Swatch releases three new Bioceramic MoonSwatches in their very popular collaboration with sister company Omega to democratise their famous Moonwatch.
Press Release information with commentary in italics.
New: Three more MoonSwatches – Mission on Earth
All three Bioceramic MoonSwatch Mission on Earth watches are priced at SGD 380, inclusive of GST. The watches are not limited and will be available from Saturday, June 15, only in selected Swatch stores. As with the whole Bioceramic MoonSwatch Collection, only one watch can be purchased per person, per day and per Swatch store.
Commentary
From planets to what views from Earth. Swatch is certainly milking their very popular MoonSwatch series. The series was credited to have help save the Swatch Group when it was first released. Affordable, cute, available in many different versions denoted by clever colour choices and naming conventions. These were a big hit. And each time a new model or series of models are released, there is a scramble to be the first to own one. The maison has learned over the years, and though the crazy mob-like queues have mostly disappeared, enthusiasts still queue outside Swatch stores worldwide.
The first series comprise of the planets (most of them) in our Solar System. Then came the Mission to the Moonshine Gold’s monthly editions. 11 were released over the 2023 calendar. And impressively, 11 sets of these in suitcases each containing the eleven rare models was auctioned at CHF 534,670, proceeds which was donated to Orbis International, fueling their mission to prevent avoidable blindness and vision loss worldwide. Then came the “Mission to Moonphase” watches, playing on the ultra high demand of the Omega Moonwatch Snoopy series.
And now, a series of three watches dedicated to Earth. One might think there is MoonSwatch fatigue, but perhaps not. The man in the street still hankers for one, and so does the seasoned collector.
The MoonSwatch shows that for whatever faults we can pin on Nick Hayek Jr, he has the brilliance, somewhat reminiscent of his famous father, of understanding the collector psyche. That the MoonSwatch (and the Swatch x Blancpain) even for serious high end collectors and Omega Moonswatch owners, the playful nature of Swatch. Relatively inexpensive watches like the MoonSwatch series scratch an itch, especially when well designed, and hints of playfulness.
This new series will no doubt have the same fate. Especially when the colours being offered are quite appealing to our eyes. The red Lava model is brilliant with its contrasting red and black colour scheme.
The Polar Lights model shows up in a turquoise case contrasting with black.
And the Desert model is almost a monotone of taupe and sand-coloured case with matching taupe strap. Although the colour scheme is almost the same as that on the IWC Top Gun Mojave Desert, the two watches could not look more different. And to our eyes, this one takes the trophy of best in the series.
Release information
Three new Bioceramic MoonSwatch watches have just landed. All throughout history, people have wondered what the world looks like from above. Every astronaut who’s ever been to space has said that the most beautiful sight they have ever seen was the Blue Planet. “When I first looked back at the Earth, standing on the moon, I cried,” said astronaut Alan Shepard who, in 1961, became the first American to go into space and, in 1971, the fifth man to walk on the moon.
The three new non-limited Bioceramic MoonSwatch models — MISSION ON EARTH – LAVA, – POLAR LIGHTS and – DESERT — pay tribute to our magnificent planet, inspired by volcanic lava, the Aurora Borealis and deserts, three natural phenomena, with their magical and enchanting beauty, that can be seen clearly from space. For these watches, Swatch has developed three brand-new colors in Bioceramic.
The Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION ON EARTH – LAVA is inspired by volcanoes, openings in the Earth’s crust that allow lava, ash, and gas to escape. Lava is both dangerous and captivating, with its intense red and orange hues. Today, roughly 1,670 active volcanoes have been identified worldwide. Around sixty of them erupt each year, not including the many underwater volcanoes. The Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION ON EARTH – LAVA is also a nod to OMEGA and its 1968 Speedmaster Moonwatch “Ultraman” model, with its famous orange chronograph hand.
The Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION ON EARTH – POLAR LIGHTS pays tribute to the fabulous Aurora Borealis. Visible from space, and breathtakingly beautiful, these brilliant atmospheric wonders are characterized by extremely colorful “curtains” in the night sky, green and blue being the most common. That’s why turquoise dominates in this watch, reminiscent of the prodigious display of colors in the sky at the North Pole. The blue dial itself is studded with little “stars” of tiny silver-colored flakes, inspired by aventurine glass dials. This is another nod to certain OMEGA watches. The layout of the “stars” is different on every model, making the dial on each watch unique. The numerals and indexes on the three subdials use the radial format, just like the Speedmaster in OMEGA’s Alaska II and III projects.
Both the case and hands of the Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION ON EARTH – DESERT come in a sand color, and the dial and strap come in greige (taupe), bringing to mind the vast expanses of sand that cover over a fifth of the Earth’s landmass and can be found on every continent. The Sahara is the largest desert in the world, spanning over 9 million km2 of North Africa. Its climate is very dry, with temperatures capable of reaching over 50°C in the daytime and dropping below freezing at night.
