Three More Potential Watch Collabs That Just Make Sense (To Me)

This is a follow-up to my previous article on the subject, where I covered three LVMH watch brands and highlighted potential collaborations that I thought were kind of cool to conceptualise.

Of course, I couldn’t stop at just three, so here are three more collabs that just make sense to me.

What watch collabs would make sense to you? Let me know :)

Swatch x McDonald’s

This was my girlfriend’s suggestion, and now that I think about it, this collaboration would be, as myself and the rest of the young’uns say, 'straight heat'.

For a company as esoteric and with as much creative freedom as Swatch, this couldn’t be more doable even if I tried. Swatch’s involvement in the collab game is storied and epic, with collaborations ranging from the MoMA to Simpsons to even other brands within the Swatch Group, with the MoonSwatch and SistemFiftyFathoms having astronomical successes in the affordable range.

As for McDonald’s, I would think them to be the Swatch of their industry, as no other fast-food chain is as ubiquitous as them. They also share a common reputation, too – cheap, affordable items meant to cater to the masses in a fast but recognisable fashion.

I would think they could follow in the footsteps of Crocs’ latest team-up with the Golden Arches, creating different coloured watches for the various mascots of McDonald’s – Grimace, Birdie, the Hamburglar, and topping it off with Ronald himself as well as some logotypes.

And yes, you can argue that this will make the Swatch brand look incredibly cheap, but let’s face it – Swatches are cheap anyway. At least compared to 99.9% of the horological world, that is. I would ignore the haters and keep on keeping on whilst rocking my striped Hamburglar piece.

Studio Underd0g x Don Quijote

I will admit, this came to me in a dream. I have no idea why I thought of this.

For those not familiar with Don Quijote, it is not to be confused with the giant Miguel Cervantes book. It’s a multinational discount store chain based in Japan, selling a wide range of items ranging from clothing to groceries and electronics. So why should @Studio.Underd0g's GPHG-nominated brand team up with a Japanese grocery store?

Again, I don’t know. But I just know there’s a certain quirky quality that both Don Quijote and Studio Underd0g share! SU has established their reputation as a disruptive brand by bringing colour and fun back into the world of ‘no-nonsense’ watchmaking, showing that you can still get extremely solid build quality and gorgeous design without having to be so self-serious. To see them collaborate with a brand as quirky as they would be a fun matchup indeed.

In visualising the design, I’d imagine that Richard would create two pieces in the colourways of Don Quijote’s store mascots, the adorable DonPen and DonKo. I can already see it now – The Studio Underd0g “D0nPen” sporting the contrasting red/yellow/blue, whilst the “Donk0” comes in pastel pink and white with yellow accents. The true finishing touch, however, would be to put the Don Quijote star into the Studio Underd0g ‘0.’

Formex/Farer x WatchCrunch

Okay, you got me – maybe this is cheating since this is a twofer, but how could I not include both brands? Despite the honour of the first WatchCrunch collaborators resting with @TimeToDesign and Jack Mason, who says that other collab would hurt anybody?

Formex and Farer are two brands that are simply adored by us Crunchers – It’s a fact, thanks in no small part to @AllTheWatches!

In two separate yet equally gruelling tournaments, both Formex and Farer stand triumphant amidst a slew of other brilliant microbrands. Thus, as champions and now Hall-of-Famers, it would only be fitting to celebrate such a victory with the audience that had all but assured it for them both in the first place.

I mean, Formex even acknowledged our sacred tournament in an official media post! If that isn’t the exemplification of brand recognition, I don’t know what is.

Design-wise, it would be hard to go above the standard that Jack Mason has already set, but it would not be impossible. Black and teal is a very hard colour combo to beat, though I’m sure that @Max would have a better idea to go about this than I do. Perhaps a teal chapter ring? Or in a teal dial in a black DLC case? It would be something to think about. However, a case-back commemorating each brand’s historic win seems like the only major non-negotiable.

Again, let me know what YOU think would be an amazing fantasy watch collab?