Vertaal siteMy Swatch book!
Please visit the page about my book: Swatch Specials from the Netherlands!Intro
On this page I sum up all the special Swatch editions from the Netherlands. I try to get as much information as possible and again, for this I need your help. So, if you know anything interesting not listed here yet, let me know. For now, enjoy the information on special Swatch editions from our small country. I like to think that this is a complete overview of the subject. These Swatches are not displayed here to sell them to you. As a matter of fact I do not have any of these double, so please do not contact me in order to get one or more. I cannot help you with that. For my list of doubles I refer to my Swatch shop. If you are interested in future editions, I could also be able to help you. Just let me know whenever something new comes along. Swatches are ordered from new (top) to old (bottom) though sometimes recent additions are on top even when the release date was long ago.When you see the
logo (Wanted) this means I do not have
this Swatch yet and I am looking for it. If you have one for me of know of one being sold, please
let me know! I am very anxious to get it and complete my collection!
But first of all please have a look at the Special Package that was never made, by Joost Swarte. Happy Swatching!
2009 Swatch Netherlands Christmas Dinner
At a nice Christmas Dinner all employees of Swatch The Netherlands received a Swatch GK733 Snowcovered with an extra text in red on the transparent loop "XMAS 2009". Hope to get a picture and of course, the watch itself!
1994 Ravage litho's
I am not sure wether this fits my own definition of a Dutch Special but you really got to see my page about Swatch and Ravage!2009 Blijdorp 10 years in service
In 2009 an employee who celebrated 10 years in service with Rotterdam Zoo Blijdorp received a very nice gift, a Swatch Irony Chrono YOS413 Your Turn, with his years in service engraved on the side and the zoo´s name engraved on the back. Fantastic! I have no idea if they have done this before nor if they plan to do it again. I surely like this one!
2005 Randstad NOC*NSF Partners in sport
By the end of 2005, for the occasion of the Turin 2006 Olympic Games, Randstad, a major player in personnel services in The Netherlands, teamed up with the National Olympic Comittee / National Sports Federation to create an orange Special Package containing a SULN100 Technical Race with the Randstad logo on the case. This is a limited edition, maybe even limited to fifty pieces only. The watches were divided among Randstad units with the best results. Taken into account were highest number of employees, highest margin, highest revenue and/or highest number of new customers. So surely not all employees received one. What all employees did receive was the supporters hat (close-up of supporters badge) that came in an orange box much like the first one, together with a small card with some words of the president of Randstad.
2009 KLM
I hear a rumour KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, have issued a special. According to what I heard this should be a SUJK104V, Jelly In Jelly, Fluid Word. If you know anything about it, have a picture or even better, know how I can get one, do let me know! Also open for trades!
2007 OV-Chipwatch
In the Netherlands the government are introducing a chip card which will be used for all public transport within our country. It is called the OV-Chipcard. OV is an abbreviation for Openbaar Vervoer which means Public Transport. A Swatch Access with OV-Chipkaart logo has been made that has the same function. Behind the Swatch you can see the Policy Of Use paper inlay. On the back of its box there is an information tag that shows how long the loaded money can be used. Behind the tag the original price tag is visible, showing its code SUMK150O. Strange because the Swatch itself looks like a SUMK101. Maybe the 150 refers to the OV-Chip function. The O at the end, like in OV, I understand. And here comes something very special, on the back of the case the OV logo and name are inscribed. The straps have been made in Austria. It also exists with pink straps, maybe to be used as gents and ladies? The pinks straps do not have an Access loop, just a standard pink loop. Some of these Swatches come preloaded with 10 Euro, others do not. At this moment there is a maximum of a few hundred in roulation. These were given to employees of Trans Link Systems in Amersfoort, who are responsible for the technology concerned with the access system. Around 120 employees received it as a Christmas gift. The Gemeentelijk Vervoers Bedrijf Amsterdam (Municipal Transport Company) gave some as a present to employees as well. Trans Link Systems, a not so communicative company, tell me the watch was used as a test in a small issue. They have no plans to sell it in the future. I would like to have the one with pink straps as well!
1996 Bijenkorf Christmas
December 1996 the staff of the Bijenkorf Department Store gave all employees a Special Swatch for Christmas. This might have been in the Bijenkorf in Eindhoven only, not sure about that. This Swatch is a 1996 GK228 Consider with a standard sleeve that has an extra sticker.
1986 NMT Golden Membership
From 1986 onwards the Dutch Society for the Promotion of Dentistry celebrated every members Golden Membership (25 years) by giving him or her a Special Swatch. This Swatch is a 1986 GA102 Pinstripe with the NMT logo on the lower strap. On the lower back of the box there is the original price tag for GA102 and the original price of 87.50 Gulden. A lovely find!
