Last year Swatch launched the Moonswatch and it was an instant classic with over 1.5 million sold and the resale market was explosive with people paying more than 3x the listed price. The original Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch has always been a highly desirable and iconic watch. I got one for my 40th birthday, my father also got one for his 80th and one of my best friends has it as well (he got it for his 50th)- its a beautiful watch and as you probably know that it was the watch selected by NASA to be the first watch worn on a manned mission to the moon.
But what is it that makes this watch such a collectors classic (it continues to increase in price and value each year). Why did Swatch and Omega come out with a low cost (and also highly collectable) new Moonswatch, creating a new classic all of its own, modeled on the original with its own ‘swatch’ take, and of course noting its a $500 watch not a $10,000 watch.
The value of classic collectables always amazes me – what makes a watch worth so much – the only real answer is desirability. If you just wanted a great automatic or fully manual dive watch you could buy a Seiko for less than $1000 and have a great watch (and by the way many people do that – I also have a few in my collection).
But if you have the bug for smart wrist jewellery and many people do, a Moonwatch may well be on your wishlist and if so then perhaps the ‘Moonswatch’ is a little more affordable option.
According to Omega, “The Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch is the most famous chronograph on Earth and beyond, having been chosen by NASA in 1965 for all manned space missions. Since its earliest years, it has been a part of the greatest explorations of space, and most notably, became the first watch worn on the moon during the Apollo 11 lunar landing in 1969”.
The movement used in todays moonwatches descended from the OMEGA Calibre 321 that went to the moon, this is usually the manual‑winding OMEGA Calibre 3861.
The Swatch is made of BIOCERAMIC material with a quartz movement and echoing the key OMEGA Speedmaster Moonwatch design elements. There’s the asymmetrical case, the iconic ‘dot over ninety’ detail on the tachymetric scaled bezel and of course the distinctive Speedmaster subdials.
LINKS
- https://www.swatch.com/en-au/mission-to-the-moon-so33m100/SO33M100.html
- https://www.wired.com/story/the-moonswatch-mission-to-moonshine-gold-is-limited-in-every-way/
- https://www.omegawatches.com/en-au/watch-omega-speedmaster-moonwatch-professional-co-axial-master-chronometer-chronograph-42-mm-31030425001002?