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 (Last updated:  18-OCT-2012)

• Sydney "New Years Eve Party 2008" special.  As in 2007, Swatch has released a nice special for the New Years Eve Party 2008 on 31-DEC-2008 in Sydney, Australia.  The special consists of the 2000 Skin Noir de Chine (SFB107) with a new strap.  The strap carries the imprint: "NYE 08 Creation".  The watch is packaged in a nice black velvet bag with a golden imprint "NYE 08 Creation".  Limitation is unknown but probably not too high.  Thanks to Dino Wierz for the information and pictures.
  
• Ski Dubai access special.  Ski Dubai is the first indoor ski resort in the Middle East.  A special access swatch Ski Dubai (a Clearance access, SKK103, with a blue special strap) is used for the ticketing and entrance.  Update:  In 2009, a similar Ski Dubai red swatch (SKK106R, a Magic Snow access) has surfaced, it has a red strap.  The first version had a blue strap.
• Portuguese Spring / Summer 2009 collection launch special.  As in previous years, a special packaging of a watch from the upcoming (Spring / Summer 2009) collection is available in Portugal.  This time, the gent Rabelitto (GE221) comes with a nice gift with purchase. Thanks to Ricardo Rocha for the picture.
• 2008 FIVB specials.  You probably know the 2008 Beach Volleyball FIVB special Sun Twirly (SUMB101).  At least three strap variants of this swatch exist, each with its own ref.no.:  1. FIVB VIP 2008 (SUMB101C).  2. FIVB 2008 World Series 13 (Marseille) (SUBM101E).  3. FIVB 2008 Ce. Adia (SUBM101F).  Do you know more?  Oh yes, the Klagenfurt 2008 VIP special (SUMK101R).  More?  Thanks to Alain Choisy for the pictures.
  
• 10 Years Smart specials.  The Smart car has celebrated its 10th anniversary recently.  It is now even available in the USA.  Currenly, a special website for the 10th anniversary is giving away a special Swatch (probably a Jelly In Jelly Fluid Word (SUJK104) with a special strap) as a price for a raffle.  The same special strap was used to make a different special Swatch 10 Years Smart Car (SUJK700E, based on a Jelly In Jelly Inwards (SUJK700)).  This one was given to journalists and VIPs during the 10th anniversary celebration at the Smart factory in November 2008.  The watch comes packaged in a black box "10 years smart" and it contains a nice book, the watch, and other information material.   Update:  The special (which one?) is also available in Switzerland as gift with purchase of a Smart car SWISS EDIT10N.  Most expensive Swatch watch ever?  Thanks to Alain Choisy for the update and the picture.
  
• Swatch The Club Xmas event 2008 Lisbon.  The traditional Swatch The Club Xmas event 2008 took place from 12 to 14-DEC in Lisbon, Portugal.  This year, the theme was Time Of Exploration.  About 125 club members participated at the event.  A unique special Irony Chrono Time Of Exploration (YCS525G) was released in a limited edition of only 222 pcs.  This special watch is a variant of the Irony Chrono Light Of Senses (YCS509G) which is part of the Seasons 2008 collection.  The difference is the color of the date field (green instead of white) and the color of the ring in the upper left of the dial (green instead of black).  The metal strap is also engraved "Time Of Exploration 2008".  So, this watch is very rare as only 222 pcs exist.  The watch comes packaged in a very nice wooden box with a number xxx/222 on the bottom.  The watch itself is not numbered.  Here is a picture of the opened box and here is a picture of a map and other goodies from the event.  Here is a detailed report about the event with many pictures!
  
• Chinese New Year special 2009.  The chinese new year 2009 special Swatch is a special for the bull year.  This year, the watch comes with an abacus to practice mathematics.  This special is a must for me as I am a mathematician :-)  Thanks to Marco Soares for the information and to Melissa Starr for the pictures.
• Snow Mobile 2008 event special.  The Swatch Snow Mobile 2008 event takes place from 5 to 8-DEC in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.  As in the last years, a special Snow Mobile 2008 swatch will be released.  This year, it is a Chrono Plastic Fire Engine (SUKI100, with Snowpass function) with a special strap.  The watch comes packaged in a nice paper sleeve.  A Swatch The Club event will take place in Saalbach-Hinterglemm from 6 to 8-DEC, you can find all the details here.  You can also find two nice promo videos for the special watch on Youtube:  vid1 / vid2.  Update:  The Swatch The Club team (incl. ProTeam Member and FMX rider Busty Wolters) did great during the finals:  They finished in second place.  You can watch a replay of the finals on freecaster.tv.  And you can read a nice report with many pictures from the event on www.always-surprising.com.  Thanks to Jeroen for the information and to Andreas Schaad, Joerg Mitter (Euro-Newsroom.com) for the picture.
• Swatch The Club UK Xmas Party.  The Swatch The Club Xmas party 2008 took place on 29-NOV in London at 1 Leicester Square.  You can find a detailed report with many pictures on www.always-surprising.com.
• Hayek in WiWo.  The German weekly business magazine WiWo ("Wirtschafts Woche") no. 48 contains a nice cartoon featuring chairman of the Swatch Group Nicolas G. Hayek and Deutsche Bank boss Josef Ackermann...  Thanks to Joris van Eeden for the picture.
• James Bond 007 Villain Collection.  On 8-SEP, a new collection of 22 Swatch watches dedicated to the villians of the James Bond movies was launched with a big event in Bregenz, Austria.  Here is a list of all watches in the collection:
  
