn Ahmad Al-Battûtî on the back.
  MAY: 
  
  • Three more Swatch watches (for street art fans, still a secret :-)
  There is an exclusive preview of the Swatch Art Journey collection in Bangkok on 11/12-MAR.  Update 5:  Miguel Santos sent me photos from the Swatch Art Journey Club Event in Lisbon on 10-MAR (incl. a nice street art tour with artworks by Vhils, Add Fuel, ...).  Update 6: Sascha Stawinski sent me photos from the Swatch "Art Journey" Brussels Club Event on 15-MAR (incl. a visit to the Magritte Museum).
• Mission To Moonshine Gold.  Swatch has released a teaser for a new MoonSwatch watch:  Mission To Moonshine^TM Gold.  The watch will be launched on 07-MAR in Tokyo, Zurich, Milano, London, more precisely on the 007th at 007pm.  Coincidence?  OMEGA created the exclusive Moonshine^TM Gold, an 18K yellow gold alloy, in 2019.  Lots of speculation in the press, online and offline:  Fratello Watches, Hodinkee, Blick (in German), 20min.ch (in German - according to this report / Nick Hayek:  Swatch produces 4200 MoonSwatch watches per day now).  Update:  The new MoonSwatch Mission To Moonshine^TM Gold (SO33M102, 275 CHF / 250 GBP) was sold yesterday in the four cities above.  Long queues (Zurich about 500 people [liveticker, video by Swatch], London about 2000, Tokyo, Milano).  It is estimated that about 250-300 watches were available for sale in each city (about 1 watch per minute was sold in Zurich, so the sale took some time...).   The new MoonSwatch has a seconds hand made of OMEGA’s Moonshine™ Gold. This special golden seconds hand has been produced exclusively during the full moon of February (05-FEB), as stated in the certificate that comes with the watch which is packaged in a special golden box.  The watch will be available for sale in other locations during the next full moon (06-APR) [with the February certificate? Or with a March certificate? Nick Hayek recently stated that 4200 MoonSwatches are produced per day now].  Mission To Moonshine Gold is not limited, not available online and it will not replace Mission To The Moon (SO33M100).  Read the An Evening In Zürich: Observing the MoonSwatch Crowd story on Fratello Watches.  Hodinkee has posted a Mission To Moonshine Gold with Mission To Neptune strap on Instagram.  Interesting (probably an official press photo by Swatch)...  Here are a few photos and videos from the Mission To Moonshine Gold launch event in Zurich.  Update:  According to Nick Hayek (during Swatch Group media conference on results 2022 on 16-MAR), there will be a lower production of Mission To Moonshine Gold watches during the next production day (and night) on 06-APR as it is the day before Good Friday (which is a holiday in Switzerland).  Thanks to Agostino Pagani for the information.
• Blue MoonSwatch suitcases.  A blue suitcase 'inspired' by the Omega X Swatch suitcase in the Omega and Swatch stores has surfaced on Instagram.  You can easily see that it is not an original Omega X Swatch suitcase as the handle is totally different (the outer blue material is different too).  Update (MAR-2023) to this story from 2022:  Meanwhile, several different 'inspired' blue suitcases have appeared on different sales platforms.  Swatch still does not rule out the possibility of selling the legendary MoonSwatch suitcase.
• MoonSwatch - Directors Cut.  You may have read the story about the development of the MoonSwatch a few times already but:  The Swatch Group Annual Financial Report for 2022 contains a whopping 14 pages about the development and the marketing of the MoonSwatch with lots of details that have not been shared before:  Did you know that 10 different companies of the Swatch Group are involved in the production of the MoonSwatch?
• Unknown Big Bold.  Can you identify the Big Bold that Nick Hayek was wearing during the annual media conference of Swatch Group (results 2022) on 16-MAR?  Answer:  It is one of the "soon to be released" Big Bold watches...
• "Ceci est un" Drive Thru Store.  The Swatch Drive Thru Store in Biel, Switzerland has been remodeled to promote the newly released Swatch Art Journey collection, with a big green apple on top (Le Fils De L'homme By René Magritte).
• Greece Destination SwatchXYou.  Another prefabricated Destination SwatchXYou special is now available in Greece since February:  Greetings From Greece II (SUOK147-025, 105 EURO).  The watch ("A___Ω" on the back) is packaged in the special Destination paper sleeve and it is prefabricated Destination SwatchXYou special #5.  Thanks to Ricardo Rocha for the photos.
  
