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Swatch Yuri 1992 Collectable Illustrated Watch- GG118 - Z4305
Ref. GG118
Sits in Swatch’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Swatch watches we list, which start at £70.
Price range £70 to £170 across 12 Swatch watches in stock.Released in 1992 as part of the Swatch Originals Gent line, this is a collaboration with Italian comic artist Igor Tuveri — known professionally as Igort — commissioned to mark Yuri Gagarin's place in history. The dial is Tuveri's work in miniature: a neon-coloured, hand-illustrated space scene with no hour markers, the hands themselves picked out in bright colour against the comic-book composition. The translucent green resin case and printed multicolour strap are part of the same piece of graphic design, not afterthoughts. Thirty years in storage has left this one unaffected in the way that matters — the mechanism runs — but the polymer strap carries the usual risk of brittleness that comes with that age, and it is honest to say this sits more naturally behind glass than on a wrist. What it represents is a moment when Swatch treated the dial as a canvas and handed it to a serious illustrator, and the result has held up rather better than most of what surrounded it at the time.
- Reference
- GG118
- Brand
- Swatch
- Case size
- 34mm
- Case material
- Resin
- Case shape
- Round
- Crystal
- Acrylic
- Movement
- Quartz
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Condition
- Vintage
- Retailer
- F.Hinds
Additional specifications
- Origin
- Swiss made
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 4 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (3,714), Watches Under 37mm (1,363), Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (318) and Limited Edition Watches (187).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
Strengths
- 34mm wears small and slips under any cuff
- One of Swatch's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 30m means keeping it away from water
- Acrylic crystal marks easily, though it polishes out
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
No. At 30m it will survive rain and handwashing, but not submersion of any kind.
Water resistance explainedWill 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 comparedIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as unisex, and at this size it suits any wrist that takes the dimensions.
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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