  

  #	Year	Film	Villain	Portrayed by	Watch Type	Ref.No.+Pic.
  1	1962	Dr. No	Dr. Julius No	Joseph Wiseman	Skin Chrono	SUYK117
  2	1963	From Russia with Love	Rosa Klebb	Lotte Lenya	Irony Lady	YSS239G
  3	1964	Goldfinger	Oddjob	Harold Sakata	Irony THE Chrono	YOG102G
  4	1965	Thunderball	Emilio Largo	Adolfo Celi	Irony Diaphane Chrono	SVCK4039G
  5	1967	You Only Live Twice	Blofeld's Cat	---	Gent	GE218
  6	1969	On Her Majesty's Secret Service	Blofeld	Telly Savalas	Irony Big	YGB1001AG
  7	1971	Diamonds Are Forever	Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd	Bruce Glover & Putter Smith	Irony Medium	YLS434
  8	1973	Live and Let Die	Baron Samedi	Geoffrey Holder	Gent	GB237
  9	1974	The Man with the Golden Gun	Francisco Scaramanga	Christopher Lee	Skin Chrono	SUYB119
  10	1977	The Spy Who Loved Me	Jaws	Richard Kiel	Irony THE Chrono	YOS429G
  11	1979	Moonraker	Sir Hugo Drax	Michael Lonsdale	Irony Chrono Retrograde	YRS410G
  12	1981	For Your Eyes Only	Aris Kristatos	Julian Glover	Jelly In Jelly	SUJB104
  13	1983	Octopussy	General Orlov	Steven Berkoff	Irony Big	YGS127
  14	1985	A View to a Kill	Max Zorin	Christopher Walken	Irony Chrono Retrograde	YRS411
  15	1987	The Living Daylights	General Koskov	Jeroen Krabbé	Jelly In Jelly	SUJK139
  16	1989	Licence to Kill	Franz Sanchez	Robert Davi	Irony Chrono	YCS512
  17	1995	GoldenEye	Xenia Onatopp	Famke Janssen	Square	SUBB122
  18	1997	Tomorrow Never Dies	Elliot Carver	Jonathan Pryce	Jelly In Jelly	SUJK138
  19	1999	The World Is Not Enough	Elektra King	Sophie Marceau	Gent	GE215
  20	2002	Die Another Day	Zao	Rick Yune	Skin	SFK327G
  21	2006	Casino Royale	Le Chiffre	Mads Mikkelsen	Irony Big	YGS128
  22	2008	Quantum Of Solace	Dominic Greene	Mathieu Amalric	Chrono Plastic	SUIB402

  Villain pictures by Swatch
  
  
  Update:  A special packaging containing all 22 James Bond Villain watches has also been released in november in a very limited numbered edition of 222 pcs.  The watches are packaged in a wooden box (SZS008).  The box also contains a James Bond encyclopedia and two photos, one of Nicolas Hayek and the second one of Richard Kiel (Jaws); both signed.  The box costs around $3600 US (~2500 EUR).  You can find real pictures of the box at the Swatch-Clopedia forum.
• MTV Best.Show.EVER special.  A special Swatch MTV Best.Show.EVER (SUJK109C, a Jelly In Jelly Code Barré with a new strap) has been given to winners of a contest on the TV show MTV Best.Show.EVER.
  
• Den Haag James Bond Event.  Swatch Netherlands organized a small James Bond event at a cinema in Den Haag on 23-NOV.  Jeroen has all the details and photos at the Swatch-Clopedia forum.
  
• New Swatch store design.  Swatch is about to introduce a new design called Ice Dunes for the official Swatch stores.  The new design has already been realized at the store in Lugano, Switzerland.  Walls, ceiling and floor and the watch showcases are white except for three big posters on the wall.  The first impression of some customers is:  "We enter an igloo" :-)  The white walls with light behind the watches do not show too well some Irony models.  After some not too positive comments by certain customers Swatch is currently evaluating the new store concept in a survey. The results should be known soon.  The inauguration of the new Lugano store was postponed to later date, however.  From the pictures, the concept does not look to bad but you probably have to see it for yourself to make a judgement.  I have always liked the colourful store design that is currently used.   The store in Lugano was officially reopened on 6-NOV.  Update:  The Ice Dunes store design concept has been launched in Singapore as well, at the newly renovated "Plaza Singapura" outlet:  pic1 / pic2 / pic3.  Thanks to Alain Choisy for the information and pictures and to Bernard Tey for the updates and pictures.
  
• Controversial Swatch ad in venice.  Swatch has affixed a huge Swatch 007 Villain ad at the Piazzetta of San Marco in Venice, Italy.  This ad is extremely controversial among local inhabitants and international tourists as well.
  
• Nicolas Hayek interview in DIE ZEIT.  The current edition of the renowned Germany weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT has a long and very interesting interview with Swatchgroup founder Nicolas Hayek.  The title of the interview is typically Hayek:  "I am not worried.  I am angry."  DIE ZEIT also has lots of pictures showing the history of 25 years of Swatch watches.
  
