Swatch Promenade

Watch Review, Swatch YGS4000 PROMENADE

Look at what I picked up at my favorite antique store.  I usually don’t go for quartz watches, but this one just spoke to me.  It is a Swatch YGS4000 PROMENADE, originally released for the Fall/Winter collection in 1995.

As you can see, it is a very unique looking watch.  The hour markers are all different fonts, colors, and randomly alternate between Arabic and Roman numerals.  The dial is a brushed silver motif, and I am sucker for silver dialed watches.  The hour and and minute hands are simple, black, sticks.  The second hand is a bold red. The bezel is a polished with Swatch repeating 4 times, with dots at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock.  The crown is tipped with a red, plastic cap, which matches the second hand and markers on the dial. The only complication is the date function.  I like the humorous day of the week indicator, Today.

The case is aluminum and very light weight.  I really like how easy it is to change the battery.  All you need is a coin to pop open the battery hatch.  The case is also a single piece construction, with the movement loading from the front of the dial.  A lot less leak paths and gaskets.  I believe all Swatch watches are 50m or better water resistance.  The case is bead blasted, except for the bezel, which is polished.

The band is a genuine Swatch leather, original, with lizard grain.  The buckle is also aluminum and signed with Swatch.  It is very pliable and comfortable to wear.

Overall, it is a very practical, stylish, and comfortable watch.  You barely notice it on your wrist, especially after some of the heavy automatics that I usually wear.  It is my first and only Swatch, but now I understand why they were and still are fairly popular.  The design is very unique and the build quality is very good, with an ETA quartz movement inside.  My only complaint is that the second hand is pretty far off the second markers.  It is a minor quibble, but I would of expected better.  My Seiko from 1990 hits the marks every time, but not this Swiss made quartz from 1995.  I am very happy with my purchase, and I am sure it will be worn just about every time I exercise, due to the super light weight.

Features:
Case: 36mm diameter, 10mm thick(with crystal), aluminum, 50m water resistance.
Back: monocoque case, solid, with quick battery change.
Crystal: Acrylic, lightly domed.
Movement: Quartz, ETA
Complications: Date
Other:  None.

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