Recent Swatch info (Last updated: 18-JUL-2018)

• 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:
• Locarno Film Festival 2018 special.  A special New Gent Swatch (SUOB702T) for the 71th Locarno Film Festival 2018 (01 to 11-AUG) is now on sale in Switzerland, also in the online store.  It is a New Gent Black Rebel (SUOB702) with a special strap, it is packaged in a nice paper sleeve.  The #Locarno71 watch is limited to 710 pcs.  Here is a photo of the actual watch.   #Locarno71   Thanks to Fabien Perissinotto for the information.
• FIVB Gstaad Major special.  From 09 to 15-JUL, the FIVB Gstaad Major 2018 took place in Gstaad, Switzerland.  20 Gold and Pioneer members had the chance for a perfect summer day at the Beach Volleyball Major Series Gstaad.  A special Swatch FIVB Gstaad Major 2018 (SUOK129, no special ref.no. despite a loop and a sleeve?!?) was released.  It is a New Gent Blumazing (SUOK129) with a special loop and a nice paper sleeve.  Every participating Club member received a hand fan, a nice Swatch bag and T-Shirt. Thanks to Christine Tanner for the information and pictures.
  
• US Open of Surfing special.  Swatch is the new Presenting Partner for the 2018 Vans US Open of Surfing (28-JUL to 05-AUG) in Huntington Beach, CA.  A special event watch Perfect Ride will be released, it is a New Gent White Rebel (SUOW701) with a very nice special strap.  It is rumoured that the event watch is limited to 777 pcs.
• Portuguese Swatch X Nova special.  On 11-JUL, Swatch Portugal has released a special edition New Gent Swatch watch Swatch x Nova SBE (SUOB715E-1, 75 EURO), created to contribute to the Nova School of Business Economics (Nova SBE) fundraising campaign.  The watch is available with a black and with a white paper sleeve.  It is a New Gent Backup Black (SUOB715) with a special strap and a paper sleeve.  A (unique?) Maxi Swatch is also available, the dial of the Maxi looks a bit unusual/homemade (large "Swatch", no "Swiss"?!?).  Some additional goodies were available to participants of the launch event.  Thanks to Pedro Mota for the pictures.
• Swatch and the Swiss "Bundesgericht".  ...those were the days....  Update:  Christine Tanner just sent me two photos:  1. Cover of the Auction catalogue (well known);  2. A scan of the auction catalogue showing the Oigol Oro.  It is quite easy to see that this watch is not new/mint.
• UK #swatchxtyrsa Sneakerness special.  On Instagram, Swatch UK has announced the launch of a special edition Swatch designed by French artist Alexis Taïeb (tyrsa, @tyrsamisu) for the London Sneakerness event (07 to 08-JUL).  On 06-JUL, tyrsa was present for a signing session at the Swatch store in Carnaby street.  The special SwatchXTyrsa watch (SUOW701Q)  is packaged in a nice custom paper sleeve, not numbered.  Apparently, 65 pcs have been sold at the London Sneakerness event, more will be available at future Sneakerness conventions.  #swatchxtyrsa   Photos:  Instagram swatch_uk and Steven Crouch
  
• Swatch X Rijksmuseum.  On 04-JUL, Swatch unveiled three Swatch watches in conjunction with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  The watches will be available in the Dutch stores (worldwide?), starting 14-JUL:  1. Gent Dutch Skies (GE263), commissioned by Rijksmuseum & Swatch, designed by Part of a Bigger Plan, from the art work: Spectacle with ship with fireworks, and the columns of Hercules; Jacob Neefs, 1636;  2. Gent Pink & Versa (GB310), designed from the artwork: The Fall of Man by Cornelis Cornelisz Van Haarlem, 1592;  3. New Gent Lady Buzz (SUOR113), designed from a fan case in lacquered wood with decorated fabric, found at Rijksstudio by Rijksmuseum.  It seems that the watches are packaged in a nice paper sleeve.  No Club event for the launch, only for press and vloggers.  Swatch claims: "For the first time in the history of Swatch, masterpieces from historical art serve as a base for three new canvases on the wrist". I am not so sure about that (do you have more examples?).   watch-insider.com has a nice report with many photos from the launch event in Amsterdam.  #swatchxrijksmuseum   Thanks to Toty Booms and Hans van Buuren for the information.
  