• Club'Art: The Graphics Collection / Illustrative Club Event.  Swatch is sponsoring the Young Illustrators Award 2008.   The 20 winners will be shown at a separate section at the coming ILLUSTRATIVE, the international festival for contemporary graphic and illustrative art in Zurich, Switzerland (18 to 26-OCT-2008). Even better:  The winner of the first prize is given the possibility to create one new limited edition Swatch which will be integrated into the international distribution!  A great chance to show your art to the world!  During the Illustrative festival, a Swatch The Club event took place on 17 to 18-OCT in Zurich.  A collection of three limited edition Swatch watches called Club'Art: The Graphics Collection, designed by young artists, was launched during the club event.  The watches are limited to 3333 pcs each and you have to be a member of Swatch The Club to be able to buy the watches!  The watches themselves are not numbered but the boxes carry a number xxxx/3333.  Here is a detailed report about the event with many pictures! The first of the three watches was already sold during a club event at the Nicolas G.Hayek center in Tokyo Ginza on 4-OCT:  The gent swatch Beautiful Women (GZ196) has been designed by japanese tatoo artist Horiren.  The watch comes packaged in a nice box, here is a picture of the opened box.  During the event, Horiren also signed the watches (upper part / lower part) and boxes (back).   Here is a nice report about the event by Yuji Tada.  The other two watches in the Club'Art collection are:  Afreau Couti (GZ197) by Swiss artists Körner Union (box / opened box) and Graph Paper (GZ198) by Rory McGrath of the UK design studio OK-RM (box / opened box).  At the club event in Zürich, the three watches (all of them had low numbers!) were distributed together in a special sleeve.  This sleeve is unavailable elsewhere and it is limited to about 250 pcs.  The winner of the Young Illustrators Award is Christian Montenegro (on the left on the picture), he will design a watch for Swatch.  Update:  A Club'Art gathering for Swatch collectors will take place at the Swatch store in Bologna, Italy (Via Massimo d Azeglio 13/b) on 14-NOV at 6pm.  Thanks to Yuji Tada and Christine Tanner for the information and pictures and to Melissa Starr for the pictures.
• Xmas special / Xmas collection 2008.  The Xmas special 2008 will be a gent swatch called Winter Frost (GZ192S, 9999 pcs).   The watch comes packaged in a transparent star shaped box.  Update:  The Xmas collection 2008 is called  A Romantic Season.  Besides the limited Xmas special, the collection consists of six more watches:  Colour Dew (YSS238, Irony Lady), Star Sign (YNS110, Irony Nabab), Light Of Senses (YCS509, Irony Chrono), White Feelings (SUJW101, Jelly In Jelly), Stellar Spread (SFK324, Skin), Glamice (LK296, Lady).  The complete collection (including the Xmas special) was presented during the reopening of the Swatch store in Lugano, Switzerland.  Thanks to Alain Choisy for the information.
• Two new Diaphane One specials.  In november, two very limited Diaphane One specials will be launched:  Turn 2 him (SVAZ102S, 130 pcs, retails for approx. 6500 EUR) and Turn 2 her (SVAZ101S, only 50 pcs, with small diamonds around the bezel, retails for about 10000 EUR).  Is Turn 2 her the most expensive Swatch ever?
• Berlin Bond Villains Get-Together.  From 8 to 11-OCT, the MTV Best.Show.EVER. Bond Villain Booth will be opened at the Swatch Instant Store in Berlin, Münzstrasse 18.  Go there and shoot your video :-)  On 8-OCT at 6pm, a Get-Together for club members and customers took place at the Instant store.  You can find some more information on the official Swatch webpage.  Update:  You can find some impressions from the Get-Together on www.always-surprising.com.
• Azzali artist special.  On 14-SEP, a Swatch collector event took place at the Gioielleria Azzali 1881 in Mantova, Italy.  A special packaging was released during the event:  The italian artist Sandro Negri painted unique personalized Swatch watches.  The special is numbered and limited to 299 pcs, no further info so far, original price is 150 EURO.  Update:  To show you that all swatches painted by Sandro Negri are really different, here are some closeup pictures:  #6, #10, #40, #88, #147, #155, #203.  Thanks to Roberto Quadrini for the information and pictures and to Alain Choisy for the pictures.
• A-ROSA special.  The Grand SPA Resort A-ROSA in Kitzbühel, Austria, has released a special access Swatch A-ROSA (a Jelly In Jelly Access SUMK101 with a nice strap).  It can be used as a ski pass in Kitzbühel.
  
