• My home PC is back up, but I have drifted away from Swatch Access and towards Swatch Autoquarz. I will probably put together an Autoquarz page some time in the second quarter of '99. Thank you for your support, but the Swatch Access pages will no longer be updated.

• My home PC is down. Updates will be few and far between for a couple of months, unless something really cool happens.

The Olympic Museum in Lausanne has a new "Olympic Museum" swatch for sale. The first olympic museum swatch is now out of print. The new "Olympic Museum" swatch is an access swatch (SKZ118) and looks similar to the very rare IOC 106th session access (SKZ112). The difference to the rare IOC 106th session access is: 1. the hands are white instead of blue. 2. the strap features the olympic museum logo instead of the 106th session logo. Here is a picture of the new "Olympic Museum" swatch. According to the swatch store in Lausanne, the watch is limited to 1000 pcs, not 500 as previously rumoured. Thanks to Thomas Buerki & Andreas Wiethoff for the info & picture.

On August 21st, there was a special "Swatch" day at the EXPO 98 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Portuguese Adamastor special, a handnumbered limited edition of 600 pcs, was released on that day. The special is a plexiglass tube within a tube. Between the two tubes is sealed sand and water. The water is tinted a light blue/green. On the inside is printed seaweed (two shades of green) and three orange fish inspired by the fish on the Adamastor Swatch. Hanging inside the tubes is the Adamastor Swatch on a special plexiglass stand. Here is a picture of the Adamastor special. This is one of the best special packagings produced in a long time, it fits the "oceans" theme of the Expo 98 perfectly. It was designed by a design team in Portugal (who designed the Virgin Megastore special) and will only be sold at retail in Portugal. By the way, the special is handmade, the last packagings were made on the day before the event :-) 200 pcs were sold on August 21st. The special will not be available outside of Portugal. On the "swatch" day at the expo, we had lots of games for the club members. The rumoured autograph session with the Spanish artist Agatha Ruiz de la Prada (Swatch "Agatic Agatac") did not take place. If you want to read a detailed report about the swatch event for international club members (August 20 to 23), please click here. Update: According to a letter from Swatch the Club Portugal, the remaining 400 pcs will be sold on October 10th in the official swatch club agents. October 10th is the day when the international auction of the signed Adamastors end. Thanks to Brian Pier for the picture and to Daniel Matos & Andreas Wiethoff for the update.

• Added Surf City wallpaper for 640x480 screen to Surf City page.

• Received two new Swatch Access watches, set up page for each; «Time for Goodwill» & «Lucky 7».

• Added picture to my Adamastor / World Expo 98 page.

Thanks to Friederike Fuchs-Scholz for making me look at the Swatch World Journal again - I found info about three new Swatch Access Specials!

"Swatch wishes Colors a good start!
At the corner of Beethovenstrasse and Dreikonigstrasse in Zurich there's a new restau-rant-bar-club called Colors. And what's so special about it? It is owned by the youngest member of the Hayek family, Mark. May 14 a crowd of guests attended a cocktail party to mark The opening of Colors, all wearing a Swatch Access Colors! With this new Access model they'll be able to experience lots of fun and adventures according to Mark Hayek. It's a Swatch Access 'to a different reality', where colours, sounds, emotions, smells are intense and totally different!
Congratulations, Mark! Members of Swatch The Club will be flocking to Colors this summer to expe-rience your 'different reality'. "

-- from The Swatch World Journal No.18, Summer 1998

Friederike also says; "I have phoned the Swatch Club International about the "Disco-Access", because my husband was in Italy and I want to have the watch. In the world journal it says, that you can buy this watch only in a few shops. My husband was in the shop in Ravenna, but they say that they don't have the watch. Thaen I called the Swatch Club International again and they gave me the number for the shop in Bologna. I have phoned the shop and they have it. This is a Swatch with a clear band. I think it is the Clearance or the Freeride and on the band stands only "Disco Byblos". Because the watch is for the disco named "Byblos" in Riccione. The Swatch cost about 70.000 Lire. You can order it with mastercard and fax in the shop in Bologna!! I hope that is enough what you want to know about the "Disco-Swatch"??? If the Swatch is limited, I don't know!!! Many greattings from Germany, Rike"

