When you mention ‘Swatch‘ to someone, what comes to their mind would be a plastic watch with playful charms and creative design which doesn’t hold much value. On the other hand, when mentioned to the average watch enthusiast, the thought of an affordable Swiss made brand, known for its accurate ETA quartz movement, well designed models and swiss quality comes to their mind. All the things that could be used to describe the Swatch Firestorm.

I am but just an average watch collector with a modest collection of timepieces, so kindly please bear with me on this short review (my first one ever!). This Swatch Firestorm is the second swatch I own, both come from the Irony Diaphane line. It has a case diameter of 43mm, lug to lug of 50.4mm, a thickness of 12.4mm, and the lightweight aluminium inner casing matted to an outside clear plastic case, combined with a black leather strap wears comfortably on my 7 inch wrist.

I bought this as a daily beater for work, sometime in 2002 and for 18 years albeit the numerous battery changes, it’s still ticking like a champ without any loss of time at all. However, this was not the only reason that I got it. Apart from the affordable price back then, it was actually the design that got me sold. The Swatch Firestorm comes with a retrograde tachymeter bezel design, matched with a white printed dial, 3 white sub-dials which have an uncanny design cue from the Omega Speedmaster. Maybe it’s just me (my apologies to all the Speedy fans), but I guess some design cues from a brand within the same group is purely coincidental nor was it intended. The only downside I have experienced is the acrylic crystal, over time requires a polish, to maintain dial clarity. But then again, for the price, it’s worth it. I’m just glad it’s lasted this long with me. I just choose to look past that and continue to enjoy wearing it until the day it decides to stop ticking on me.