• Gold & Pioneer Event 2008 / James Bond 007 Villain Collection launch event.  The traditional Gold & Pioneer Event 2008 took place from 7 to 10-SEP in the area of Bregenz, Austria.  The main event on 8-SEP had two big themes:  1) The launch of the new James Bond 007 Villain Collection  2)  Swatch celebrated 25 years of Swatch watches.  Therefore, the event was called Plastic Royale (remember the title of the last Bond movie?).  About 140 collectors participated at the G&P event, on 8-SEP about 300-400 journalists from all over the world were present at the Plastic Royale event.  This event was the most spectacular event in the last years.    Several special swatch watches were issued during the G&P event:
  
  1. The traditional G&P special:  This year, it is a unique Chrono Plastic Gold & Pioneer 2008 (SUIZ400) limited to only 222 pcs.  The watch comes packaged in a numbered suitcase.  It is a special model as it is a variation of the new James Bond watch Dominic Greene (SUIB402).  The differences between the two watches are as follows:  The colour of the dial is changed from white to gold and on the bezel, the letters "G&P 08" can be found. There is also a new loop "007 Villian Event 2008 Gold & Pioneer"on the strap.  As the dial and bezel are different, this is really a super special watch!
  2. The Plastic Royale wooden box launch event special (SUIB402-1) limited to 500 pcs, unnumbered.  This was given to all gold and pioneer members and to all journalists after the James Bond 007 Villain Collection pressconference on 8-SEP.  The wooden box contains the new James Bond watch Dominic Greene (SUIB402) in special paper sleeve, silver plastic "jaws" and lots of plastic grains.  The wooden boxes were available with four different colours of plastic grains:  yellow, red, blue, green.
  3. To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Swatch store in Dornbirn, a special packaging of the Jelly In Jelly Sultans Joy (SUJK116) was sold to gold & pioneer members, limited to 250 pcs, unnumbered.  The watch (SUJK116C) comes packaged in a nice metal tin with the inscription "08/09/2008 Gold & Pioneer Members Meet The Swatch Store Dornbirn".  The watch has an extra loop with the logo of the G&P event on the strap.  As a bonus, every tin comes with a nice key chain in the same design.
     
To summarize in a very short way:  The G&P event 2008 was fantastic, it was perfectly organized with lots and lots and lots of surprises (eg. Leningrad Cowboys playing a gig for all event participants :-) and the programme was also superb!   Here is a detailed report about the event with many pictures and even some little videos!  Check it out!  Here is an overview of all the stuff and merchandising collectors received during the event...  
• Olympic special.  A special Olympic Swatch SUJZ701 has been released, probably for the International Olympic Committee like similar watches in previous years.  The watch is the Jelly In Jelly Ruby Touch (SUJK701) from 2007 with white olympic rings on the dial.  One thing is interesting about the watch:  The dial has an imprint "(C) Swatch AG 2008".  Very rarely, a swatch is available on the market in the same year as the (C) notice.  Almost always, watches are released one year after the (C) date. 
  
• Portuguese Charity special.  A new swatch special called Amiguinho (GZ193, "friend") is now available in Portugal.  Currently, it is only available when you open a new banking account at a portuguese bank (BPI).  Update:  It is now available in all Swatch stores, it comes packaged in a nice paper box.  This swatch supports a charity in Portugal, similar to previous specials as Mundo Perfeito last year. Thanks to Ricardo Rocha for the information and picture and to Marco Soares for the update.
• Swiss Girl special.  A nice new swatch special is available in Switzerland, it has probably been designed for the tourists :-)  It is a gent snowpass swatch called Swiss Girl (SKZ123), packaged in a paper sleeve.  Thanks to Marco Soares for the information.
  
• Kika Swatch special.  The Dutch charity foundation Racing For Charity has launched a special Swatch Kika (SUJK102E, limited to 1000 pcs, not numbered).  It is the Jelly In Jelly Instantaneous Fresh (SUJK102) with a very nice new leather strap.  The watch comes packaged in a nice paper sleeve.  You can find more information about the watch on the very nice website by Hans van Buuren about Dutch Swatch specials.  One of the best specials in recent time...
  
• Wuppertal X-fighters event / special.  From 15 to 17-AUG, a Swatch The Club Event took place in Wuppertal, Germany, during the X-Fighters Freestyle Motocross event.  A special version of the FMX Swatch Special Mat Rebeaud (YOZ100) was released in a limited edition of 30 pcs.  The motocross helmet packaging of the watch has a special imprint.  A nice report with spectacular pictures can be found on www.always-surprising.com.
  
• Singapore Summer special.  A nice summer special is sold in Singapore:  Together with the Sandy Shoes summer special (GE205), a computer mouse in the same design is available.  Cute!
  
• Klagenfurt VIP special.  From 29-JUL to 3-AUG, the Swatch FIVB Beachvolley World Tour had the annual stop in Klagenfurt, Austria for the Grand Slam Tournament.  A Swatch The Club Event will took place during the tournament.  A Klagenfurt 2008 VIP special (SUMK101R) was released, it has a nice strap.  For the second time, the Swatch Beach Boat cruise took place on the Lake Wörthersee.
  
• New Vendôme models.  After a long long wait without any updates to the Vendôme / Spiga collection, five new models have been released recently both at Spiga and Vendôme:  Fazeton (YPS100PU, Petite Seconde), Gold Pleasure (YPG401GPU, Petite Seconde), Smelting Ice (YOS425PU, Irony The Chrono), Play Your Style (YSS228CPU, Irony Lady Lady), and Harmoniosa (YSS227APU, Irony Lady Lady).  Update:  Two more watches have been released recently:  Larme De Charme (YSS233PU, Irony Lady Lady) and Statued Shine (SFK309PU, Skin).   Thanks to Jörg van Dyk for the information.
  
