Charity Auction: Swatch Sistem51 Hodinkee Summer Edition

All proceeds from the sale of this watch will be donated to the Make A Wish Foundation.

The History

Swatch, short for “Second Watch”, sold their first watch in March of 1983 and was an almost instant success, selling over one million units. In 1981, when the Swatch brand was conceived, the Swiss watchmaking industry was on the verge of collapse due to cheap and accurate quartz watches. The goal of the Swatch brand was to create a line of cheap and stylish watches that would complement traditional watches. These mostly plastic watches would sport bold colors and designs that people could mix and match to their outfits. This made the watches a perfect canvas for which to collaborate with brands and artists on limited releases. These have included such greats as Kiki Picasso, Keith Haring, Alfred Hofkunst, Jeremy Scott, and many more. In 2013, Swatch stepped up its game in a big way by introducing its Sistem51 mechanical watch. This watch housed the first mechanical movement with an entirely automated assembly.

The Reference

The Swatch Sistem51 Hodinkee Summer Edition was released on July 14th, 2020 and was the 4th watch that Swatch has made in collaboration with Hodinkee. This watch, as the name implies, was made to be a fun summer wear with an all white case and strap to fit the summer mood. In addition to the Sistem51, Swatch and Hodinkee also released a kids Flik Flak watch in the same color scheme. Hodinkee was an early proponent of the Sistem51 watches when they were first released back in 2013. Stephen Pulvirent, who wrote the article, used the sub-heading “This is a game-changer” and praised the watch and the movement for its great design, and technical innovation.

This particular example comes with all of its original packaging and original receipt from Hodinkee.

The Case

The white plastic case is in excellent condition. There are no faults to note and all of the parts including the crystal and crown are original. The watch features a display back highlighting the Sistem51 movement. Of note, is that the white case, unlike all previous Hodinkee collaborations, is not translucent. The watch measures 42mm across and 13.9mm thick with 2mm lugs.

The Dial and Hands

The white dial is in like-new condition. It features a stark white finish accented by black and blue hour markers and black and blue hands. For this edition, the date aperture has been placed at 6 o’clock.

The Movement

This watch is powered by automatic Sistem51 movement. The watch is running as new.

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