VIDEO: Unpacking why the Omega x Swatch BioCeramic MoonSwatch is out of this world
Luke BenedictusWe’re going to call it a space oddity. Albeit it a very welcome one at that. But today’s news that Omega have teamed up with Swatch to create a playful take on the Speedmaster Chronograph in the form of the BioCeramic MoonSwatch has caught the watch world by surprise.
In the one corner there’s Omega, the venerable brand renowned for their technical mastery whether that’s managing the timekeeping for the Olympics or creating the Seamaster Planet Ultra Deep – a civilian watch that’s water-resistant to a jaw-dropping 6000m.
In the other corner there’s Swatch, a brand that’s irreverent, fun-loving and boundlessly creative. In other words, they’re completely different. If you put them both in a film together it would be like one of those mismatched buddy movies in which a reluctant odd couple are paired together under duress, only to come together and create a winning formula – think the Lethal Weapon franchise on the wrist. Because make no mistake, the BioCeramic MoonSwatch is definitely a success.
Just to recap: Omega and Swatch have created a collection of 11 watches inspired by the Moonwatch but that riff off different planets in the solar system – the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto.
Visually, the key Moonwatch design features are all there from the famous tachymeter scale with the dot over 90 to those distinctive Speedmaster subdials with their concentric graining. All models feature the same type of Super-LumiNova used for the Speedmaster on their indexes and hands. The watches’ dimensions are also the same as the Moonwatch with a 42mm diameter and 13.25mm thickness.
But these watches feel totally different because they’re made out of Swatch’s proprietary BioCeramic material, a unique mix of two-thirds ceramic and one-third bio-derived plastic. BioCeramic is smooth to the touch and extremely lightweight. But it’s also highly colour-stable, a quality that is exploited to the full on this bright and breezy collection.
In this video, Luke and Andrew discuss their first impressions of the BioCeramic MoonSwatch that goes on sale on March 26 from Swatch retailers at a very attractive price of 250 Swiss francs a pop.