Kiki Picasso
Model history
The road to the "Kiki Picasso" was opened a year earlier: in 1984 Swatch organised the first Swatch World Breakdance Championship in New York, and a young street artist, Keith Haring, was brought in to create the event's poster; he also served as a judge in the competition. It was the first sign of the brand's intention to link its image not only to fashion and sport, but also to contemporary art.
In 1985 this intuition became a true collection: French artist Kiki Picasso signed the first Swatch watch conceived entirely as a work of art, produced in a limited edition of 140 pieces (reference GZ008) and met with immediate success among collectors and enthusiasts. It was the first official collaboration between Swatch and an artist, and it laid the foundations for the format the brand would repeat in the decades that followed: entrusting case, dial and strap to the creativity of a single artist.
The following year, in 1986, Keith Haring himself signed his own line, "Modele avec Personnages", along with variants such as Serpent, Mille Pattes and Blanc sur Noir: his stylised figures and primary colours became some of the most sought-after Swatches ever among collectors. The format continues to this day under the name "Swatch Art Journey", culminating in 2023 with a capsule dedicated to Jean-Michel Basquiat, reproducing three of the artist's works — "Hollywood Africans", "Ishtar" and "(Untitled)" — on dial, case and strap, accompanied by a campaign that combines Basquiat's legacy with skate and BMX culture.
Technical specifications
Main versions
The bond between Keith Haring and Swatch began as a personal relationship before it became a product: in 1984 the artist designed the poster for the first Swatch World Breakdance Championship and sat on the competition's jury, two years before signing his own watch collection.