DEEP INSIDE THE CREATIVE SYSTEM OF SWATCH

In February, WatchTime got to see Swatch's ultra-modern Sistem51 production in Boncourt and talk with the brand's CEO about the power of ideas, collaborations, and sustainability, shortly before the launch of the Omega x Swatch ‘Mission to the Moonphase' MoonSwatch in March 2024

- Roger Ruegger

Sistem51 was introduced for Swatch’s 30th anniversary in 2013. The revolutionary self-winding mechanical movement is made from only 51 components (grouped in five modules), welded together to form a single assembly centred on a single screw, making it the first and only mechanical movement whose assembly is 100-per cent automated. While it can be wound manually (it takes about 80 rotations of the crown to fully wind the mainspring), there is no hacking second. In addition, the hightech escapement used for the Sistem51 doesn’t come with a regulator; the rate is already tested and set at the factory in Boncourt with a laser, making the manual rate adjustments normally required by a mechanical watch unnecessary. In addition, the automatic movement features a 90-hour power reserve and is currently available with a central second hand or a seconds hand at 6 o’clock.