Watches | Swatch
BREAK FREE - FROM THE ARCHIVE
| 2024-10-19 |     |
Unique Keith Haring artwork from the company’s archive makes its debut
There are some things that are unique to us as individuals, that only we can do or offer. This was on full display during the Swatch World Breakdance Championship in New York City on September 20, 1984, as performers showcased their impressive abilities on stage and in front of the panel of judges.
One of those judges was acclaimed street artist Keith Haring. It was his original artwork–created especially for Swatch and unique to him as an artist–that helped ensure the success of the event and gave it its iconic identity, one that Swatch is celebrating with the Swatch BREAK FREE Collection. This close relationship with, and connection to, Keith Haring led him to create and gift another artwork to Swatch that has never seen the light of day–until now.
An original pencil and ink sketch was gifted to Swatch by Keith Haring and used to create the colorful MODELE AVEC PERSONNAGES from 1986. At the time, the watch proved extremely popular with its instantly recognizable, hand-drawn figures and a bright, primary color scheme that made it ‘pure Swatch’. The original drawing was then placed in the Swatch archive, where it has been carefully preserved ever since. The work is an original, a one-of-a-kind unique piece.
As part of the new Swatch BREAK FREE Collection, we’re excited to have liberated the unique artwork from the archive and to bring it to a new generation of art lovers today.
The original work has been recreated exactly on the dial of this 41 mm NEW GENT BIOSOURCED model. While the figures are picked out in ink, the original pencil drawings and artist’s notes are clearly visible. Even the important addition of the words Swatch and Swiss–signifying that the watch is Swiss made today as it was in 1986–are clearly visible in Haring’s own handwriting. The Swiss-made, water-resistant model with this design features a transparent silicon strap offering maximum wearer comfort, however you choose to wear it.
An archived artwork, brought into the present using modern techniques and materials also offers a 21st-century feature: SwatchPAY!* Swatch PAY!* uses an NFC token that recreates your payment card. It’s simple, safe and secure as well as giving you the additional freedom of not needing to carry a wallet or even your phone to be able to pay.
FROM THE ARCHIVE is a masterpiece for the wrist and something that only Swatch can offer. With Keith Haring’s artwork again front and center, the latest model in the Swatch BREAK FREE Collection is a unique way to express yourself.
