Swatch Piú Nero SUOB157: The Poor Man’s Ressence?
By: Michael Penate
As we prepare ourselves for what the watch world brings in 2019, I thought it would be a good opportunity to start taking a look at affordable alternatives to brands that are sure to release new watches at SIHH 2019. One of those brands is Ressence, an Antwerp-based manufacturer of high-end watches with unconventional dial layouts. After casually browsing Swatch’s “New Releases” section on their site today, the Swatch Piú Nero SUOB157 jumped out at me immediately as the kind of watch that satisfies several of the Ressence-like design traits without pulverizing your wallet. We don’t know much about it yet (it’s marked for spring/summer 2019 release), or exactly how the dial display works, but this certainly looks like a cool replacement for my aging gen. 1 Swatch Sistem 51.
A quick look reveals a blacked-out case and strap design together with a funky, layered dial featuring highlighter yellow accents. It looks busy at first but what we have here is an internal hour track with the minute’s scale surrounding it – almost like what you’d find on a Type-B Flieger watch. There’s a basic plastic crystal and it seems to me that the “hands” are part of a transparent floating layer with color-coordinated arrows corresponding to their appropriate scales (hours and minutes). I could be wrong, but it’s difficult to tell with just the renders. However, this seems to be the case in the image below.
Whatever it is, I think the Swatch Piú Nero SUOB157 offers a cool three-dimensional design that isn’t totally common in the sub-$100 Swatch products. It’ll probably make for a fun, casual watch that doesn’t take itself too seriously while adding a bit of diversity in a collection full of chronographs and dive watches. The case shape is on par with what you’d see in most Swatch watches and the strap looks pretty comfy thanks to the textured underside. Swatch also specifies that the watch is powered by a basic quartz movement.
Swatch Piú Nero SUOB157 Specs
- Case Diameter: 41mm
- Lug-to-Lug: 47.4mm
- Thickness: 9.85mm
- Water Resistance: 3 Bar
- Movement: Quartz
- Crystal: Plastic
- Strap: Black silicone
- Price: $75
I’ll be keeping a closer eye on Swatch in 2019. Their recent releases have been fun, easy to access, and diverse in terms of color and style. With the Sistem collection becoming so bloated over time, I think it’ll be fun to keep a look out for more of these under-the-radar sub-$100 releases. The Swatch Piú Nero SUOB157 is marked for a spring/summer 2019 release and retails for $75.
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.