• Art special with a strange number.  The three watches of Fondation Maeght set from 1988 exist with different numbering:  xxxx / 9999 (some say that only 5000 watches have been made?!?) or no numbers at all.  But here is a La Devoreuse (GZ401) with the number 0714/0000 on the back.  Very strange.  This watch was sold in the Fondation Maeght museum shop in SEP-1990.
• Pyeongchang Paralympics special.  For the Pyeongchang Paralympics 2018, a special Swatch Pyeongchang Paralympics 2018 (SUSW400K) has been released. I don't know if it is the Volunteer special (probably not as it is unlikely that a Chrono Plastic was used for the Volunteer special).  The watch (a Chrono Plastic Basic White (SUSW400) with a new strap) comes packaged in a nice paper sleeve.
• USA destination watches available online.  Until 04-JUL, three USA destination watches (Las Vegas, New York, Miami) are available as part of the Time For America collection in the Swatch US online store (online for the first time).  The New Gent Fuzzy Logic (SUOW160) is also part of the Time For America collection.
• Berne Swatch store reopening special.  On 29-JUN, the remodeled Swatch store in Berne, Switzerland, has been reopened.  To celebrate the event, Swatch released a special watch:  The Bearn (SUOZ248) destination special with an exclusive added loop.  Swatch Club members were invited for an apéro at 5pm.   Thanks to Vitor Pires for the photo.
  
• Fall/Winter collection 2018/19.  Apparently, Swatch invited a few bloggers / influencers for a small launch event in Paris showing the upcoming Fall / Winter collection 2018/19 (available in the shops starting 12-JUL).  Blogger Trendy Holy shared some impression in an Instagram story and ten photos:  A Louis XIV themed Swatch, two Swatch watches in collaboration with the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, two very colourful New Gents, a New Gent Swatch showing the exact dimensions of a Swatch etc.  Update:  A special online pre-release of the new Fall / Winter collection 2018/19 has started.  Check out the new watches, especially the fantastic New Gent Fuzzy Logic (SUOW160), designed by a Swatch Club pioneer member.   Thanks to Ines for the hint.
• Swatch Group is 20 years old.  Hodinkee has published a great first-hand report about the (controversial) name change from SMH (Société Suisse de Microélectronique et d'Horlogerie) to Swatch Group 20 years ago, initiated by Nicolas G. Hayek, Sr.  Highly recommended read!
• Frankfurt Destination special.  A new Destination special for Frankfurt has been launched on 21-JUN, this is the 45th Destination Swatch.  It is called Ei Gude (which means 'Hello' in the Frankfurt area).  Ref.code is SUOZ286, price is 80 EURO.  A Swatch Club launch event (including a two hours city tour in the Ebbelwei Express) took place on 21-JUN.  36 club members participated and each one of them received a nice surprise as a 'thank you' for the event participtation:  A small blue box with an 'Ei Gude' photo (taken by the event photographer).  Strictly only one box per event participant.  Here are photos from the launch event.
• Unreleased 80s Lady prototype.  Here is an unreleased prototype (Lady variant of GB100 from 1983) from the mid 80s.  I have never seen this before.  It is for sure authentic.  Has anyone else seen it before?
• Remodeled Swatch store in Paris.  Swatch will reopen the Swatch store at the Place de l'Opéra in Paris in the near future.  Update:  The remodeled store is now open again.   Thanks to swatch_attitude for the picture.
• Gold & Pioneer Event / special 2018.  The traditional Gold & Pioneer Event 2018 will took place from 08 to 10-JUN in Gruyères and Montreux (Switzerland).  Gold and Pioneer Swatch Club members stayed in a 5* hotel in Montreux and enjoyed lots of Swatch traditions and Swiss heritage with a front-row seat to breathtaking views:  day 1 / day 2 / day 3.  Unlike previous years, no new Goldmembers were announced/selected.  Swatch Club has published a great teaser video for the event.  And yes, a beautiful special limited event watch was also unveiled:  It is an artist special New Gent Ogu (SUOZ282S), again designed by Italian artist Ugo Nespolo.  In March, he had also designed the "35 years of Swatch" special Swatch Ugo (SUOZ281S). The G&P special 2018 also has a connection to the 35th anniversary of Swatch as it has two dices with a '3' and a '5' on the dial.  The watch is limited and numbered xxx/200 on the back of the watch.  The watch is presented in a golden box (also numbered xxx/200) which has a beautiful artwork inside.   On the first evening of the event, Ugo Nespolo patiently signed the specials of the Pioneer members (after an interesting presentation [in the box!] with Swatch Creative Director Carlo Giordanetti).  During the event, the Pioneer members visited the HR Giger museum in Gruyères (including the famous non-official HR Giger Maxis).  This year, the traditional G&P kiosk was also very interesting as the rare Nos Valeurs (SUOZ273S) special and the also very rare (only 20 pcs total!) Punk X Job Maxi Swatch were available for sale (Punk X Job Maxi costs 480 CHF, ouch!).    Thanks to Dino and to Wolfgang for the pictures.
• ETA "Nos Valeurs" special.  Does anyone have any info on this unknown New Gent (artist special?)?  It is on display at the entrance of the ETA factory in Sion.  Update:  The New Gent is called Nos Valeurs (SUOZ273S), possibly distributed within ETA only.  Very few pieces of this special were sold in the traditional Gold & Pioneer kiosk at the Gold & Pioneer Event 2018.  So we finally have some good pictures of the watch and the paper sleeve.  Limitation of the watch is unknown but each watch is numbered "N° xxx" on the back (so not more than 999 pcs).  This is a very unusual numbering scheme.  The number is also printed on the sticker on the back of the paper sleeve.   Thanks to Fabien Perissinotto for the info and to Dino for the pictures.
• ETA education special.  A special Jelly In Jelly Swatch ETA Education (SUJK104D) has surfaced, surely issued by "The Motorist Of Time":  Swiss movement manufacturer ETA SA (a subsidiary company of Swatch Group).  It is a Jelly In Jelly Fluid Word (SUJK104) with a special strap. The German / French writing on the strap translates to "Start your professional future at ETA".  Thanks to Fabien Perissinotto for the pictures.
  
