Historic Swatch collection goes under hammer

Rare 1980s timepieces from Swatch’s heyday were sold at a Geneva auction on Tuesday for CHF1.3 million ($ 1.3 million). The collection retraces the brand’s early creative period that helped save the Swiss watchmaking industry.        Stored in an attic in canton Neuchâtel for years, the collection of 1,000 original watches sold by Sotheby’s includes 380 prototypes, as well as technical drawings, dials, sketches and artwork. It belonged to Swiss designers Bernard Müller and Marlyse Schmid, who created Swatch’s iconic visual identity in the early 1980s.  The Schmid & Müller collection is hugely significant, according to Sotheby’s watches department manager Pedro Reiser.  “It’s very rare to have such an extensive collection,” he explained. “This completely unique and historic selection of timepieces, components, and designs maps out the creative process during the fascinating early years of Swatch.”  Independent watch designers Schmid and Müller were part of a small …
Source: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/culture/back-to-the-80s_historic-swatch-collection-goes-under-hammer/41767436?ns_mchannel=rss