Swatch has set up two exclusive shops to sell its equally exclusive collections. July 2000 saw the birth of its boutique on the Place Vendome in Paris and two years later, it opened a shop on Milan's chic Via della Spiga.

The boutiques merge two different yet similar worlds into one.

Swatch, the brand that changed the way the world interprets the timepiece, is known for its creativity, high quality and fashion sense.

One of the core values of Swatch is fashion, so opening shops in these two exclusive locations reinforces the fashion message, says Siriwan Pongkijvorasin, brand manager of Swatch Thailand.

And because of the locations, the Vendome and Spiga boutiques also have a different way of selling the watches. They offer special designs and use slightly more luxurious materials to give users that extra sense of style. They are all limited editions, of course.

Don't visit the Swatch Spiga shop and expect to find a number from the current Swatch collection. But do allow yourself to be tempted by one of the timepieces produced for the store only.

Each model is produced in limited quantities ranging from 500 to 2,000 pieces and comes in special packaging. Some have been created for festive occasions such as Valentine's Day and Christmas.

Fancy being your own watch designer?

The Milan store has a "made-to-measure" corner where you can create your own watch to suit your mood of the moment, and it would only cost between ¤70 and ¤100 (Bt3,500 and Bt5,000).

Will fashion-savvy Thais have a chance to add any of these exclusive watches to their collection?

Siriwan says Swatch Thailand had the Vendome collection on sale at Siam Paragon during the first three months of the grand opening.

"It was successful for two reasons. First, the watches were exclusive and secondly, they were not too expensive. Most of them were only priced slightly higher than the standard collections," says Siriwan.

"We are considering having some watches from the two shops permanently on sale here.

"Right now, we are in discussions with the head office."

Jintana Panyaarvudh

The Nation

Milan, Italy