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Swatch Harajuka 1989 Collectable Black Strap Watch- GB124 - Z4337
Ref. GB124
Sits in Swatch’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Swatch watches we list, which start at £60.
Price range £60 to £170 across 20 Swatch watches in stock.Named for the Tokyo district that was already exporting street fashion to the world by the late 1980s, this is a piece of early Swatch pop-culture design frozen at its moment of release. The GB124 came out in 1989 when the brand was at its most playful, and the Harajuku name was a deliberate nod to the same creative energy driving the dial graphics — bold, flat, unapologetically of its time. At 34mm in lightweight resin and sitting under 9mm against the wrist, it disappears in the way that only small plastic watches from this period can, which is partly why collectors keep returning to them. The all-black palette and patterned strap read as a coordinated graphic object rather than an assemblage of components. What matters most to a collector is that this example has not been worn. Three and a half decades of storage means the strap will be fragile — that is the reality of silicone from this era — but the watch head itself, the dial graphics and the original box and paperwork are what you are preserving. These rarely surface unused, and this one has.
- Reference
- GB124
- Brand
- Swatch
- Collection
- Unknown
- Case size
- 34mm
- Case thickness
- 8.75mm
- Lug width
- 17mm
- Case material
- Resin
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Acrylic
- Movement
- Quartz
- Bracelet / strap
- Silicone strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Vintage
- Retailer
- F.Hinds
Learn more about Swatch
Swatch was the Swiss industry's answer to its own near-death. By the early 1980s Japanese quartz had reduced Swiss watch exports catastrophically and employment had collapsed. Nicolas Hayek, brought in as a consultant to advise on liquidating the ASUAG and SSIH conglomerates, recommended the opposite: merge them and attack the low end.
The engineering that made it possible was radical. Ernst Thomke, Elmar Mock, and Jacques Müller designed a watch with fifty-one components instead of the usual ninety-odd, with the movement assembled directly into the injection-moulded case so the watch could not be opened or repaired. It could be made in Switzerland, by robots, for less than the Asian competition.
The first Swatches went on sale in 1983. They were cheap, plastic, colourful, and — critically — sold as fashion rather than as timekeeping. Buyers owned several. Artists including Keith Haring, Kiki Picasso, and later Vivienne Westwood designed editions, and some early models now trade for thousands.
Swatch sold over a hundred million watches within its first decade and financed the rescue of the entire Swiss industry. The Swatch Group that resulted owns Breguet, Blancpain, Omega, Longines, Tissot, Hamilton, and Glashütte Original, and remains the largest watch company in the world.
The MoonSwatch collaboration with Omega in 2022 caused queues around the world.
- 1983
- The first Swatch launches with a 51-component movement.
- 1985
- Keith Haring designs the first artist editions.
- 1992
- Cumulative sales pass 100 million watches.
- 2022
- The MoonSwatch collaboration with Omega sells out globally.
Also in 5 collections
This watch appears in the Swatch Unknown range (5), Back in Stock (3,734), Watches Under 37mm (1,369), Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (333) and All Black Watches (235).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
Strengths
- 34mm wears small and slips under any cuff
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Swatch's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- Acrylic crystal marks easily, though it polishes out
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Will the glass scratch?
Yes, but it polishes out. Acrylic marks easily and a scratch can be buffed away at home, which is why vintage-style watches still use it.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
Yes. It is quartz, so expect a battery change every two to three years at a jeweller.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedWhat size strap does it take?
17mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Cheapest place to buy
F.Hinds is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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