Swatch and Omega’s decision to join forces for the MoonSwatch has been one of the most successful collaborations in watch history. Millions of units have been shifted since its launch in 2022 while Omega report that sales of the actual Speedmaster the collab is based on had increased 50%.
As such, new MoonSwatch’s keep rolling out with the latest, the Mission to the Sun “Solar Eclipse”, being given a wonderfully eccentric release.
The watch was available yesterday and only yesterday. In Spain. And only Spain. The latest MoonSwatch could only be purchased through Swatch’s Spanish website or one of their stores in the cities as well as the Rolling Planet mobile boutique in León. If you were not in Spain or using a VPN to make it look like you were in Spain then you were not getting the Mission to the Sun “Solar Eclipse” at retail.
It would also have cost £280 and with the second hand market already selling them for twice that, it would have been a steal.
In terms of the watch, it took its inspiration from the solar eclipse witnessed by much of Europe yesterday with the best view of the celestial event happening, not coincidentally, in Spain.
A sizeable 42mm with a bright yellow Bioceramic case, the watch features a jet black pusher designed to resemble the effects of the eclipse, while the inner bezel is white with red lettering. The back of the watch also features a nod to the eclipse by showing the moonphase in which the event takes place on the battery cover.
With a simple, no-fuss velcro strap and a quartz movement that has powered most of the MoonSwatch models, this would fly off the shelves if it was widely available.
The release of the Mission to the Sun “Solar Eclipse” quickly follows the Mission to the Moon 1969 being made available in very limited numbers last month.
That edition of the MoonSwatch honours Apollo 11 landing on the moon and much like the Mission to the Sun, featured a very limited release window with the watch only available over 24 hours from July 21 to 22, the day the shuttle reached its destination.
As well as the unique release window, the Mission to the Moon features a dial, hands, crown, and pushers made out of 18k gold. Fascinatingly, the gold used for the watches comes from the 1960’s recycled from Omega spare parts deliberately sought out from the company’s archives. They have also used the price of the gold from more than 50 years ago to set the price of the watch, meaning you can bag yourself an 18k gold Omega for less than £500.
However, the biggest twist with that particular MoonSwatch was that you had to fill out a questionnaire to even have a chance of obtaining one. Every applicant faced 32 questions about the history of Omega so some swatting up may be needed. Everybody had exactly two hours and 15 minutes to complete the test and if you passed, you got a gold watch at the end of it.
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