Last week Swatch unveiled the latest instalment of their Museum Journey series with Centre Pompidou. Launched in 1985, the series has afforded the Swiss watch brand access to the archives of some of the world’s largest art collections having previously collaborated with the likes of Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Musée du Louvre and MoMA to bring art to the masses. As a museum at the epicentre of 20th Century art and a brand that has continually pioneered the importance of championing creativity, Swatch’s latest Pompudou team-up makes perfect sense.

The collaborative partnership between Swatch and Centre Pompidou has been in the works since 1999 when Italian architect Renzo Piano constructed the translucent Jelly Piano watch, mirroring the trademark inside-out concept of Pompidou’s exterior. Relaunched in 2021 due to popular demand, the move reignited conversation between Swatch and the Pompudou.

Taking six emblematic artworks from the gallery’s collection, Swatch have refashioned the pieces into a vibrant series of watches that offer wearable timepiece iterations of iconic artworks from Frida Kahlo, Vassily Kandinsky, Robert Delaunay, Piet Mondrian and Amedeo Modigliani, all artfully chosen to piece together this capsule collection.

Each strikingly reminiscent of its corresponding artwork, the Fuschia florals of Kahlo’s 1938 self-portrait The Frame snake up the watch strap while intriguing characters from Kandinsky’s Blue Sky take the form of arms ticking around the clock face. Mondrian’s Red, Blue and White creates a De Stijl framework, Delaunay’s Carousel depicts movement through colour while his Eiffel Tower painting reminds us exactly where these pieces came from. Completing the lineup is Modigliani’s Portrait of Dédie that celebrates the Italian artist’s fascination with the French capital in the early 20th century.

This collection is an ode to Paris and its storied art history – out of the galleries, onto the streets.

The Swatch x Centre Pompidou collection is available to shop now on swatch.com.