• Bern Instant store.  Right in time for the European Soccer Championships 2008 in Switzerland and Austria, a new Swatch Instant Store has opened its doors in Bern in the main train station on 31-MAY.  Great opening picture but no special or any other surprise was released to celebrate the opening.  Two more instant stores were recently opened in Vilnius (Lithuania, already closed again!) and Bucharest (Romania).  A quite complete list of Instant Stores can be found on the official swatch webpage, with many pictures.  Update:  Here is a funny video with scenes from the opening of the Instant Store.  Thanks to Christine Tanner for the information and picture. 
  
• Azzali Anniversary special.  On 14-SEP, the italian jeweller Azzali will celebrate a special anniversary in Mantova.  It is the 127th anniversary of the jeweller (Azzali 1881) but it is of course also the 25th anniversary of Swatch watches.  A special will be sold which will be painted one by one by an artist (Sandro Negri).  So each special will be unique, limited to 199 pcs.  Here is the official invitation for the event.  Previously, Azzali has sold a few swatch specials, the most well known in 1990:  Chic-On in a metal box, limited to 999 pcs.  Thanks to Roberto Quadrini for the information.
  
• German Club Events.  From 15 to 17-AUG (new date!!), a Swatch The Club Event will take place in Wuppertal, Germany, during the X-Fighters Freestyle Motocross event.  Even more Swatch activities are planned in Germany during the summer:  A Swatcholino during the Kitesurf Trophy during four summer events, including two club events in St. Peter Ording and Fehmarn, an Instant Store during the BMX masters in Cologne from 4 to 6-JUL, and free entrance tickets for the FIVB Grand Slam in Berlin (9 to 15-JUN).  Update:  You can find many pictures from the BMX masters in Cologne on www.always-surprising.com.
  
• Swatch sponsors Swiss music festival.  Swatch is the presenting sponsor of the Swiss music festival Blue Balls Festival.  It is a large music festival and it takes place from 18 to 26-JUL in Lucerne.  Update:  On 18-JUL, a special Swatch called Blue Flying Provocacy (SUIW400C, a Chrono Plastic Flying Provocacy with a new strap in a special paper sleeve) was launched at a press conference by Reto Stoeckli, COO Swatch, and Urs Leierer, director and founder of the Blue Balls Festival.  During the press conference, some spectacular Free Running stunts were also shown.  Free Running is the theme of the TV spot for the new Chrono Plastic collection.  Thanks to Jean-Bernard Mani for the information and to Christine Tanner for the picture, other pictures by Swatch.
  
• Madrid Club Event / Mat Rebeaud signature swatch.  Swatch ProTeam member Mat Rebeaud has launched his own FMX Swatch Special Mat Rebeaud (YOZ100) during the Red Bull X-Fighters Event on 17 and 18-JUL in Madrid, Spain.  The watch comes in a very nice special packaging, it is limited to 10000 pcs.  You can see more pictures of the watch here.  Parallel to the event, a Swatch The Club event took also place.  Collectors were able to participate at the press conference with Mat on 17-JUL.  Here is a detailed report about the event with many pictures and even some little videos!  Pictures by Swatch.
  
• FIVB staff 2008 special.  As in the last years, a FIVB staff 2008 special (SUJK122C) has been released for the staff people of the different 2008 Swatch FIVB BeachVolley World Tour events.  The watch is the Hawaiian Jelly In Jelly (SUJK122) from 2007, fitted with a new strap.
• Swiss Outlet Swatch Store.  Swatch has opened the first outlet store for Swatch watches in Switzerland.  The store is located in the FoxTown outlet shopping center in Mendrisio (Tessin).  They are selling swatch watches from older collections (but no 83/84 of course) at retail minus 30%.  Thanks to Alain Choisy for the information.
  
• Austria Come Together Event.  The Austria Swatch The Club Come Together Event 2008 took place on 16-JUN in Vienna.  Two specials Come2gether (Austria, SUJK121E; Switzerland, SUJK121D) have released to commemorate the event, limitation is 222 pcs each.  The location of the event is one of the hottest places in Vienna:  Wolke 19.  As the European Soccer Championships took place during that time in Austria and Switzerland, the match Austria vs. Germany was shown during the event.  Germany won 1:0 in a fantastic victory against Austria :-)  You can browse a report about the event with many pictures, also of the nice special watches on www.always-surprising.com.    Thanks to Peter Altmann for the information.
  
• Highland Open 2008 special.  As in the last year, Swatch was sponsor of the O'Neill Highland Open by Swatch 2008 event which took place from 23 to 30-APR-2008 in Thurso, Scotland.  A special Highland Open 2008 Fun Scuba Swatch (SUGK108C, Tentacula with a [somewhat strange as the colors look a bit faded] new strap) was released to commemorate the event.  The design of the strap is based on the Lion Rampant from the Scottish Royal Standard.  The special comes packaged in a nice paper sleeve.  It is rumoured that the limitation was 550 pcs.  Unlike 2007, the 2008 special was not sold in the shops.  It was only available for athletes, journalists, and VIPs during the event.  Thanks to Stephen Carroll for the information.
• History of the Swatch EuroRoadShow.  You probably have heard about the Swatch EuroRoadShow special packaging from 1987.  It is one of the earliest special packagings of Swatch watches, and it is also very rare.  In 1990, Swatch organized again a EuroRoadShow.  You can read a bit about the history of the 1990 Swatch EuroRoadShow here, quite interesting to read.
  
