Swatch Launches Winter Games Range

Not everyone can be an Olympic athlete and while, with only a month to go, participants are gearing up for the opening of the 20th Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy, Swatch has launched a new Olympic Winter Games collection to allow the rest of us to feel a part of the experience.

The collection is designed to appeal to skiers and snowboarders. The design of the Annelli e Stelle, part of the Skin collection, is inspired by the Turin 2006 emblem, and coupled with a ring design that echoes the Olympic rings. The polished steel bracelet watch retails for around $90.

Swatch also sells the Swatch Access/Snowpass watch, a timepiece that can be used at certain ski resorts in place of a day, week or season ticket chip card to gain entry to the slopes. Simply load the watch at the cash point, point your arm at the reader to check your authorization and the door or turnstile will automatically open.

The Snowpass watches are recognized at more than 450 ski resorts world-wide.

The Olympic Winter Games collection is not Swatch's first foray into the sports arena. The company was the Official Timekeeper of the 1996 Atlanta Games, the Sydney 2000 games and the Athens 2004 Games.