My opinion on the Swatch Skin watch: ideal for travelers

I may be a bit old school but I always liked to wear a watch. While we all have the time in our pocket with our smartphone, I still enjoy wearing one.

As a traveler, I even find it reassuring:

• If I need to check the time in a crappy bus station, it’s safer to look at my watch than to take out my €500 smartphone. Obviously, the argument does not hold if my watch is a Rolex.
• If a pick-pocket has stolen my wallet and I no longer have any means of payment, it can become a bargaining chip to at least return to my home, to the embassy, to a police station, ..

For the past three years, I have been wearing the same watch with pleasure: a Swatch Skin. Precisely the model SVUN101 Skinnight.

A solid, light and cheap watch

If I like watches, there’s no way I’m going to put a fortune in them. When traveling, there are too many risks of loss / breakage / theft. A Swatch Skin costs a hundred euros, which is a budget that won’t traumatize me if I lose my watch.

The Swatch skin has the particularity of being very thin (5.65 mm thick on the case) and light. It is completely forgotten when it is on the wrist. As I have a certain shoulder width, I easily hit a watch that is a bit too thick, so I really appreciate this finesse.

In three years, I have had the opportunity to carry my watch around in a little bit of all conditions: the very hot in the Sahara desert. The very cold in Iceland. The humidity of the Amazon and even a parachute jump in Montreal. It was in the sand, in the sea water, … I don’t know what is the average lifespan of a Swatch but for the moment, it’s taking the shock.

An international watch

Swatch is an international brand and this is very appreciable for a traveler.

The two-year warranty is valid worldwide and there should be few countries that do not have a store or authorized dealer.

I had the opportunity to experiment a bit with this network:

• I bought my watch in Austria
• In the United States, I was able to have the broken strap loop replaced for a handful of dollars. The Swatch employee was also able to polish the slightly scratched dial glass for free.
• In France, I had the battery of my watch changed

If my watch hasn’t had any major problems, it’s great to know that it can be easily repaired anywhere in the world.

A free battery change

For several years now, Swatchhas been offering free battery replacement for watches.

After 3 years of use, I took advantage of passing by chance in front of an official store to ask for a battery replacement (even if it still worked…). It took 5 minutes and didn’t actually cost me a cent.

It doesn’t cost Swatch much because with their volumes, a battery should cost them just a few cents. But the customer’s perception of service quality is excellent!

Conclusion

As you can see, I’m very happy with my Swatch Skin watch, which I wear every day.

If you’re a traveler and you appreciate a particular watch, I’ll take your recommendations!

Note: this post is NOT sponsored