During the month of March, Omega and Swatch began teasing a top-secret project. All the way until mid-March, they ran full-page ads in The New York Times with taglines like "It's time to change your Swatch" or "It's time to change your Omega," with no one knowing what it meant. This was when the MoonSwatch was released, and watch lovers were ecstatic about the two titans' great partnership.
The Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch Story
The MoonSwatch is an Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch that has been Swatch-ified. Rather than a stainless-steel casing, the MoonSwatch is built of Swatch's BioCeramic material, which comprises 75% ceramic and 25% bio-derived plastic manufactured from castor plant seeds.
The Swatch X Omega BioCeramic MoonSwatch series results from a collaboration between watchmakers Omega and Swatch. Even though it was only launched on March 26, it has already sold out and has been near impossible to find at the retail pricing.
The 11-piece collection was influenced by the US Apollo space program of the 1960s and 1970s and was created as a tribute to the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch, the first timepiece used by astronauts on trips to the moon.
As mentioned before, the new MoonSwatch collection is made of BioCeramic; a substance initially created for space travel that combines two parts zirconium dioxide ceramic with one part bio-derived plastic, generally from bio-based castor oil. It was rethought and recreated in collaboration with Swatch, the high street watch company. It's currently employed in a wide range of industrial and medicinal activities, including the reattachment of shattered bones.
Each watch is themed after a different planet in our solar system, has the appellation “Mission to_” carved on the case back, and has a color scheme that pays homage to its namesake. The Sun, Earth, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Uranus, Pluto, and Neptune are all represented by timepieces that change color from yellow (the sun) to a vibrant red (Mars).
With a 42-millimeter case, steel grey finish, and black Velcro band, the MoonSwatch is likely the truest to the space-race design of the 11 timepieces. It also contains a concealed “S” which stands for Speedmaster, in the middle of the crystal glass.
The white hands and sub-dials, the tachymeter scale, and the Omega characteristic "dot over 90" on the chronograph movement bezel are all hallmarks of the original Apollo mission. In addition, each watch has a picture of its star or planet carved around the case back, along with the phrases "Reach for the Planets, Enjoy the Mission, Dream Big, Fly Higher, Explore the Universe".
This is the newest in the latest craze of high/low collaborations, which has seen Dior collaborate with Nike on Air Force 1 sneakers, Supreme collaborate with Louis Vuitton on a clothing and accessory line and Balenciaga produce a capsule collection under the Yeezy Gap label.
The Final Words
The MoonSwatch collection comes with a Velcro closed nylon strap that serves as a faithful companion for the new watch collection. However, if you are looking for new ways to spice up your collection, you can enjoy new, fresh and durable watch straps for yourself. This is where DaLuca Straps jumps in and saves the day.
You can find military leather watch straps, shell cordovan straps or custom watch bands on DaLuca Straps. Moreover, you can also get top-notch leather care accessories and equipment to keep your straps and watches safe and secure. The final choice is yours.