Swatch the World

In September 1992, Jarre travelled to the Swiss mountain village of Zermatt for Swatch the World, two nights of concerts on 25 and 26 September held to celebrate the sale of 100 million Swatches.

The collaboration went beyond the stage. Swatch had asked Jarre to design a special watch, the Swatch Musicall, with an alarm melody of his own composition, and that short tune became the seed of the evening's premiere, "Une alarme qui swingue," an early version of what would become Chronologie IV and V.

The event was unusual in Jarre's career. It was the first of his laser and light shows performed without musicians. Instead, Jarre selected and remixed the music himself and directed the light and sound during the show, with the Alpine landscape serving as a natural backdrop. Swatch's CEO attended alongside the company's employees.