A collaborative timepiece is a great way for time-honoured watchmakers to strut their stuff, while paying homage to cultural titbits firmly outside the sometimes-stuffy world of horology.
This limited-edition chronometer by Swatch, however, is anything but stuffy.
The Vick Bronze By Verdy ($144) embodies the irreverent creativity of celebrated Japanese graphic artist Verdy – best known for his iconic projects Girls Don’t Cry, Wasted Youth, and most of all, the panda-rabbit hybrid Vick – while remaining a stylish timepiece that promises to look just as good in a case as it would on your wrist.
As its name suggests, it swathes a tasteful bronze-on-black hue over a 34mm Gent model Swatch.
The peace-loving, music junkie Vick naturally takes centre stage in the collaborative timepiece, putting on for the first time a colour scheme that isn’t pure black-and-white (as he’s only appeared in all this while). As if to hammer that point home, the character’s tongue will subtly rotate through a range of vibrant hues daily, indicating the days of the week with colours like orange, red, pink and yellow.
The collaborative timepiece is available for purchase now, though this won’t be the only art piece to come out of the partnership between the Swiss watchmaker and the artist.
In fact, Vick has also made an appearance at the 2024 edition of the Biennale Arte festival in Venice, where Swatch is the main partner.
There, he’ll loom in the form of an impressive four-metre-tall statue, carrying on the brand’s proud tradition of putting out larger-than-life oeuvres at one of the creative focal points of the entire world.
It’ll also make for a great photo op, if you’ve got plans to drop by the famous art show before it wraps up later in November.
Swatch x Verdy collectionThe watch brand also presents the Swatch x Verdy collection comprising four unique watches and one Maxi featuring the artist’s most iconic characters and projects.
Visty By Verdy ($152) features the loveable monster character, Visty, in pastel tones of yellow, green, pink, and blue. The character appears in the Maxi, an oversized watch measuring 2.1 metres tall. Vick By Verdy ($152) has the famous “A” that appears on the character’s belly, embodying the character’s rebellious attitude and love of punk music. Girls Don’t Cry By Verdy ($137) is a transparent biosourced watch with a distinctive heart on the dial, while Wasted Youth By Verdy ($152) has a simple dial and the words “I can’t waste my time anymore” on the case. |
The Swatch x Verdy collection, including Vick Bronze by Verdy, are available at Swatch boutiques and online.