"Long live Wednesdays with Swatch Disco Access
Every Wednesday until the end of September 1998 anyone found wearing a Swatch Disco Access at the Byblos in Riccione will be able to jump he line. They will enjoy the privilege of getting into the disco through the special channel. So you wanna know how you can you get hold of a Swatch Disco Access? Only at the Swatch approved outlets mentioned below [see Swatch World Journal (European names don't OCR well)]. By The way, you can load your Disco Access at a store or at Byblos with 8 admission fees (maximum). And that's not all. Owners of a Swatch Disco Access even get in at a reduced price. So don't miss out Get to the disco Wednesday evening and join in the fun. Who knows? You may meet that very special person there. Just mention your Access watch and you'll be the center of attention! "

-- from The Swatch World Journal No.18, Summer 1998

Judging by the (round) picture below, the Haring Access Special is simply a Magic Show variant, but if anyone has any more info than I've got, please tell me...

"Opening of the Keith Haring retrospective exhibition at the MOMA In San Francisco
At the opening of the Keith Haring retrospective exhibit at the Museum of Modem Art in San Francisco last May Martin Maguss and his wile Marti were proud to sport their Swatch Access Haring Special And rightly so. As serious collectors of Swatch, members of Swatch The Club and devoted fans of Keith Haring (they own several of his works), it was this couple who made this prestigious exhibit possible by organising a meeting between Swatch and the MOMA. In the company of many celebrities they enjoyed a very special evening and shared their passion for their favourite watch brand with all the lucky people who were presented with a Haring Special in appreciation of their generous support for the world-famous museum.
Exhibit open till September 8 "

-- from The Swatch World Journal No.18, Summer 1998

Click to zoom.

"During the summer season 1997 Swatch set up a remarkable system w th the famous holiday camp chain through its Swatch Access to Club Med Otranto The 'open sesame' watch became an electronic wallet and replaced the necklaces and other forms of credit in the restaurants of the Otranto Club Med. This year the idea is being further developed. At the Club Med in Djerba, Tunisia and Opio, France it will also be possible to use the Swatch Access to Club Med as an electronic wallet in the Club shops as well as restaurants and bars.

Keep In touch for further information! Club Med guests really appreciate this facility..."

-- from The Swatch World Journal No.18, Summer 1998

The Washington Pen company brought us pictures of the upcoming collection a while ago, and those pictures are below, but there are two in the new catalog that weren't part of the early set...

Ski Patrol SKO100 S/L

Click for a larger image (25k)

Ponentino SKK110

Click for a larger image (22k)

"Ponentino the Swatch Access to Rome

After Salzburg, it's now Rome's turn! Swatch has launched the Ponentino, the Swatch Access to Rome, a city pass that will really astonish you!

For starters, with this Swatch Access the Roman Empire is your oyster. Yeah, that's right, every corner of the Roman Empire will be accessible. Just like the feral cats that live around the Colosseum - and decorate the strap of this new city pass - you'll be able to wander round this famous amphitheatre without having to line up for a ticket or take out your wallet. You'll just have to show your Ponentino at the electronic barrier. As privileged visitors you'll also be able to enjoy the Forums and the Palatine Hill without having to queue up behind other tourists. Temples, ancient squares, emperors' palaces, it'll all be yours for the asking. And there's more to come.

To top it all the Swatch Access to Rome - which has been given the attractive name of Ponentino, the breeze that cools the Italian capital on balmy summer evenings - will open the doors of the Palazzo Massimo, the brand-new museum which was inaugurated with great ceremony on June 27 last. Here you'll be able to admire exquisite old statues and frescoes as well as jewellery and coins from ancient Rome.

And to help you find your way around this famous city Swatch is also offering a handy pocket-size city map and tips to ensure that your stay in the Eternal City will be un-for-get-able!"

