Live Life On Your Terms With Swatch’s New No Rules Collection

Some days, you just feel like not adhering to the rules, right? I have to say, I’m quite a goody-goody, and I don’t break the rules that often. When I do, though, it feels kind of good and gives me a kick. The best example is when I run a red light on my bicycle while cruising around Amsterdam. On my bike, I almost feel like I’m playing a video game, avoiding cars, pedestrians, and roadwork. Swatch just launched its new No Rules collection, and it’s perfect for those days when you feel like living life on your terms.

Last week, we received an invitation to London for the launch of the new Swatch No Rules collection. The event took place at the boutique hotel Chateau Denmark on Denmark Street. Located in London’s West End, this is a short street known as “London’s Street of Sound.” It’s renowned for its long association with British music history and is a popular destination for musicians and music enthusiasts. Denmark Street is lined with music shops, particularly guitar stores, and it was once a hub for music publishers, studios, and managers. Swatch presented its new No Rules collection in one of the hotel’s trashed suites, where the Sex Pistols used to stay. Let’s take a look at the watches.

Swatch’s No Rules campaign ambassadors are the Nova Twins, an English rock duo, who posed for some pictures in the trashed hotel suite.

The Swatch No Rules collection

The cool thing about Swatch’s new No Rules collection is that it consists of five very different-looking watches. Each of them has a unique colorway but still fits the general theme very well. Of course, black is the predominant shade, but there are also bright colors, such as pink, yellow, green, and (believe it or not) baby blue.

I’ll start with the somewhat more conventional round models, which each have a 41mm case size. The Distort Mode (ref. SO32B121) pairs a matte black case with a similarly styled rubber strap. That strap features bright pink and yellow pop-art graphics. The dial says “Interdiction not allowed” in the same style and color combination. Another cool detail is the handset, which contains a yellow spade-style hour hand and a skeletonized minute hand. The Distort Mode costs €110 / US$110 / £96.

The next model is the Blank Check (ref. SO32B122-5300), which has torn-paper graphics on its black strap and the text “Time is not money” on the dial inside the matte black 41mm case. The hour hand is shaped like a yellow lightning bolt, and the seconds hand is bright pink. Somewhat ironically, considering the text on the dial, the watch features SwatchPAY! technology, which allows you to pay wirelessly. The Swatch Blank Check costs €110 / US$110 / £96.

The rebels of the crowd

Then, we get to the three outliers, although any of the watches within the Swatch No Rules collection could start a riot at any given moment.

First up is the Pierced Edge (ref. SO34B100). The artwork on the black case and strap is similar to that of the two previous models. However, this watch features a square case instead of a round one. The sentence that goes from the long part of the strap, through the dial, and then onto the short part of the strap reads “Rules do not apply” — well, actually, “Rules not do apply,” but I guess that grammatical rebelliousness suits the spirit of the watch. The Pierced Edge costs €110 / US$110 / £96.

The next model is the Broken Rules (ref. SO31L101). This watch might have a smaller 34mm case, but it has a major presence thanks to its baby-blue case, gold-tone crown, and matching studs on both parts of the strap. It also features the same (intended) sentence as on the previous version, but now it’s printed all over the dial. This Broken Rules model costs €90 / US$85 / £77.

Finally, on the other end of the size spectrum, we have the Lash Out (ref. SB03B701). It combines a 47mm black case with a white rubber strap, white details, and green and pink accents. The sentence on the dial is open to interpretation, as the date window provides you with different options. At least once every month, it reads “Do whatever the hell you want.” It lets you be creative for the rest of the month. The Swatch Lash Out costs €145 / US$140 / £125.

What rule are you going to break today?

The day after the launch event, I had a quick stroll around London and saw that the new No Rules collection was already available in the local Swatch boutiques. Next time I’m in one, I might pick up the Broken Rules model. It may be the smallest of the bunch and have an amiable-looking baby-blue case, but deep inside, it might be just as big a rulebreaker as I am on my bike.

So, what rule are you going to break today, and which of the new Swatch models is your favorite? Let me know in the comments below.