Post – 1986 – Swatch Prototypes

1987 Navigator Prototype and Variant

The Model GB707 ‘Navigator’ exists in different variations. Some have white hour -and minute hands (left) and some just lack the few white dots on the dial (right). This left prototype is not very rare, however somewhat rarer than the ‘single variant’ versions. It is a non-functioning dummy, but a few working models are known to exist. The back features the production code for 1986, but no country code.

1987 Nine To Six ‘Child Version’

Already in late 1983 the designers and engineers of Swatch were thinking of making the watches available to all types of customers. After the chalenge of creating Swatches for Ladies, they tackled the compatibility for children. The versions back then were bright colored.

Brightly coloured versions of Swatches for children from 1983. *From the former collection of Marlyse Schmid and Bernard Müller. Picture credit: Jean-Bernard Mani, Yannick Durand, and Kouroche Amini. Picture taken from: stay-tuned-to-swatch.*

Original design for the introduction of children models in 1983. The design of the dials were adapted for better reading. For the second attempt in introducing children version in 1987 only the shorter straps were intended to be mounted to already colourful models, including the Keith Haring specials. *From the former collection of Marlyse Schmid and Bernard Müller. Picture credit: Sotheby’s. Picture taken from: stay-tuned-to-swatch.*

In 1986 the willingness to extend the market to children made the ideas of late 1983 return. The watches got colorful by now, following the fashion trends unique to the 1980ies, so the only change would have been to adapt the strap for the smaller wrists.

The version here is a normal market ‘Nine To Six’ with a unused prototype strap for children with eight holes.

The problem of these ‘children’ versions remained the same as in 1983: The watches are overall too big for children, even if the straps are adapted. This idea was scraped again, later the sub-brand of Swatch, Flik-Flak will issue completely redesigned watches for children.

1987 Follow Me Prototype

This prototype has a ‘unfinished’ dial and different hands and a different case. The dial is missing the last black layer and the green color.

It is unclear to us if this was meant as a prototype or if it has been made as a hybrid using an unfinished dial. What lets us tend towards categorizing this watch as a prototype is, that it seams strange to make a hybrid with a objectively not very accomplished dial, if one would have all possible designs available for making a unique Swatch.

Not many unfinished dials survive and even less get mounted into cases.

1988 Pulsometer Proto – Variant

This is an example of very meticulous search for the correct color match. Before a possible re-issue of the model in 1988, the designers wanted to change the anthracite case color to a red case. Over 40 different nuances of red were tested, each one peaked in the production of one complete watch. The version shown here is Nr.40, numbered of the back with black sharpie and has a translucent, neon orange colored case. The watch is fully working.