• Roland Garros birthday giveaway.  For the 80th birthday of Roland Garros (the 2008 French Open Tennis tournament), a commemorating Swatch bracelet was given away during a small event at the megastore in Champs Elysées, Paris.  This year, Roland Garros took place from 25-MAY to 8-JUN.   No special swatch (as in the last years) or special packaging was released this year.  Thanks to Philippe Danjean for the information.
  
• New product line Chrono Plastic.  A new chrono swatch product line called Chrono Plastic has been released starting 1-JUL, the watches are already available in Switzerland.   They have a diametre of 41 mm and the thickness is 11 mm.  The functions are the same as the good old AquaChrono from Swatch but the shape of the case of the watch is different.  Six watches have been released at first:  Sun Down (SUIM400), Smooth Wave (SUIK401), Yellow Head (SUIB401), Legendary Eagle (SUIK400), Mister Chrono (SUIB400), Flying Provocacy (SUIW400).  Here is a newspaper report from Austria showing all six models.  Price for the Chrono Plastic is 80 EUR.  Thanks to Andrea Marco Faggioli for the information.
  
• 25 years of Swatch.  As we all know, Swatch is celebrating "25 years of Swatch watches" this year.  The german magazine Stern (one of German largest magazines) has a nice article about the history of Swatch watches.  Of course it does not contain too many information that we didn't know already...
  
• Oberhausen Store opening special.  The old Swatch store at the shopping mall CentrO in Oberhausen, Germany, closed some months ago. On 4-JUN, the new store reopened right in the middle of this big shopping mall.  On the opening day, there were snacks and champagne for the guests and visitors of the store. As a surprise gift, the people buying a Swatch got an engraved, silver colored metal case for their watch. The cases are limited to 50 pieces, numbered.  The number is engraved on the lid of the case.  Thanks to Jörg van Dyk for the information and picture.
  
• German Instore Club Night specials.   In Germany, four Instore Clubnights will take place in Berlin, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, and Munich end of may / beginning of june.  During each club night, a localized limited special version of the new club watch Once again, again (GZ191) will be released.  Here is a picture of the Berlin special, it is limited to 100 pcs, the Frankfurt special is limited to only 40 pcs; Stuttgart and Munich are limited to 100 pcs (same as Berlin).  The difference to the regular watch is an additional red loop  with the respective name of the city around the strap and an extra banderole (also with the name of the city) around the packaging.  Two different pins were also given away during the clubnight.  Unlike the Nicolas G Hayek Center Tokyo: 1st Anniversary special (GZ191C), the four German Instore Clubnight specials do not have a special ref.no., they carry the regular GZ191 sticker (with eg. a handwritten "F" for Frankfurt).  Here are my impressions from the Frankfurt Instore Swatch Clubnight on 30-MAY, some more impressions and better pictures can be found at www.swatch.stawi.de and www.always-surprising.com (also includes pictures from Berlin).
  
• Swatch sponsors snowboard competitions.  Swatch is sponsoring the TTR World Snowboard Tour 2006/07 and 2007/08, check out the TTR website for the Swatch logo everywhere.  A special Swatch Jelly In Jelly Access TTR World Snowboard Tour (SUMK101Q) is available, it comes in a nice paper sleeve.  Limitation is unknown.  As the sticker on the sleeve does not carry a price, I assume that it was given to athletes and VIPs only.  Update:  On 22-MAY, an event took place at the New York Times Square Swatch Store, to celebrate the Swatch TTR Snowboarding World Tour Champions 2008 Jamie Anderson & Kevin Pearce.  More information and pictures at www.always-surprising.com.
  
• Nicholas G.Hayek Center Anniversary special.  The Nicholas G. Hayek center in Tokyo celebrated its first anniversary on 24-MAY.  To commemorate the anniversary, a special version of the new club watch Once again, again (GZ191) was released:  The Nicolas G Hayek Center Tokyo: 1st Anniversary special (GZ191C) will have two extra loops around the strap, limitation is 500 pcs.  Here is a picture of the packaging and here is a picture of a concert that took place at the NGHC on 24-MAY.  The japanese website of the Swatch Group has more information about the Nicholas G. Hayek center.  Thanks to Yuji Tada for the information and pictures.
  
