Watch lovers are familiar with the expression “horology”. Because they obviously know that this is a complex art that requires deep knowledge, perseverance and precision. Swatch combines the terms “art” and “watchmaking” not only figuratively, but also literally. How; Premium artwork on the wrist. The Swiss brand has always had artistic interests. He was interested in the “democratization” of art, which goes beyond the narrow confines of museums and expensive private collections and reaches a wider part of the public, who can now purchase the work of an outstanding artist at a low price and enjoy it every day. Are you fond of renaissance, surrealism, pop art? Thanks to Swatch Art Journey, the famous masterpiece literally becomes your … hand.

For the official premiere of the new Swatch Art Journey 2023 collection, Swatch has chosen Lisbon as its setting, an art-loving city that can be seen in every corner, from imposing museums to the beautiful old town with its ornate balconies, traditional trams. , from picturesque tuk-tuks, musicians and street performers to hand-painted tiles covering entire buildings, the famous azulejos.

Artistic Genes

Journey into the art of Swatch, Swatch’s art journey began in 1985, just two years after its founding. As Swatch CEO Alain Villard explained to us, “Art is one of the brand’s core pillars, it’s etched into its DNA. We started in 1984 with our first collaboration with Kiki Picasso, followed by many more collaborations with artists such as Keith Haring, Pedro Almodovar, Damien Hirst, Vivienne Westwood, Sam Francis and many more. In 2011, we established the Swatch Art Peace Hotel in Shanghai. There, artists from all over the world have the opportunity to express themselves, each in their own way, by exhibiting their creations in the spaces of the hotel. For twelve years, 460 artists from 54 countries have taken part in us. The next milestone for Swatch and Art was again in 2011 when we launched our collaboration with the Venice Biennale, perhaps the most important international art event. And in 2018, we started working directly with museums. Undoubtedly, it was the right decision to bring masterpieces to people. We started with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, then worked with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, the Louvre in Paris, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Pompidou Center and again in Paris.”

New collection

2023 marks the next major chapter in Swatch’s artistic journey, as a series of five capsule collections will be released from mid-March to May. The Swatch Art Journey 2023 collection currently consists of seven new Gent and New Gent models based on well-known works by famous artists in collaboration with four museums.

sample x MoMA

Two of the watches in the collection are based on the works of Girl And reverie Roy Lichtenstein, a leading representative of pop art, which are held at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Of course, it is no coincidence that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the artist’s birth.

Model Girl by Roy Lichtenstein has a dominant image of a blonde with a sparkling smile, like a toothpaste ad from the 1960s, and the back of the watch is adorned with signature Ben-Ray dots of Lichtenstein.

Bright yellow model reverie Roy Lichtenstein conveys the artist’s passion for jazz music, which has inspired many of his iconic works. In fact, the loop on the strap is inscribed with the famous saying “The melody haunts my reverie” (the melody haunts my reverie), which is also found in Lichtenstein’s original work.

sample x Magritte

Two models of the collection are inspired by the famous paintings of the surrealist René Magritte, which belong to the collection of the Magritte Museum in Brussels. In fact, this year marks the 125th anniversary of the artist’s birth. The first hours are called La Trahison des Images Rene Magritte (The Betrayal of Images) and its strap include the phrase “Ceci est une Swatch” (This is a sample) and the phrase “Ceci n’est pas une pipe” (This is not a pipe) of the original work. For Magritte, wordplay was as important as imagery.

The second clock is called Le Fils de l’Homme Rene Magritte and based on the table Son of Man (Son of Man) 1964, depicting the face of a man in a classic English hat, hidden behind a floating green apple. The strap says “Ceci est une Swatch avec une pomme” (this is a Swatch with an apple).

sample x Uffizi Gallery

Two more watches transfer romantic Renaissance motifs and images of nature to the wrist and are based on two masterpieces by Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus And Allegory of springwhich are exhibited in Florence in the famous Uffizi Gallery.

Model Birth of Venus Sandro Botticelli famous work based on Birth of Aphrodite which dates from around 1486. Its dial depicts Zephyr, the god of the winds, and Aura, the goddess of the breeze, gently leading Aphrodite to the shore, and the strap is covered with Aphrodite’s stunningly beautiful face and pink roses. .

Model Allegory of spring Sandro Botticelli (left) based on project Allegory of spring the great maestro of the Renaissance, a painting that depicts no less than 138 different types of plants. The watch strap depicts Flora, the goddess of flowers, adorned with violets, centaury, strawberries and blueberries among citrus fruits – a timeless tribute to nature and beauty.

sample x Louvre Abu Dhabi

The Seventh Hours is the result of a collaboration between Swatch and the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi and is based on the work TThe Great Wave Off Kanagawa famous Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. This is Hokusai’s most famous print, he created it at the age of 60 and became part of the iconic Japanese series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. The watch face and front of the watch strap feature a close-up of a billowing wave. In the original work, the artist cleverly plays with perspective by depicting Mount Fuji, Japan’s most imposing mountain, as a small triangular hill in the background.

The reverse depicts elements of the astrolabe, a miracle of mankind, a flat projection of the night sky used to calculate the position of the stars and determine the exact time of day.

All watches are available in special cases with information about each work of art and the museum in which it is located. The price for Gent is 95 euros and for New Gent it is 105 euros. The Swatch x MoMA and Swatch x Magritte models will be available starting March 16, while the Swatch x Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi and Swatch x Louvre Abu Dhabi will be released on April 13, 2023. We also look forward to new additions to the collection. The Swatch Art Journey collection in the coming months…

More information Here.

Swatch Group Greece (tel.: 210-9565656)