The Story Behind The Now Sold Out Swatch x Damien Hirst Collaboration
A double celebration marking the brand's 35th birthday and the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse recently afforded Swatch the unique opportunity to rekindle the flame of artistic creation in association with the world of watchmakers and collectors.
By Vincent Daveau
Contributor
The Swatch watch, launched in 1983 within the SMH (Swiss Corporation for Microelectronics and Watchmaking Industries Ltd.) Founded in the same year by Nicolas Hayek, immediately won the hearts of a public in search of a watchmaking piece that was both classic in shape and continually updatable. From the moment it was created, the artistic dimension of the product became a permanent part of its DNA, Marlyse Schmid, and Bernard Müller being the designers responsible for developing the recognizable contours that have remained unchanged to this day.
Back to the roots of creation
Before the fact becomes wholly forgotten, the watchmaking industry all but collapsed at the dawn of the 1980s, a barely creditable fact given its extraordinary economic model status and exponential international growth ever since. We owe its recovery in part to the little Swatch watch, which, in 1980-1990, enabled the Swiss watchmaking industry to recover market share in the low-cost timepiece category.
The resurgence of interest in the traditional watch design (classic, round, and analog), combined with the growing desire among buyers to collect more affordable watches, (importantly, each one as unique as the next), meant that this branch of the industry blossomed once again in less than a decade.
The main reason for this turnaround in fortunes, which helped lift the brand to all-new heights and which has led to today's sales of just over 400 million pieces, may be resumed in a sentence uttered by Carlo Giordanetti, creative director of Swatch, during an interview conducted in Shanghai for Watchonista: "Swatch wanted to celebrate the birthday of Mickey Mouse, a universal fictional character who captures hearts all over the world, and turn each piece produced into a work of art that buyers could call their very own and establish their own unique identity in today's increasingly conformist and standardized world.”
As Giordanetti stated further, "collaborations with big-name artists are part and parcel of the brand's success. Thanks to them and these exceptional circumstances, luxury has become part of a process in which creative thought and originality have won out over paramount concerns, such as price or the quality of the materials."
Anniversary celebrations in a meaningful venue
Today, backed by 35 years of vibrant, unbridled creativity, with ideas brought constantly bang up to date, Swatch has made art its business foundation and, more generally speaking, its reason for being. Firmly resolved to celebrate its difference in a world where standardized tastes are killing, or, at best, normalizing creativity, the brand likes to get involved with its stores all over the world and thus resolved to launch two of its creations simultaneously at the Peace Hotel in Shanghai.
Two Swatch watches were made available in limited numbered editions carrying the Damien Hirst signature to celebrate the 90th anniversary of Mickey Mouse, the famed mouse created by Walt Disney on 18 November 1928. Aside from being a powerful symbol (as some of you may know the off-beat humorous little mouse was intended as an antidote to the challenging period during the Great Crash of 1929), these pieces have also provided Swatch with an occasion to revive the concept that made it so successful: limited numbered series signed by the world's top contemporary artists.
It, therefore, makes perfect sense to have the launch in Shanghai, a city that embraces modernity and which is home to the 12th contemporary art biennale from 10th November this year and until 10 March 2019. Those who have been following the watchmaking news for several years will know that in 2010-2011the Swatch Group obtained a concession in the Peace Hotel, a hotel established after 1908 on the Bund.
While the ground floor is given over to showcasing the group's watchmaking brands, the upper floors have been converted into an artists' residence. The site has already welcomed over 340 painters, sculptors, plastic artists, video-makers and graphic artists since the launch of the residency, all of whom are given total creative freedom to express themselves. The only condition is that the selected few leaves behind work to commemorate their time at the monument, which can be anywhere between three and a maximum of six months.
To unite this small community formed in the name of creativity, the Swatch Group has invited residents to create a work of art with a link to Mickey Mouse, and the two Damien Hirst Swatch watches presented on the day of their launch, namely 14 November 2018.
Two products with full-on images and emotions
The purpose of a work of art is to inspire a feeling, give pleasure, or serve as food for thought. In the case of both these limited editions (the Mirror Spot Mickey being available in a series of 19,999 pieces on the Swatch.com site as of Friday 16 November and the 1,999 pieces of the Spot Mickey rather more exclusively available on the same website on Sunday 18 November), the thrilling part about it is that this Mickey Mouse is not just a slavish copy of the famous Walt Disney mouse, such as Ingersoll or Genta might have depicted in the past, but a playful representation created by the highly celebrated English artist, Damien Hirst.
The story behind the creation
The task of the artist was to decorate the few square centimeters comprising the flat surface of the dial with different colored circles in stylized form in a nod to the little big Disney character and his incredible adventures, whom we all remember from our youth. The whole point about art is to suggest without being obvious.
We can all see our own interpretation in the broken down pattern of circles. Perhaps the artist in residence having best understood the concept is a young American of Chinese origin and recent newcomer to the Swatch Peace Hotel, who proposed a drawing in the style of Arcimboldo (the artist famous for his fruit and vegetable portraits) of a plate of pasta in the shape of Mickey Mouse's face.
Cartoon fanatics, watchmaking enthusiasts and collectors being an almost universal breed jumped at the idea, clamoring to be the first to acquire one of the very limited 1999 Swatch & Art specials, which went on sale on Sunday 18 November (Mickey Mouse's birthday) for just 24 hours. The highly restricted limited edition meant that it sold out almost as soon as it went on sale online on Sunday 18 November. This spectacular success proved people's enormous interest in the brand. It shows that such a product can be collectible and confirms that its value is likely to skyrocket in the very near future.
Nevertheless, anyone having missed the chance to snap up a piece in the series will have a second chance, as the remaining version proposed by the brand in a limited edition of 19,999 pieces went on sale on the Swatch site on 16 November. Despite the more significant number of pieces, given the world-scale release of this model, it's an incredibly small amount, so I wouldn't leave it too long before deciding to treat yourself to this piece of history. Obviously, at its current price (approx. 100 Euros), the future owner is guaranteed instant satisfaction, and it is highly likely to attract far more attention from watch lovers than some significantly more expensive watchmaking products. If you can find one…
Clearly, this new series of two rare pieces shows that Swatch's particular strength lies in its talent for associating originality with a significant piece of art. It was some while ago when it last demonstrated its ability to give such a simple object as a plastic quartz watch the status of a work of art. Perhaps the revival of the concept that made it so popular 35 years ago will allow us to hope for more regular miracles to prompt the new generations to opt for classic watches purely for time-telling. Only time will tell.
Pricing and Availability
There's good news, and there's bad news, because of the immense popularity of these pieces, most pieces are all but sold out. Here's a rundown of the two models.
Swatch Spot Mickey available in a series limited to 1999 pieces. With black case, two-tone strap and elaborate presentation box. (Price: €165 for 24 hours on 18 November). The model sold out within 24 hours of going on sale.
Swatch Mirror Spot Mickey available in a series limited to 19,999 pieces. A multi-colored case extended metallic dial on two-tone strap: (price €110). Still for sale on the site, available while supplies last.
While both pieces went on sale November 18th, as of publishing, only one model remains. The Swatch Mirror Spot Mickey can still be found on Swatch.com.