Many decades before the incredibly popular Black Panther character appeared on the now infamous limited edition Audemars Piguet watch dials, Swatch were already masters in watch and pop culture collaborations. The subject of this review is the Swatch x Kid Robot Gary Baseman edition from 2011. It came in a blank ‘Hits and Hots’ box – a Swatch lucky dip of past hits, marketing code for ‘NOS (new old stock) written off long ago in a warehouse stocktake’. The dial and strap both feature artwork from Gary Baseman, a Californian artist, cartoonist, and animator who investigates history, heritage, and the human condition. The watch is almost entirely black in design save for the motif of Midnight Magi on the dial, which is one of Baseman’s most recognisable characters.

The basic Swatch x Kid Robot Gary Baseman recipe is a black plastic resin 33mm sized watch case,  Swiss quartz movement, domed plastic crystal, and silicone strap. The only thing that sets this watch apart from the rest is the design and colour scheme. Although the Swatch x Kid Robot Gary Baseman is striking and sleek, it poses some obvious challenges for telling the time.

To someone accustomed to wearing stainless steel dive watches you can forget just how light and wearable a classic Swatch is when on your wrist. Please do remember that this is not a luxury watch however, it feels and looks disposable, ticks loudly, and quickly shows signs of wear. It is a fun wearer like so many of Swatch’s bizarre design watches but asw with most of their releases it is ultimately destined for landfill.