1997
• The gnomes (1) take Swatch The Club under wing, and the
grass is green on the Club watch, Garden Turf. Jerome
the Gnome becomes the Club mascot for 1997.

• February 2: Bay Swatch arrives at Sestriere (2), the posh ski
resort in Italy’s Piemonte region. Palm trees sprout from the
snow, adding a touch of summer to the ski trails. A classic
Swatch move. After all, Swatch means fun and an exciting
lifestyle - and it’s the official timekeeper of the FIS Alpine
Ski World Championship ’97.

• February 5: Nicolas G. Hayek provides access to the virtual
world - through the Swatch Access to Internet - for the 2000
participants at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

• March 21: All 1,600 watches in the Swatch Newseum collection
were stolen on the way to Nicosia,Cyprus. Despite the
involvement of lnterpol and the announcement of a finder’s
reward of 1 million Swiss francs, the priceless collection has
not been returned.

• April 17 and 22: The Guggenheim Museum (3) in New York,
followed by an exhibition in Venice, open its doors for Swatch
and Arnaldo Pomodoro, the designer of Rotor, the first Irony
Art Special.

• May 7: none of the stars attending the 50th international Film
Festival at Cannes can do without the Swatch Access
5th Element. The watch was a tribute to the film of the same
name by Luc Besson, and it also provided invited guests with
access to the gala dinner.

• May 31: Michael Johnson and Donovan Bailey compete in the
150 m event at the «One-to-one Challenge of Champions»
competition. Swatch clocks Donovan Bailey as the faster man,
earning him the title of «Fastest Man in the World»
and USD 1 million, as well.

• June: With Swatch Access Avaton (4) opening of the Museum
for Byzantine Culture in Thessaloniki, the Cultural Capital of
Europe for 1997.

• June - August: European beach volleyball championships with
stops in Vienna, Rhodes, and the finals in Riccione, under
the aegis of Swatch and O’Neill.

• July - September: The ultimate alternative for snowboarders
every where. Wakeboarding at the Wake Attacks with Swatch
and O’Neill in Germany and Switzerland.

• July 25 to August 31: The Sound of Swatch (5) is a whole
exhibition, adding an Access-controlled virtual orchestra to the
mix at the Salzburg Music Festival.

• August: In-Line Beton with Swatch at Königsee, Germany.

• The Swatch Summer Special Feathers (6) makes a splash on
the fashion scene: it’s impossible to overlook such extraordinary
plumage !

• September: The international hit group «Boyzone» (7) appears
in concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Admission with a special
Swatch Access only.

• September 7: The Fun Games of the Olympic Champions in
Lausanne celebrate the 25th anniversary of Swiss Timing.

• Swatch signs on as a partner of the «Sydney 2000 Team
Millennium Olympic Games.»

• Ora e Signora (8) : JuventusTurin turns 100, and Swatch
congratulates the club with an Access that opens the gates
at the great Signora of soccer’s events.

• The new Swatch jingle by Midge Urem is heard around
the world and hits the charts in Italy.

• September 19-20: Swatch takes part in «30 ore per la vita» (9)
a national television benefit in Italy to help children in need.

• Swatch TeIecom is forging ahead, combining cordless
technology and recording convenience, and bringing out a
new and colorful line of Twin Phones called Twin Twist.

• Swatch The Beep goes Midi.

• Candy Dulfer «composes» the melody for the latest Swatch
MusiCall.

• Swatch serves as official timekeeper of the FIS Alpine Ski
World Cup and of the FIS Snowboard World Cup 97/98.

• October 6: Swatch goes thin, launching the new Swatch SKIN.
It’s a hit: almost twenty years later, the very first studies for the
Swatch, called the «Delirium tremens,» result in the world’s
thinnest plastic watch.

• Am I naked ? Or am I not ? Star photographer Michel Comte’s
shots of Tyra Banks, Michelle Sehennah and Cuba put them
center stage for SKIN on billboard ads and in fashion magazines
worldwide.

• October 9: Urban High in Moscow. Over 100,000 visitors
attended this blockbuster snowboard event on Red Square,
presented by Swatch.

• October 13 and 28: Nicolas G. Hayek and Nick Hayek open
the SKIN Dimension exhibit (10) in Milan for the press and the
public. 120 exhibitors show just how tremendous miniatures can
be.

• October 24: the first European Megastore (11) is opened at
Covent Garden, London. In all, some 100 new Swatch stores
opened their doors in 1997 - all over the world.

• November 6-9 : the second Swatch World Boardercross Tour
begins in Sölden, Austria.

• 15 members of Swatch The Club give 15 correct answers to 15
ques tions - and become Swatch The Club Gold Members for
1998. Existing members advance to the «Pioneers» category.

• The Swatch Access is now also in use on the trails at «Dolomiti
Superski».

• December : the 1997 Christmas Special is called Season’s
Greetings , a wild and wonderful, colorful Christmas tree
decorated with 24 little ornaments.

• For the New Year : jump for Swatch in Vienna, the Swatch
Soul City (12) where the world’s largest snowboarding ramp
soars in the Prater and a gigantic Swatch counts down the
minutes to the New Year.