The watch that changed the world was born 30 years ago – on March 1, 1983 the first 12 models made their debut.
Looking back now, they seem unlikely heroes, but events soon revealed their true identity: they were the avant-garde, the shock troops of a revolution named Swatch.
In celebration of this milestone, Swatch has launched the SWATCH Est. 1983 which features a transparent plastic case and strap and a skeleton dial offering a clear view of the movement within.
Key components are highlighted in gold; on one, a golden driving wheel, the word CELEBRATE appears twice, in black. And printed in gold on a broad silver band are all those extraordinary years, from 1983 to 2013.
Italian artist Lorenzi Petrantoni has taken a giant leap of imagination back to 1983 with a poster which evokes a world filled with mind-bending events, a world where Swatch launches the impossible watch: plastic, 51 parts, under 50 Swiss francs; Michael Jackson’s Thriller sells 50 million copies, Space Shuttle Challenger makes its first flight, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi roars through cinemas around the world and Swatch makes one million watches in one year.
