Last fall, Hodinkee released a wristwatch that perfectly encapsulated the glory days of Swatch: the GENERATION 1986. The Swatch SISTEM51 HODINKEE SUMMER EDITION reimagines its design for a seasonal model with an aesthetic fit for the long and hot days. The crisp white Swatch is a departure from the monochromatic translucent colorways the Swatch SISTEM 51 is known for. The clean face of the dial is starkly contrasted by the black and blue of the hour markers and baton-style hands. The 42mm plastic case and silicone rubber strap harness the quintessential materials of a Swatch.
The Swatch SISTEM51 HODINKEE SUMMER EDITION does much more than revamp a mere design, it also reconfigures the internal mechanism of the watch to arrive at a power reserve of a whopping 90 hours. This is made possible by the incorporation of an anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring into the SISTEM 51’s automatic movement. A see-through caseback offers a view of that internal mechanism, which looks as ornate and methodologically designed as an expression of renaissance architecture — fitting, as it’s at the core of the rebirth of this watch for the summer season.