• Nicolas G. Hayek Puzzle Motion special.  In late 2006, the following was reported:  "A Swiss newspaper reports about a watch with a dial featuring the face of Swatch founder Nicolas G. Hayek.  Apparently, Mr. Hayek has registered his name as a trademark, probably in conjunction with watches.  So he has to release a watch related product in order not to loose his rights for his trademark."  Well, it seems as if this watch now is available but different than shown on the previous picture:  It is a new Puzzle Motion special called Hayek Branded Watch (SUPZ100).  Here are closeups of the dial:  non puzzled / puzzled.  A funny watch!  Limitation of the watch is unclear:  According to information from Swatch Stores in Germany, this watch is not limited and it will be available more easily in spring 2008.  According to information from Swatch Stores in the USA, the watch is limited to 1000 pcs.  Yet another info comes from the Swatch Store in Stuttgart, Germany via Nikolai Kuttler:  "The watch is not limited but later in 2008, there will be a limited version of this watch."  Now this is really confusing!  We'll find out later this year...  Update:  According to this information on page 16 in the annual report 2007 by the Swatch Group, Melissa's first information was indeed correct:  The watch is really limited to 1000 pcs.  Thanks to Melissa Starr for the information and pictures and to Christine Tanner for the update. 
  
• Club watch 2008 / Launch event in Italy.  The Club watch for 2008 is a gent called Once again, again (GZ191).  The watch shows a picture of the classic gent swatch Once again (GB743) from 2000 shifted a little bit to the lower right.  The idea behind this watch is not entirely new as the watch resembles somewhat the gent Side (GK252) from 1997. This year, a gent watch was chosen as a club watch because of the 25th anniversary of Swatch watches.  The new club watch is beautifully packaged in a book with many pictures and stories from the 25 years of Swatch watches.  The watch has been designed by the contemporary Italian artist Norma Jeane.  Great packaging, nice watch!   A Swatch The Club event took place on 19 to 20-APR at the Castello Orsini in Nerola (Rome, Italy) for the official release of the new 2008 Club watch.  The event was open only for collectors from Italy, not for international collectors.  The translated text from the invitation is:  "There are Myths that will never go out of fashion... ... on April 19-20, 2008, we'll find one again".  Around 50 collectors attended the event.  Each participant received the new club watch with a print of a picture of the castle affixed at the outside of the box, so it is not a very exciting special packaging.  In addition, the collectors received a notepad, a T-shirt and a diploma with the logo of the event.   On 1-APR, the new club year has officially started and a presentation for the new club watch can be found on the official Swatch webpage. A launch event for the new club watch also took place in London, UK, on 19-APR.  No special or special packaging was released but each participant received a T-shirt, limited to 95 pcs.  You can find a report about the launch event on Michael's nice webpage.  Update:  As a nice surprise, pioneer members of Swatch The Club received a nice little extra loop for the strap of the new club watch Once again, again (GZ191). Thanks to Andrea Marco Faggioli and Ricardo Rocha for the update and to Roberto Quadrini for the pictures.
• eswatch / iswatch?  According to this newspaper report (rough translation by google), the Swatchgroup has registered the watch trademarks "iswatch" and "eswatch".  No further information by Swatch is available but apparently, no cooperation with Apple (iPod / iMac / ...) is planned. 
  
• Swatch at the BMX European Championship.  Swatch was the sponsor of the BMX European Championship in Weiterstadt, Germany (30-APR to 4-MAY).   No special watch or special packaging was released but you can browse a lot of pictures from the event here.
  
• World Museum website relaunch.  The website of the World Museum (home of the only private permanent Swatch watch exhibition) has been relaunched, check it out!  It looks even better than before.  Also, the italian magazine Collezionismo Antiquariato features a nice report about Swatch watches and the World museum.
  
• Paparazzi product line discontinued.  The SPOT Watches powered by the MSN Direct service are discontinued and they are no longer produced.  This means that also the Swatch Paparazzi product line is no longer available.  The Paparazzi Swatch watches were introduced in 2004 with a huge launch event in New York City.  It seems as if this product line was not very successful.
  
• Second Schloss Schönbrunn special.  In the last years, a Swatch special Schloss Schönbrunn (GN715D, Just Blue with a new strap) was available at the (guess where) Schloss Schönbrunn near Vienna, Austria.  Now, a second Schloss Schönbrunn special has been released:  Schloss Schönbrunn 2 (GN716C, Time In Blue with the same new special strap).  Update:  It seems that a variation of the first Schloss Schönbrunn special (GN715D) was available:  The variation does not have the white imprint "Schloss Schönbrunn" on the upper part of the strap.  I assume that this was the earliest release of the different Schloss Schönbrunn specials and that the white imprint was added later.    Thanks to Ricardo Rocha for the information and picture.
  
• Sarajevo Filmfestival special.  For the Sarajevo Film Festival 2007 (17 to 25-AUG-2007), a special gent Swatch Sarajevo Film Festival (GB219C) was released.  It is the gent Burn Inside (GB219) from 2004, refitted with a special strap.  Limitation is unknown.
  
• 11th Swatch bourse at the world museum.   The 11th Swatch Bourse will take place at the World Museum (near Milano, Italy) on 4-MAY.  A special packaging (limited to 57 pcs, numbered) will be released to commemorate the event.  The packaging has been designed by the Italian artist Lorenzo Piemonti, price is 150 EUR.
• Bern Wirkt Wunder special.  A first special Swatch related to the Euro 08 soccer championship in Switzerland and Austria (7 to 29-JUN-2008) has just been released. The swatch is called Bern Wirkt Wunder ("Berne works wonders").  It is the access swatch Stade De Suisse 2 (SKK2001) with a new strap.  The new special has no special reference number.  Thanks to Christine Tanner for the information and picture.
  
