Swatch’s Trésor Magique

Back in the early-mid 1990s, there was what I think of as the height of Swatch limited edition madness, when the release of special models would lead to overnight queues at Swatch boutiques, and it would get a little crazy. I only queued once, for the Vivienne Westood 'Orb' Pop Swatch, which I purchased to give as a gift.

It was also during this period that Swatch came out with what may be the most valuable, gram for gram, Swatch that they’ve made, the Trésor Magique Platinum 950.

‘Millesimal fineness’ is the system of denoting the purity of platinum, gold and silver alloys by parts per thousand of pure metal by mass in the alloy. For example, an alloy containing 75% gold is denoted as ‘750’. 950 is the most common purity for platinum jewellery.

Made in an edition of 12,999, it was launched in 1993 by Nicolas G. Hayek at the NYMEX (New York Mercantile Exchange) for the official price of US$1618.

Not only was this watch made with a platinum case, but it was an automatic, with an ETA 2840 movement. The ETA 2840 is a simplified ETC 2824-2, and came onto the market in 1991 with the birth of the Swatch Automatic.

In an attractive gold and blue colour combination, the dial is skeletonised in the centre, has a gold ring dial with stars, and decorative elements featuring the moon and the sun.

The Trésor has 23 jewels, shock absorber, a micrometer regulator, straight-line lever escapement, monometallic balance, self compensating flat balance spring, is water resistant to 30m, and a comfortable 37mm size.

Weighing in at a hefty 4kgs in its packaging, the the Trésor Magique came with an extra strap and strap changing tool.

Despite the large number that were made at the time, relatively few (given the numbers) come onto the market. This one was given by its original purchaser to my father, who gave it to me, and no, it has never been worn.

Oh, and what’s the current price for platinum? Check here

[AP]