2008-2009 Dutch collector
Just like at the end of 2003, at the end of 2008 an acclaimed Swatch collector from the Netherlands had his own Special made in a quantity of fifty (?) pieces only. Here is an overall picture of this Dutch Collector's Swatch and here is an detail picture of the lower strap. Again, done very nicely! As a courtesy to the privacy of this admired collector I have polished his name and email adress off the pictures. As you can see it is a 1996 GB173 Gents named Net. Alongside the message is the extra red @ symbol to complete it.
2001 BelCompany 5 years
In 2001 the Dutch phone company BelCompany celebrated their fifth anniversary. Because of this they decided to honour twenty of their personnel who had been with them right from the start and who had been a real asset building the company. These twenty Swatches were all numbered and two types exist, a male edition (18 pieces) and a female edition (2 pieces, probably with the numbers 19 and 20).The male edition is the Irony Big YGS414G Moonrise. I got mine with the number 5 from Pascal Bouwman who personally earned it. It is numbered very nicely by inscription on the back. Here is a picture of overall Swatch and here is a picture of the inscription.
If anyone knows about the ladies type and/or where to get one, do let me know!
2008 KiKa Racing for Charity
Action KiKa: In September 2007 during the A1 GP at Zandvoort Jeroen Bleekemolen presented the KiKa Swatch. This unique watch, made in a limited edition of 1,000 pieces, is a real collector´s item. It was available for orders at € 64,95 (including € 5.00 postage) from the "Racing for Charity Foundation". The revenue of the Kika Swatch fully benefits the Kids Cancerfree Foundation (KiKa). A great initiative! Here is a picture of the announcement. Here is a picture of the signed design. By the end of July the KiKa packages were finally shipped to all who ordered. And they were well worth the waiting! Let's start with the KiKa overall package. Here is a picture of the KiKa box. You can see this is an official Special from the KiKa price tag for SUJK102E. Here is the full KiKa Swatch. In the box you will also find a KiKa pin which can be worn as an extra loop around the straps of your KiKa Swatch. The straps are great quality embossed leather straps made by Swatch themselves. Here is a closeup of upper KiKa strap and here is a closeup of lower KiKa strap. The Swatch branded backside of KiKa the strap shows who made this. A fantastic package for a fantastic cause!
1984 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
Update! Warner Krelekamp, ex Testequipment Technician Digital Parts Centre Nijmegen, completed my story:In 1984 Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) was one of the leading manufacterers of computer hardware. As a programmer I used it for years myself and found it to be fast, user-friendly and very reliable. Later the brand was taken over by Compaq which in it's own way was taken over by Hewlet-Packard (HP). Most computers where shut down and opened only once a year for maintenance. The maintenance technician was always connected to the frame of the computer to be grounded and avoid static current ruining the hardware. In 1984 DEC used a very special Swatch for this, a GN001 with ground connector. I know of only three specimens still in existance, two blue GN001 with the code B83 (used in The Netherlands), and one blue GN001 with the code 284 (used in Germany). On the back of this Swatch you can see the metal that connects the wire to the wearers arm. On the lower strap of this Swatch you can see the DEC part number +L-02037-05 engraved. The +L in the DEC partnumber means Local which means this part was not a worldwide used one but for instance for use in the Netherlands only. The standard plastic box has the old type guarantee with the white "front" and is also tagged with this part number. This must be one of the very first corporate Swatches with a unique practical use!
Update! Henk Bouret, ex maker of instruments for Fokker and Defense, adds even more:
After these Swatches wore down they were replaced by a black watch with DIGITAL on the dial. On the backside of this watch it's even more evident this is no Swatch. The tiny plug on the leftside is not for earthing but this was used when vacuum closing the case. The watch has no apparent brand which makes it a promo watch. On the inside you can find it actually is a Harley Ronda movement with the code 375. These were manufactured in the first half of the eigthies. Still, the font used on the dial is very intriguing!
2001 Rotterdam Access Swatch
In 2008 I discovered another variant of the Rotterdam Access. Here you can see the "Zorgwerk" loop on the upper strap. This one is probably made for Zorgwerk, an intermediary in the care business. Any more information is welcome!
1999-2000 Shell Easypay prototype
Check out this true rarity! You have already seen the regular Shell Easypay Swatch on the special historical page. That one is already quite spectacular because the Swatch is a unique piece with a case like no other Swatch, and it holds two different chip types.Now here we have the Shell Easypay Prototype Swatch! Again this case and dial were never issued as a regular Scuba. They are totally unknown. It is said like the regular EasyPay this case is a little bigger than a normal Scuba, a regular ring should not fit. There is no year or copyright on the dial. The back has two different access chip codes (those correspond to the two chips) and S938. It all adds up. Finally the story is backed by the transparent EasyPay loop not found on the regular one. A fantastic piece!