• Interview / 27 years of "Stay Tuned To Swatch".  Stay Tuned To Swatch has covered more than two thirds of the "40 Years Of Swatch".  You can find an interview with the author of this website at the nice independent watch website Made in Bienne.  Thanks Alex for giving me the opportunity to talk about our (S)watch passion...
• Swatch 40th Anniversary.  The 40th anniversary of Swatch was celebrated independently of Swatch on 01-MAR-2023.  As you can see in the brief History of Swatch 1979-1984, some other dates could have been chosen but most people agree that the official Swatch launch took place on 01-MAR-1983 with a press conference in Zurich (Switzerland).  Fratello Watches has just started the celebrations with a nice report 40 Years Of Swatch and a Swatch podcast.  Be sure to check out my Instagram #swatch40anniversary countdown too featuring some rare, some popular and some awkward Swatch watches.
• Kölner Karneval SwatchXYou specials available again.  The two special SwatchXYou watches from 2022 dedicated to Kölner Karneval (Cologne Carnival) are available again in the German Swatch Online Store:  1. Veedelliebe (canvas);  2. Fastelovend (canvas).  Kölle Alaaf!  Can you spot any other local SwatchXYou special (carnival) in the Swatch Online store?
• Big Bold Biosourced.  The first two Big Bold Biosourced watches have been released (quietly):  1. Misty Cliffs (SB05P100, 109 UKP);  2. Bouncing Blue (SB05N105, 109 UKP).  Now where are the references SB05N100 to SB05N104?  Swatch is no longer using "Bioceramic" (SB03xxxx)?  Is it the same material?  Thanks to Cristiano Ianna for the information.
• Swatch Omega prototype from 1969?!?  Dayton Taylor from Switzerland recently found an interesting Omega prototype(?).  The shape of the watch case almost looks like the shape of a Swatch watch, especially the typical strap hinges on the back.  For the Swatch watch nerds:  Dayton has produced a detailed document where he collects quite a few indications that this prototype was already produced in 1969!  This would mean that the iconic Swatch watch case design from 1982 can be traced back to a much earlier, unreleased Omega prototype.  What do you think? 
• More than 1 Mio. MoonSwatches.  In this recent interview with Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek states that Swatch has sold more than one million MoonSwatch watches between 26-MAR-2022 (launch day) and end of NOV-2022.  Meanwhile, there are more than 180 stores around the world selling the MoonSwatch (instead of 110 at the beginning.  Lots of other interesting info in the report (eg. about changes in the MoonSwatch production facilities in Switzerland).  Update:  This success implies that Swatch Is On Track To Sell 1.5 Million Units Of MoonSwatch In One Year (until the end of MAR-2023).  Never forget the MoonSwatch launch queues around the world on 26-MAR-2022.
• Valentine’s Day specials 2023.  According to this report, Swatch will release three special watches for Valentine’s Day 2023:  1. New Gent Receipe For Love (SUOZ353) in a nice special packaging with lots of special loops for the strap;  2. New Gent Biosourced Love To Go Around (SO29N107);  3. Gent Biosourced Purest Love (SO28W109).  The Valentine’s Day watches are now available online at Swatch.  Update:  Additionally, four different Valentine’s Day 2023 SwatchXYou are available in the Swatch Online Store:  1. Only One (canvas);  2. Cielo (canvas);  3. Love Explosion (canvas);  4. Love In World (canvas).
• New Hong Kong Bioceramic Pop-up store.  K11 Musea is Hong Kong’s pioneering cultural-retail landmark, located on the Victoria Dockside harbourfront of Tsim Sha Tsui (built on a historic site formerly known as Holt’s Wharf).  Swatch has opened a new Bioceramic Pop-up store inside of K11 Musea.  This futuristic store also sells the MoonSwatch watches and it features a red Fiat 500 MoonSwatch car (for the time being, not permanent), similar to the new Swatch store inside of the KaDeWe in Berlin. Source: @mingwatch_hk
  
• Daniel Craig wears a MoonSwatch.  James Bond 007 actor (retired) Daniel Craig was spotted wearing a Mission To Neptune MoonSwatch at the 2023 National Board of Review Awards Gala in New York City on 08-JAN.  Daniel Craig has some good connections to Nick Hayek :-) but even James Bond had to wait until 2023 to get his Mission to Neptune...  Source: @whatsdanielwearing
  
• Full Moon Celebration.  The January 2023 Full Moon, also called the Full Wolf Moon, will be on Friday January 6, 2023 at 6:08 PM EST.  Swatch joins the festivities with a Full Moon Celebration event at the Swatch stores in Paris, Zermatt, Edinburgh, Düsseldorf, Milano, New York, Las Vegas, Miami Beach.  At a similar sales event in Zurich in December, 50-60 Mission To The Moon MoonSwatches were available for sale.

• Older swatch news. Click here to read older swatch news with more pictures and info. Check it out if you haven't!
• I am currently looking for:
• Kiki Picasso (poster piece)
• Kiki Picasso poster (original only)
• Mimmo Paladino Oigol Oro
• Helmut Newton Fingernails
• Prototypes, variants, hybrids, test models
• PunkXJob MAXI (MSUOZ280S) by Studio Job
• 1983 swatches mint only:  GG400, GT402, GB100 FHL, GG400 FHL, GN100 FHL, GN400 FHL
• "blister" plastic boxes for 1982/1983 swatches, especially US and "Personaldienst" blister
• Folders, brochures, documentation, advertisement material 1982-86.
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Andreas Wiethoff - contact me via email