• Swatch homepage redesigned.  The www.swatch.com homepage has been redesigned / simplified.  It now focuses on the Swatch products (watches, accessories, ...).  It does not link to Swatch Club anymore and it also no longer shows information about Swatch & Art ( Biennale, Swatch Art Peace Hotel, ...), Swatch & Sport (Proteam, Events, ...) etc.  For the Club, please use the separate page  club.swatch.com in the future.  Update:  I don't know if it was a technical glitch or just an update in several stages but www.swatch.com now looks much more similar to the old version including the previously missing info about the Swatch Club, Swatch & Sport etc.  Here is a snapshot of the page from 24-MAY when the homepage had only reduced content.
• Studio Job special.  The Belgian-Dutch design firm Studio Job (the duo Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel) was founded in 2000.  They have now designed a spectacular Swatch New Gent Special Punk X Job (SUOZ280S) which was launched on 16-APR in Milano, Italy.  The watch is limited and numbered to 2018 pcs and it comes in a nice special packaging.  Price is 105 EURO or $3800 TWD.  The special will be sold online starting 17-APR.  Update:   According to Swatch, it is the first Swatch watch with "studs on a Swatch".   But what about the Gent Hipster (GB160) from 1995 or the Gent Ciel (GK178) from 1994? :-)  Update 2:   Studio Job (Job Smeets and Nynke Tynagel) held an autograph session for Swatch Club members on 17-APR at the Swatch store in Milano (Via Montenapoleone).  Update 3: Swatch has posted a nice video from the press launch event.  Update 4:  Swatch has some interesting info in the press release:  Studio Job's connection to Swatch goes back to the 1990s, with Job Smeets forming part of the Ravage design team that created the Swatch Ravage Set - a spirited allusion to one of the world's most celebrated couples, Napoleon and his flame Josephine. Common friend Mika inspired Job with his three Swatch watches KUKULAKUKI (GZ287S) and KUKULAKUKU (SUOZ171) in 2013 and MUMUCUCURRUCUCU (SUOZ210) in 2016.  Update 5:  On 29-MAY (6pm), Swatch has organized a signing session with Job Smeets at the Swatch store in Amsterdam (some last remaining Punk X Job specials will be available for sale).  A rare Punk X Job Maxi Swatch (only 20 pcs exist!) will be raffled among the event participants (winner to be notified mid June).  Swatch Netherlands has published a nice photo album of the signing session.    Thanks to Hans van Buuren, Sascha Stawinski, Swatch and Alessandro for the information and pictures.
• Pigcasso artist collection.  I am still not sure if this was a joke or not:  During the shareholder assembly 2018 in Grenchen, Swatch Group CEO G. N. Hayek jr. announced a special Swatch Pigcasso collection consisting of three Swatch watches.  The watches have been designed / painted by a pig (yes!).  The Pigcasso collection will be launched at the end of 2018 and each watch will include a certificate of authenticity.  More pig pictures in my shareholder assembly 2018 photo album.  As Nick Hayek talked a few minutes about the collection and as he showed several pictures, I assume that this is for real :-)  See also www.pigcasso.org.  Oink!
• Shareholder special 2018.  On 24-MAY, the annual shareholder assembly of Swatch Group took place in Grenchen at the Swiss Velodrome.  Each one of the 3562 participants received a special blue New Gent Milkymoo (SUOZ289) as a present.  The watch is packaged in a nice paper sleeve and it has a few nice icons on the back of the strap.  The theme of the year 2018 is "Stars, Galaxies, Universe and Astronomy".  Here are a few photos from the shareholder assembly 2018 and here is a nice animation :-)  Here is a newspaper report about the shareholder assembly including a few more nice pictures.   Nick Hayek's speech also included a subtle reference to Donald Trump.  Fun fact:  Almost 17 years ago, Nick Hayek jr. and Donald Trump were both present at the Wristory charity auction in New York City (03-DEC-2001), a Puff collection was auctioned on that day as well!    Thanks to Fabien Perissinotto for the information.
  