• CollectoMania 2008 event.  The second CollectoMania event took place from 29-FEB to 2-MAR in Bern, Switzerland.  A nice special packaging CollectoMania 2008 (PMB117C, limited and numbered to 222 pcs) containing the POP swatch Cuffolina (PMB117) with a new strap was released to commemorate the event.  During the event, collectors were able to enlarge their collection with limited merchandising and event branding material.  Also, the art special Ja Gern! (limited to 444 pcs, numbered) was sold during the event.  Several Swatch collectors have published a report or pictres about the CollectoMania event:  Stawi, always-surprising.com, Dani, fizgig.  And here are the official pictures by Swatch The Club.
  
• New Hawaii Swatch store.  A new Swatch store will be opened on 4-MAY in the Ala Moana shopping center in Hawaii.  It is planned to bring lots of special swatches for the opening. Thanks to Yoshimi for the information and the picture.
  
• 25th anniversary of Swatch watches.  On 1-MAR-1983, the first Swatch watches officially went on sale, starting with a launch in Zurich (well, there was a test market in the USA in late 1982, beginning of 1983, but that does not count).  So, in a few days, the 25th anniversary of Swatch watches can be celebrated.  It seems as if there is nothing special planned by Swatch to celebrate the anniversary...  The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung has a nice photo album about the 25 years of Swatch watches, with one error:  They think that Kiki Picasso costs 1750 EUR nowadays.  I would gladly buy one for this amount :-)  Thanks to Nikolai Kuttler for the information.
  
• Swatch "Family Celebration" event / special.  On 22-FEB, Swatch hosted a big Family Celebration event at the Kindercity in Volketswil near Zurich in Switzerland.  During the event, the new Spring / Summer 2008 swatch watch and bijoux collection was presented.  Participants could also bring their kids.  The kids enjoyed special activities during the event.  The following celebrities were present during the event:  Nicolas G. Hayek and his wife, Melanie Winiger (ex Miss Switzerland), Anastacia (MTV presenter from Germany), Ted Scapa (Swiss artist who designed the Montreux 2003 Jazz Festival special swatch) and Martin Laciga (Swiss Beach Volleyball player).  To commemorate the event, a special access swatch Family Celebration (SKK124Q, limited to 350 pcs) was given to participants.  Here is a report with many nice pictures by Michael and here is a newspaper report about the event. Thanks to Pierangelo Taiocchi and Eric Bressoud for the information and pictures, other pictures by Swatch.
  
• Big Mountain Pro 2008 special.  As in the last year, Swatch is sponsor of the Big Mountain Pro 2008 event.  A Fun Boarder special Big Mountain Pro 2008 (SULW100C) has just been released.  It comes packaged with a nice paper sleeve.  Thanks to Michael for the information and pictures.
• Nicolas G. Hayek's 80th birthday.  On 19-FEB, Swatch founder and chairman of the Board of Directors of the Swatch Group, Dr h.c. Nicolas G. Hayek, celebrates his 80th birthday.  Some (online) newspapers have published a report about him:  BILD (in my opinion, the worst tabloid newspaper in Germany; but the report has some nice pictures of swatch watches :-), Der Westen, and Der Tagesspiegel.  It is not too hard to guess that the "Family Celebration" event (see below) is probably also related to his birthday...
  
• Official German Swatch online store.  Without a great announcement, Swatch has opened its fifth official online store, this time for Germany.  So far, a virtual Swatch store is available in the USA, UK, Sweden, Japan, and now Germany.  To celebrate the opening of the online store in Germany, shipping is free for a limited time.
  
• Virtual Swatch Bijoux Museum.  The great website www.always-surprising.com has opened another large section in its virtual museum:  The "Swatch Bijoux Museum".  It shows all Swatch Bijoux ever produced, including the "Luxury Bijoux", only sold at the special stores Via della Spiga in Milano and Place Vendôme in Paris.  Check it out!  Congratulations to a great effort and a lot of work!
  
• Valentine 2008 special and bijoux.  For valentine's day 2008, a special lady swatch Sparkling Love (LK293) will be released.  Additionally, the following bijoux will be available:  A ring called One Heart of a Million (JRM049) and two nice necklaces La Clé de mon Coeur (JPR010, JPM040).  Update:  Swatch now offers a special website with information about this watch and a great advertising video.  You can also win a "love weekend" in Paris!   Thanks to Kati Kylä-Kause for the information and pictures.
  
• Portuguese Spring / Summer collection 2008 special.  As with the last collections, one watch of the upcoming Spring / Summer collection 2008 will be sold with a gift with purchase in Portugal.  This time, the gent Sea Of Beauty (GS135) will be sold with a white cup with a turtle imprint.  Here is a picture of the special.  Thanks to masas from the Swatch-Clopedia forum for the information and picture and to Ricardo Rocha for the picture.
  
• Taiwanese Valentine Special 2008 promotion gift.  If you buy the valentine's special 2008 Sparkling Love (LK293) in Taiwan, you will receive a nice gift with purchase:  A nice red cup with a heart and a key hole imprint.  Thanks to Sophia Chang from the Swatch-Clopedia forum for the information and picture.