Upon its release two years ago, the Omega x Swatch collaboration broke the internet, seeping out of the niche—albeit loud!—horological side of the web into the mainstream. Essentially the H&M designer collaboration of the watch world, the resultant MoonSwatches saw a seminal silhouette brought to the masses in colourful plastic form, at a fraction of the price of the original. The non-limited-but-still-somewhat-difficult-to-acquire watches sparked a frenzy, which can partially be attributed to their in-store-only buying policy, which saw punters line the streets for the chance of (velcro) strapping a MoonSwatch to their wrists.
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While last year’s ‘Mission to Moonshine Gold’ followup failed to generate the same attention (note: don’t put real gold on plastic), the latest iteration of the MoonSwatch just might be the best yet. The new MoonSwatch ‘Mission To The Moonphase’ adds— you guessed it—a moonphase complication into the fray. But most importantly, it sees Snoopy make his way onto the dial.
What does a cartoon beagle have to do with the Omega Speedmaster? Well, following the completion of the Mercury and Gemini projects, NASA wanted a mascot to aid them in increasing public awareness of their work. Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz’s depictions of Snoopy in space helped solidify the beagle as the ideal choice, with Snoopy officially joining NASA in 1968 and becoming the symbol for its Silver Snoopy Award, an accolade awarded to people or companies who have made significant contributions to “the success of human space flight missions.” In 1970, Swiss manufacture Omega received a Silver Snoopy Award for its role in the Apollo 13 mission. In the years since, Omega has released several limited-edition Speedmasters featuring Snoopy.
Like its predecessors, the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch ‘Mission To The Moonphase’ is encased in a 42mm bioceramic case (composed of two-thirds zirconium oxide ceramic powder and one-third biosourced material derived from castor oil). This time, it features an all-white colourway, while the tri-compax layout sees the sunken subdial at 2 o’clock replace the 1/10th second counter with a moonphase indicator that features a graphic of Snoopy snoozing on a crescent moon. Around the recessed subdial, the numbers go up to 29.5 days, the length of a lunar month. There’s a hidden touch to the timepiece; shining UV light on the moonphase reveals the words “I can’t sleep without a night light!” (a quote from a Snoopy comic). Fortunately for Snoopy, it also lights up the night sky with stars, as well as the crescent moon he rests on.
Flip it over and you’ll see a cartoon moon on the caseback. The Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch ‘Mission To The Moonphase’ upholds the all-white colour palette with a white velcro strap.
The Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch ‘Mission To The Moonphase’ is a non-limited release priced at $500AUD and available in select Swatch physical stores from the 26th of March onwards.
Words by AR Staff