• Ramadan 2018 collection.  Swatch has published a video (currently unlisted!) presenting the Ramadan 2018 collection of Swatch watches.  Please note that the traditional Swiss Cross has been replaced by "Swiss Made" in the Swatch logo.  It seems that this exclusive collection consisting of ten previously unreleased Swatch watches is only available in Saudi Arabia and UAE (United Arab Emirates).  The collection consists of the following watches unavailable elsewhere:  1. Irony Medium Irresitive (YLG407G);  2. Gent Infinite Day (GE710);  3. Irony Chrono Touch Of Flair (YVG405G);  4. Gent Everlasting Light (GE711);  5. Irony Lady Exquisita (YSG158G);  6. Lady Charmesse (LK383);  7. Irony Lady Sublimescence (YSG157G);  8. Irony Medium Intuitiveness (YLS208G);  9. Lady Delicatesse (LK384); 10. Irony Chrono His Mastery (YOS459G).  In other parts of the world (eg. USA), Swatch also shows a Ramadan 2018 collection but it consists of twelve completely different, previously released Swatch watches.  In 2016, Swatch had also released an exclusive Ramadan 2016 collection but it seemed to be more widely available.  Thanks to Dino and Nicolò for the hints.
  
• A Swatch smartwatch in 2018?  Old news or new news? "Swatch To Develop Their Own Smartwatch This Year" ('less battery hungry', 'better data protection', 'Swiss OS', ...).
• New product line SKIN Irony.  On 26-APR, Swatch has launched a new product line SKIN Irony at the Praterinsel in Munich, Germany.  Yes, it is a Skin watch, made of steel, and it is 5.8mm thick (38mm diameter, mineral glass [not plastic glass]).  You can find all the details at zeitenblick.at or cellini.ro.  The first collection consists of eight watches:  1. Skinlingot (SYXG100GG, 175 EURO, golden metal flex strap);  2. Skinpole (SYXS103GG, 145 EURO, silver metal flex strap);  3. Skinblueiron (SYXS106, 150 EURO);  4. Skinspring (SYXS107, 135 EURO);  5. Skinnoiriron (SYXS100, 135 EURO);  6. Skinbrushed (SYXS102, 135 EURO);  7. Skindoree (SYXS108, 140 EURO);  8. Skinalliage (SYXS109, 140 EURO).    Here is a video of an actual SKIN Irony watch and here are actual photos of the first SKIN Irony collection.  Follow the hashtags #skinirony and #futureclassic.  SKIN Irony will be available online starting 17-MAY and in the shops on 26-MAY.  welt.de has a great report about the product launch in Munich.  Update:  SKIN Irony is now available in an online pre-release.  Update 2: Swatch has published a video of a SKIN Irony press event in Spain and the official SKIN Irony ad.
• Additions to SwatchXYou collection.  A few new additions (Spring / Summer related) to the SwatchXYou collection: 1. A blue (pink?) Gent watch head;  2. A black New Gent watch head;  3. Two Gent straps;  4. Two New Gent straps.
• NCCR Structural Biology special.  A special Jelly In Jelly NCCR Structural Biology has recently surfaced. It is a Jelly In Jelly Fluid Word (SUJK104) with a special strap.  I assume that it was issued in 2013 at the Zurich Center for Structural Biology:  NCCR Structural Biology.  More details here.
  
