A few months ago I felt like buying a new watch. We live in a time where watches in many situations are unnecessary. Their function tends to be decorative at most. Thing is, the more you develop a liking for a good watch and how it works the more you start to appreciate other watches, their design and movements. For me it started with a Steinhart homage to a legendary dive watch. After about 6 months I bought a second watch and I started collecting.

One watch I always liked was the Swatch Body & Soul. Of all the watch brands and manufacturers in the world Swatch is one of my favourites. They know how to design and make interesting watches with a fun aspect to them. Sometimes they make watches that simply stand out and you wonder how they do it. This watch is one of my favourite watches of all time.

You see, I honestly do not like skeleton watches. Showing off the movement is fun but it has to look appealing enough to make you look again. Usually this is done with polishing, accents in colour and brand markings and showing off complexities. Swatch did something different with this watch. It is a simple movement held together with one screwed-in pin and it only shows time without markings. Seconds, minutes and hours are all you get and there are no markings.

37mm in width it is on the smaller side. It is a discrete watch from a distance until you come closer and see the movement in action. This watch does not exist to tell the time or to be accurate. It simply tells you it is working in the most elegant way possible. You always know it is about “this late” and that is enough.

If you want the best specifications for the money or the most accurate watch this is not for you. Even if you want a watch to show off because it is shiny it does not work. This is a discrete statement watch that tells you do not care about function and opinion. You look at it and enjoy it as is.

When you appreciate art, well you can wear this on your wrist…