-- from The Swatch World Journal No.18, Summer 1998

• Purchased three new Swatch Access watches, set up page for each; «Le Salon», «Surf City» & «Menang».

It looks like a special Sydney 2000 Olympic Club version of the Glorious Runner will be made available. It will most likely have a special loop with the Olympic Club logo or similar. It will be first available bundled in a "Time Capsule" with a limited edition Sydney 2000 T-Shirt, with possibly a print run of as little as 500. The watch in the picture appears to be a normal Glorious runner, so I'm not sure about the loop. Click here for a larger image (30k)...

Swatch will release an Australian only Maxi swatch called "Big Swell". It WON'T appear in the Swatch 1998 fall/winter cataloge. SMH Australia released this Maxi as a regular Access model (with a different name - Surf City). It's one of the City Map series and it's an Access 2. Thanks to Michael Kuo & Andreas for the information.

There's a picture of Spike Lee's new Swatch on the net. I've (re)sized it suitable for the desktop wallpaper of a 640x480 screen. It's available as a JPG (26k). I know this isn't access news, but I've been thinking of providing background bitmaps and Screen Savers?

There's the first view of the new Swatch collection at The Washington Pen Co. I've grabbed the Access images, and mixed them into a single pic. Larger images, and pictures of the rest of the new collection are available at Washington Pen - They always seem to have Swatch collection pictures first...

Interestingly, the four Accesses pictured are; 1 Flexible Metal, 2 Scuba and 1 Pop. None of the standard Gents style. One of the Scuba models is the Goodwill games Swatch, the other is another Pro-Team one.

"A water sculpture of glass tubing runs through the pavilion, passing through every exhibit. Propelled through the tubes are clear acrylic spheres containing autographed Adamastor watches, Swatch's latest technical marvel.
Appropriately named after a sea monster the Portuguese believed to linger at the edge of the ocean, these Adamastors feature celebrity autographs to be sold at a charity auction at the end of the Expo. Proceeds are to support the preservation of the fragile marine ecosystems of the Dugong."
"The visitors, in turn, wear microchips in their watches which allow them to enhance their experience of the pavilion. These smart watches ``learn'' your language and allow visitors to participate in and modify interactive activities like dismantling an enlarged Swatch watch."

-- Grabbed from a Yahoo News story (Business Wire).

See also my Adamastor page.

"Collectors who attended the release of the Goodwill Games Swatch in New York (in April) had their pictures taken and stored on the Access Swatch. Later, their Swatch was read and their pictures were displayed. Thanks to Brian Pier for the information. "

-- From Andreas' Stay tuned to Swatch site

This is fairly interesting because the original Access only has 1k of memory, and the new one based on the Philips' Mifare hardware has 8k. To fit a "photo" on the former would require some serious shoe-horning - even the newer one would be pushing it. I would be interested to see the quality of the images.
Also, it indicates an ability to easily store "traditional" data (images, therefore maybe sounds, documents, etc) on the watch. I know I'd really like to have my PGP private key with me on my Swatch...

"As we mentioned in the last Newsletter, Swatch will be official timekeeper for the Commonwealth Games which will be held in the fall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But the brand will also be present in the form of a new Swatch Access - Menang - which means 'victory' in Malay. All spectators and athletes wearing a Menang will be able to take part in the opening and closing ceremonies. They'lI have access to the VIP areas, the athletes' village, etc. And what's more, the Photobox system will be utilised for the first time in conjunction with a Swatch Access. This means that when you show your Menang to the reader it will register your photo. And furthermore, thanks to the new 'data management' system it will now be possible to record all the movements and utilisations of your Swatch Access. The Menang will be available in Malaysia from April and on sale a month later all over the world. Without the ski-pass function."

-- From the April '98 Swatch Watch News

• Olds from before 7th May.
• Olds from late March to near the end of April.
• Olds from Oct. '97 to just before the end of Mar. '98
• The first collection, up to the end of Sept. '97

Small Print
 
 

• Compiled by Chris Johnson.
• Plenty from Andreas Wiethoff's Stay Tuned to Swatch page.
• All supplemental info is now available in one place.