These Swatch Watches Are Museum-Worthy
To paraphrase rap's favorite toxic king Future, Swatch plans to cuddle fans' wrists with famed masterpieces.
As a part of the ongoing Swatch Art Journey series, the Swiss watchmaker announced a series of new capsules designed in collaboration with MoMA and Magritte, launching March 16 and Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi and Louvre Abu Dhabi launching April 13, a surprise launch will also take place on May 4.
Swatch and the art institutions have come together to reimagine famous works from their vast collections as Swatch Gent and New Gent watches. Undoubtedly a marriage of two worlds (art and watchmaking), Swatch sees the collabs as a way of celebrating the world's greatest artists and a "fresh way to bring more art to people's lives."
First, we have the MoMA's Swatch collection, which sees pop artist Roy Lichtenstein's Reverie and Girl pieces translated to timepieces — solid straps with the comic art gracing the face. On this piece the speech bubble is translated into a strap loop, a clever play on the artworks that can be seen throughout the series.
Set to release on March 16, the MoMA x Swatch drop serves as an ode to the pop artist who would've turned the milestone 100 this year.
Next up, Swatch heads to the Magritte museum for a collection naturally centered around works by Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte. Specifically, the artist's famed The Son of Man and Treachery of Images receive spin-offs as accessories for the wrist.
Of course,the best part of Treachery of Images (the painting with the pipe) is featured on of the watches. The ironic and famous "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" message — translation: this is not a pipe" is printed on the watch's strap with the cheeky addition of "ceci est une Swatch."
Louvre Abu Dhabi turns the Great Wave Off Kanagawa by Katsushika Hokusai, zooming in on the instantly recognizable water wall for an allover print spanning the entire timepiece.
On the other hand, the Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi provides us with the closest chance to owning a Sandro Botticelli, crafting wristwatches based on The Birth of Venus and Allegory of Spring.
Interestingly, the Birth of Venus watch sees Zephyr and Breeze, the gods of winds, earn the star spot (the dial) rather than Venus. Though, I feel like the goddess of love and beauty and the muse of the original painting would've made sense on the watch's face. But hey, what do I know?
For those interested in copping, the MoMA and Magritte's Swatch collections will land on the watchmaker's website on March 16, followed by Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi and Louvre Abu Dhab on April 13.
