Magic Spell.

This is the Christmas 1995 special. In days long gone, when our forefathers still had time to do more than glance at their pocket watches to find out how late it was, a number of particularly inventive watchmakers came up with tiny masterpieces: watches fitted with covers that could be opened to reveal ornametal scenes, sometimes containing moving figures. With MAGIC SPELL, Swatch has taken up an old tradItion and reinterpreted it in the form of a mysterious Christmas fairy tale. MAGIC SPELL is the very first Swatch to feature a cover, a glass dome containing a tiny, snow-covered cottage in a winter landscape. It is only when we open up the cover that we discover the dial. And this is where Swatch literally stands an old watchmaking tradition on its head. Because in the so-called "montres d'amour" (love watches) of the 18th and 19th centuries, explicitly erotic scenes were normally concealed beneath the cover. The fact that they were hidden from view, incidentally, did not prevent one particularly zealous clergyman from eventually getting these wonderful mechanical masterpieces banned in Switzerland. The cottage itself has a particular significance in the story. An elf by the name O'Pimperell has cast a spell on it. Two small children, Buckelina and Little-Loop are imprisoned inside, while their parents - Glasso and Diala - seek out the assistance of the Wizard of Time in their efforts to break the spell. The Christmas tale itself can be found in the attractivebook which serves as the packaging for the MAGIC SPELL and plays "Jingle Bells" when opened. The MAGIC SPELL Christmas Special went on sale worldwide on Thursday 14th December as a limited edition of 29,876 pieces. Yes, 29,876. And if you're wondering how Swatch arrived at that number, rumour has it that this is exactly the number of snow flakes (technically known as "flitter") that fall from the sky and cover the landscape inside the dome when it is shaken up. If you have a Magic Spell I can only hope you didn't have to stand in a cold street in London for six hours to get it like I did.

Thanks go to Tracey Waldron for the pictures and cyberbid in Hong Kong for some of the text.