It has seemingly kickstarted a surge of successful streetwear and watchmaker collaborations from the slick monochrome aesthetic of Japanese streetwear brand Fragment being worked into the equally slick Tag Heuer Carrera, to US watchmaker Timex linking up with Carhartt WIP. Elsewhere, we’ve seen Hublot work with renowned street artist Shepard Fairey and G-Shock embracing the drop model with a never-ending list of collabs from the likes of LA streetwear brand X-Large.

What’s the key to nailing these alliances then? “I believe that meaningful collaborations can only happen when brands are sharing values and when each can benefit from the other’s uniqueness,” says Carlo Giordanetti, creative director at Swatch, which has just launched a collaborative series of timepieces with cult Japanese streetwear brand A Bathing Ape.

“In partnering with BAPE we loved their heritage, we loved the idea to bring together Swiss made and Japanese signature style and we were attracted by BAPE’s ability to transform camouflage into a real signature street classic.

“Watches with this strong story to tell are personality and style enhancers. Streetwear today is a powerful expression of freedom and individuality and for customers who like to make statements a collaboration of such kind is the perfect reason to add a watch to their wardrobe of statement pieces.”

Collaborations have long been a mainstay of streetwear. The general yardstick, Supreme, has been able to work with high fashion (Gucci, Louis Vuitton) just as easily as it lends its street cred to mainstream behemoths like The North Face and Levi’s. Perhaps the two most peculiar collaborations in the history of Supreme though are the ones that readily indicate the benefits of teaming heritage watch brands with their counterparts in streetwear – John Smedley and Brooks Brothers.