Swatch came out of nowhere on March 7th with a new edition of the Swatch X Omega MoonSwatch in Moonshine gold. This limited edition was available in only four cities around the globe, with the long waiting lines in front of Swatch stores to match. But despite all the hype (reminiscent of last year), I’ve got to admit I was hoping for a little more. Was that all the MoonSwatch has to offer for 2023? Or could it be that the Mission to Moonshine Gold is a harbinger of a completely new MoonSwatch collection?
The Meteoric MoonSwatch Success
Let’s kick things off with a look back at 2022. That’s when the Swatch X Omega MoonSwatch pulled something off that was hitherto unknown in the luxury watch world: making watches more accessible to a larger audience. Folks who had previously never had anything to do with watches could suddenly be spotted in the long lines outside Swatch stores, waiting to get their hands on one of the coveted Bioceramic Speedys. The MoonSwatch was something refreshingly different from yet another Genta 70s-style rehash. Its coolness, and selection of bright colors, conquered the hearts of just about everyone, in spite of the remaining few watch enthusiasts who still turned their nose up at the MoonSwatch. Even a year after its release, the MoonSwatch is still the talk of the watch town. To be sure, things had settled down a bit prior to the release of the Bioceramic Moonshine gold edition on March 7th of this year. But the hype continues. The release of the MoonSwatch “Mission to Moonshine Gold” makes it difficult to imagine that Swatch and Omega don’t have something more up their sleeve, most notably in light of the smash success of these watches. Wouldn’t you agree? Now that the MoonSwatch has scoured the reaches of our Solar System, just what would a new 2023 MoonSwatch collection look like?
Swatch X Omega MoonSwatch “Mission To Moonshine Gold” – Only for hardcore collectors?
Before we gaze into our crystal ball together, let’s first have a brief chat about the new Swatch X Omega MoonSwatch “Mission to Moonshine Gold.” I’m a big MoonSwatch fan, and even I will admit that I was expecting a tad more. This edition took the already-existing “Mission to the Moon” model and put a gold chronograph seconds hand on it. That’s all. Yet, it appears this was enough for plenty of MoonSwatch fans, as evidenced by the long lines in front of the four Swatch stores selling this timepiece. Now, if Swatch had gone with a black instead of gray case, or at least done the numbers on the tachymeter in gold, I probably would have been sold on it. As it is, I perfectly understand the moans of many fans who expected more. In any case, with the 12 MoonSwatches now available, fans will want to know: Are there more iterations on the way? If you ask me, hopefully yes! The MoonSwatch hype is still at its peak: maybe “Mission to Moonshine Gold” was released to keep it rolling. So I’m going out on a limb and telling you today: there’s more to come. But just what, exactly?
From Solar System to Secret Agent?
As colorful and jazzy as the Swatch X Omega MoonSwatch is, I just don’t think that the collection will continue with another planetary system. Even that might be a stretch for the sassy MoonSwatch. A Seamaster variety is, however, something I can very much imagine, particularly in light of how Daniel Craig was recently spotted in a suit and tie at an awards event with a MoonSwatch on his wrist. Was that perhaps a watch wink of sorts on the part of Swatch? Or was the Swiss watchmaker simply keeping the MoonSwatch hype at its customary fever pitch? Only Swatch, of course, can answer that question, even though a Swatch with a Seamaster design is more than imaginable. Perhaps it would be available in different cases, and with a variety of dials paying tribute to the different Bond characters and villains? I mean, the Omega/007 partnership has more than enough to offer here, and I can easily picture at least ten different versions. Sound a bit crazy? Well, let’s not forget that we are talking about the MoonSwatch successor. Anything is possible, and Swatch and Omega could view this opportunity as an important step towards something that tops even the MoonSwatch. The British secret agent is, after all, even more iconic than Omega. Do you think a Seamaster-inspired watch is the next big thing in the Swatch cards? Or has my imagination simply run too far away with it this time?
Still Plenty to Do Here In Our Solar System
I’ll confess: I was never the biggest Bond fan. That’s why I’d like to stick with watches paying tribute to outer space. After all, the Speedmaster is too much of a horological behemoth for a one-and-done Swatch tribute, wouldn’t you say? There are so many historical space exploration moments the legendary Speedmaster was a part of. How about a collection honoring them? Something like a “First MoonSwatch in Space” would tickle more than a few watch enthusiasts’ fancies. A MoonSwatch commemorating the first American spacewalk by Ed White would most likely sell out in no time. And if you thought the lines outside Swatch stores were long in 2022, what do you think they would look like with watch fans licking their chops in anticipation of getting their hands on a “Snoopy MoonSwatch” paying homage to the legendary Apollo 13 mission? My only wish would be for these quartz iterations to be noticeably different from the timepieces that inspired them, particularly when considering the astonishing sums collectors sometimes pay to have these mechanical treasures in their personal collections. I’m confident that, if Swatch and Omega are in fact planning new additions to the MoonSwatch collection, they’re going to be bringing out watches along these lines. After all, they wouldn’t need new cases, and could continue using the Omega Speedmaster as their design inspiration. This would give Swatch the opportunity to deliver something new to fans, and allow the MoonSwatch hype to roll on for at least another year. Then they could release a Bond Seamaster MoonSwatch line to keep things hot (a cooling off of the MoonSwatch? Unthinkable!). What about you? Do you think a new MoonSwatch collection is waiting in the wings? Or have you had enough for right now?
