This is actually my first Swatch. I was interested in getting something with a red dial and saw this one available on the grey market. The Flower Bay is actually a destination watch for Hong Kong.

Diameter: 41mm

Lug-to-lug: 47.1mm

Thickness: 10.3mm

Lug width is: 20mm

The watch has 30 meters of water resistance.

The red watch case is plastic, and feels reasonably sturdy. The dial is basic, with a red sunburst pattern, and baton markers for the hours and baton hands. I’ve repeatedly seen the hands described in listings as a silver tone but I think they come across more as a white. The hour markers match the hands, as does the Swatch branding near the 12 o’clock position. Beneath the 6 o’clock marker there is some copyright text but it is almost invisible due to being the same color as the dial. This watch has no lume, and the dial is protected by a plexiglass crystal.

The strap is silicone with white printing on it relating to the model which does appear easy to scratch and damage. The watch uses a pin-buckle system to secure the strap, with the pin-buckle being made of plastic.

The crown is not screw-down so in position zero it spins freely but does nothing. In position one nothing appears to happen and this seems to be a ghost date position for Swatch models that use the date complication. In position two the watch can be set, but the watch does not hack.

The watch features a closed caseback concealing a quartz movement. Information about the movement online is, as near as I could find, virtually non-existent. I wrote to Swatch asking them about the movement. They said it is the ETA caliber 273.001. I could not find data on that online so I asked for more details. The informed me Swatch limits the public specifications as it is a proprietary caliber but did provide me some details. The movement is an analog quartz design with no jewels, a battery life of around two to three years, and an accuracy of plus or minus 15 to 20 seconds per month. Since this is quartz I cannot give you a reading of my model via the timegrapher.

My overall thoughts:

The positives:

• Comfortable to wear

• If you like red, this watch is very red

• Inexpensive

The negatives:

• Plexiglass is easy to scratch

• The movement ticking is loud

• Printing on the strap is not robust

The first negative I noticed was how easy it is to damage the print on the strap because mine came with some damage. I kept the watch as I was issued a partial refund for the defect. Nothing in the shipping box made me think it was damaged in transport, but Swatch’s packaging for this model leaves the watch exposed so it could have happened at any time. The second negative that stood out was just how loud this watch movement is. I’ve heard about other inexpensive brands with loud movements. I think this has replaced my Spiro Agnew vintage watch (with a pin-lever escapement that is pretty loud given the metal parts being struck in that style of movement) as the loudest watch in my collection. Finally, the crystal. I knew it was plexiglass and I’ve had plexiglass before. But, I think this might be the softest I’ve owned. No notable impacts to the watch but I already see marks.

Still, one must remember just what price point we’re operating in. The plastic case is not refined but it is comfortable to wear and the quartz movement keeps this watch quite thin. I generally like silicone straps, and even as cheap as this one is it still wears nicely and I like how it feels. For under $100 you could do a lot worse. For a sometimes-style watch, and for me a red dial is a sometimes watch, I think this is a good way to play around with some styles you might not want to normally wear since the price of entry is low.