The three new Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION ON EARTH watches all have their mission statement on the caseback and the OMEGA X SWATCH logos on the dial and crown. A design of planet Earth can be seen on each battery cover. An adjustable VELCRO® strap suitable for spacesuits, adds that finishing touch of astronaut chic and features a contrasting topstitching in the same color as the respective case.
The hands and indexes are coated with Grade A Super-LumiNova® for a perfect glow in the dark effect. All the main features of the original OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch — the first watch to go to the moon — can be found on these watches: the asymmetrical case, the renowned tachymeter scale with the dot over 90, and the typical Speedmaster subdials. As with all Bioceramic MoonSwatch models, these new watches have a chronograph function.
MISSION ON EARTH – LAVA, – POLAR LIGHTS and – DESERT, like all the models in the OMEGA X SWATCH collaboration, are made from the Swatch’s patented Bioceramic, a unique mix of two-thirds ceramic, used in high-end watchmaking, and one-third biosourced materials produced from castor oil.
The three new Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION ON EARTH watches are available from Saturday, June 15, only in selected Swatch stores. As with the whole Bioceramic MoonSwatch Collection, only one watch can be purchased per person, per day and per Swatch store.
MoonSwatch Mission on Earth Specifications
MISSION ON EARTH – LAVA / SO33O100
Case material: orange Bioceramic case, crown and pushers Case diameter: 42.00 mm
Case thickness: 13.25 mm
Lug-to-lug distance: 47.30 mm
Quartz movement: chronograph
Water resistance: 3 bar
Glass: box-shaped, made of biosourced material and treated with an anti-scratch coating; featuring an etched “S” in the center referencing the Swatch logo
Dial: black, featuring the OMEGA X Swatch logo and the iconic Speedmaster and MoonSwatch logos; recessed subdials with orange hands; arabic numerals and indexes on subdials in radial format as
a nod to the Speedmaster in OMEGA’s Alaska II and III projects. Hour markers in orange with Grade A Super-LumiNova® (green emission)Hands: orange; hour and minute hands with Grade A Super- LumiNova® (green emission). Orange chronograph seconds hand as a nod to OMEGA’s 1968 Speedmaster Moonwatch “Ultraman” model’s color and shape
Bezel: black Bioceramic bezel with white tachymeter scale, “TACHYMÈTRE” written in orange
Strap: black VELCRO® strap with contrasting orange topstitching, attachment loop in orange Bioceramic
MISSION ON EARTH – POLAR LIGHTS / SO33L103
Case material: turquoise Bioceramic case, crown and pushers Case diameter: 42.00 mm
Case thickness: 13.25 mm
Lug-to-lug distance: 47.30 mm
Quartz movement: chronograph
Water resistance: 3 bar
Glass: box-shaped, made of biosourced material and treated with an anti-scratch coating; featuring an etched “S” in the center referencing the Swatch logo
Dial: dark blue with tiny silver-colored sparkles inspired by aven-
turine glass dials, featuring the OMEGA X Swatch logo and the
iconic Speedmaster and MoonSwatch logos; recessed subdials
with turquoise hands and white counter rings; arabic numerals and indexes on subdials in radial format as a nod to the Speedmaster in OMEGA’s Alaska II and III projects. Hour markers with Grade A Super- LumiNova® (green emission)
Hands: turquoise; hour, minute, and tip of the chronograph seconds hands with Grade A Super-LumiNova® (green emission)
Bezel: blue Bioceramic bezel with turquoise tachymeter scale
Strap: blue VELCRO® strap with contrasting turquoise topstitching, attachment loop in turquoise Bioceramic
MISSION ON EARTH – DESERT / SO33T103
Case material: sand-colored Bioceramic case, crown and pushers Case diameter: 42.00 mm
Case thickness: 13.25 mm
Lug-to-lug distance: 47.30 mm
Quartz movement: chronograph
Water resistance: 3 bar
Glass: box-shaped, made of biosourced material and treated with an anti-scratch coating; featuring an etched “S” in the center referencing the Swatch logo
Dial: greige (taupe), featuring the OMEGA X Swatch logo and the iconic Speedmaster and MoonSwatch logos, recessed subdials
with sand-colored hands and counter rings; arabic numerals and indexes on subdials in radial format as a nod to the Speedmaster in OMEGA’s Alaska II and III projects. Hour markers with Grade A Super- LumiNova® (green emission)
Hands: sand-colored; hour, minute, and tip of the chronograph sec- onds hands with Grade A Super-LumiNova® (green emission)
Bezel: greige (taupe) Bioceramic bezel with sand-colored tachymeter scale
Strap: greige (taupe) VELCRO® strap with contrasting sand-colored topstitching, attachment loop in sand-colored Bioceramic
