Looking around for a neat investment? Skip art and real estate, but give a nod to mutual funds and, if you`ve got a few bucks left, think Swatch. Sure, Swatch-as in watches.
A Keith Haring Swatch went for $5,555 at auction, a Picasso design was sold for $34,340 at a charity event; originally, each cost $50.
Now Swatch is bringing out a limited edition set of four watches celebrating Switzerland`s 700th anniversary. There`ll only be 5,000 sets (at $160 a set) at 100 U.S. stores, and 9,999 sets worldwide.
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”Any watch designed by a famous artist is most likely to increase in value,” says Missy Farren of Swatch. That`s why the 700th anniversary set could fetch as much as $9,000 or $10,000 down the road, predicts Howard Kaplan, of Henry Kay Jewelers.
The anniversary watches were designed by four artists from Europe and New York; one says he wants people to find his design (cows) ”irritating”;
another describes his design as similar to a sundial, because it doesn`t show exact time, instead conveys ”the feeling of time passing rather than accuracy.” The other two designs? See them for yourself. The watches arrive today at Henry Kay in Water Tower Place and 547 N. Michigan Ave.