GENEVA.- Today at Sotheby’s in Geneva, the Schmid & Muller Collection of more than 4000 pieces relating to the artistic development of Swatch, sold for CHF 1.3m / USD 1.3m. Created and assembled in the 1980s by Marlyse Schmid and Bernard Muller (the two designers who played a critical role in the artistic development of the celebrated Swiss brand), the collection includes close to 1000 watches and nearly 380 exceptionally rare prototypes. Together they provide a fascinating and never-before-seen window into the very first years of the brand: a period which would see tireless innovation and creativity transform the ailing Swiss watch industry.

Marlyse Schmid and Bernard Muller were at the creative heart of a secret Swatch development team assembled in October 1981. The duo would be the creative designers of the very earliest Swatch models, developing the watch’s iconic design.

In the early 1980s, Switzerland’s centuries-old traditional approach seemed doomed to disappear in the face of competition from cheap, mass-produced quartz watches. Against this challenging backdrop, a small team of visionaries, working in secret, developed a bold and innovative watch, which would go on to re-popularize non-digital watches thanks to its creative new style and ground-breaking technology. The result of their work was a youthful watch which combined the highest Swiss quality with a new, trail-blazing attitude: Swatch.

Few in the world of design would question Swatch’s place as a point of reference. Alongside the technical mastery of the engineers – who were able to vastly reduce the number of components – Marlyse Schmid & Bernard Muller created a visual identity for the watch which was just as revolutionary. Here was a watch which constantly evolved: brightly coloured or in classic shades, sporty or sober, it complemented its wearer’s outfits, activities and moods. Before long, Swatch became one of the best-selling watch brands in the world.

This unique and never-before-seen collection includes close to 1000 watches which were all created in the early years of Swatch. Among them are nearly 380 prototypes, an exceptional selection of technical drawings, sketches and diagrams, not to mention hundreds of cases and dials. A large number of the pieces in the collection date back to the extraordinary period before Swatch watches were commercially available, and are therefore extremely rare.