• Bangkok Destination special.  The first Bangkok (Thailand) Destination special (#44 in the Destination Watches series) is available since 31-MAR: The New Gent Tuk-Tuk Sam-Lor (SUOZ284).  Every watch comes with special two loops printed “Greetings from ????????” (Krung-Thep or Bangkok).  The first 888 customers get special collection card from King Power. A special SWATCH TUK-TUK tuk tuk can be seen on the streets of Bangkok.  Update:  It seems that the watch is only available at the airports in Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang International Airport, not at Swatch stores in the city).  Also a maximum of 4 watches per customer.  Thanks to Torsten Rube for the hint and to Alain Choisy for the info.
• Sneakerness 2018 special.  On 05 and 06-MAY, Sneakerness 2018 took place in Zurich, Switzerland.  Swatch is a Gold Partner of the sneaker fair.  The three famous XX-Rated New Gent specials were available with a special Sneakerness loop and a new ref.code, eg. SUOB402C.  French Graffiti artist Alexis Taïeb (@tyrsamisu) was present at Sneakerness and he painted a special unique Maxi Swatch.  He also decorated the of the Sneakerness version of the XX-Rated New Gent.  Thanks to Ines Brem and Swatch Instagram for the pictures.
  
• Lisboa stone special packaging.  A new version of the Portuguese Swatch Lisboa (SUOZ211LIM) will be available on 09-MAY.  Compared to the regular Swatch Lisboa (SUOZ211), the white / blue colours of the strap are reversed.  The new special is limited and numbered to 260 pcs and it is packaged in a white stone and a paper box.  Price is 145 EURO.  Thanks to Pedro Mota for the information and pictures.
• Spring / Summer collection 2018.  According to this report, the Swatch Spring / Summer collection 2018 comprises the following subcollections / themes:  1. Brit-in;  2. The Swatch Vibe;  3. Mediterranean Views.  You can check out the complete collection on the official Swatch website.  And yes, they did it:  The X-Vibe are three New Gent watches almost identical to the much sought after X-Rated (GB406) from 1987: XX-Rated Black (SUOB402);  2. XX-Rated Red (SUOR400);  3. XX-Rated Violet (SUOV401).   Update:  The first models from Brit-in, Irony and Time to Swatch are now available exclusively online in a pre-release (#SWATCHTHIS) until 11-JAN.  Happy shopping!  Update 2: The XX-Rated Black New Gent Swatch watches sold out immediately in the US during the online pre-release on 12-APR.  No surprise here.  Here is the first picture of the actual XX-Rated watches.  Update 3: GQ Magazine has a nice story about the reissued XX-Rated watches.  Update 4:  Fun fact:  The "(C) SWATCH AG 2017" is printed white on white on the dial.  Impossible to read and very unusual!
• David LaChapelle autograph.  A few days ago, Swatch Club Pioneer member Sascha met the photographer David LaChapelle during a book signing in Cologne and he got an signature on his Time Tranny Swatch (GZ163).  Previously (18 years ago!), Swatch Pioneer member Roy had collected a few signatures during the opening of an exhibition.
• Swatch Rocket Air in the year 3000.  Swatch Rocket Air took place on the 27 to 28-APR-3000(!) at the Eishalle in Thun, Switzerland.  About 30 Swiss Club members were invited for a barbecue on the Swatch truck.  A special Swatch Rocket Air 2018 (SUOB147-1, 75 CHF) was released, it is a New Gent Punti Gialli (SUOB147) with a special loop around the strap.  The watch is packaged in a nice paper sleeve.  Swatch Proteam member Sam Pilgrim patiently signed autographs.  Here is the watch with a signed card.  Here are a few impressions from the event.   Thanks to Christine Tanner for the information and pictures.

• 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:

• PyeongChang 2018 Olympics Volunteer special Gent Snolympic (GZ312)
  
• 1983 swatches mint only:  GG400, GT402, GB100 FHL, GG400 FHL, GN100 FHL, GN400 FHL
• "blister" plastic boxes for 1982/1983 swatches.
• original plastic boxes for Keith Haring (with correct price sticker) for:   Modele Avec Personnages (GZ100)
• all Fachhandellogo Swatches (on the face, not on the strap), mint or even worn out.
• Folders, brochures, documentation, advertisement material up to 1986.
• Prototypes, variants, hybrids, test models.
• and:  Kiki Picasso (poster piece) and Mimmo Paladino, ...

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