MoonSwatch
Omega x Swatch MoonsSwatch

ON NOVEMBER 25, 1969, Omega unveiled its first 18K gold Speedmaster, made to celebrate the Apollo 11 Moon landing four months earlier. Production ran to 1,014 individually numbered pieces, each serial engraved on the side of the case. The first two were reserved for President Richard Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew (Nixon declined his on ethics grounds; watch #1 now sits in the Omega Museum). Neil Armstrong received #17, Buzz Aldrin #21 – though as NASA property, the astronauts’ watches were never technically theirs to keep.

Fifty-seven years later, Swatch has borrowed the playbook for the newest addition to its MoonSwatch collaboration with Omega. The Mission to the Moon 1969 is a limited edition of 1,969 pieces – a nod to the year rather than the original run – with the dial, hands, crown and pushers crafted from Omega’s 18kt Moonshine Gold. Together the gold components weigh 11 grams, a wink at the mission number. Like the 1969 commemorative edition, each piece is individually numbered on the side of the case, at 9 o’clock, finished in golden lacquer.

MoonSwatch

The gold itself carries its own provenance. Swatch says the material dates from the Apollo era, sourced from old Omega spare parts and melted down in its own foundry to create the Moonshine alloy – a paler, fade-resistant take on yellow gold composed of gold, silver, copper and palladium. The Au750 marking on the dial confirms the 18K standard: 75 per cent pure gold.

Back in 1969, 11 grams of 18K gold cost around 48 Swiss francs, or approximately $85. The new watch will sell for $900, pegged to the price of gold on July 21, 1969 rather than today’s rate (a decision buyers of the standard CHF-priced Bioceramic models may regard with some envy).

Beyond the gold, the specifications are mirror image MoonSwatch territory: a 42mm matte black Bioceramic case, quartz chronograph movement, water resistance to 3 bar, and a black rubber strap with Velcro closure lined in a gold-coloured, moon-textured finish. The bezel carries a gold-coloured tachymeter scale under anti-scratch coating, and the battery cover features a golden Moon design displaying the landing date and a footprint referencing the Sea of Tranquillity.

Now here’s the kicker.

To actually get your hands on one, you’re gonna have to do some homework. 

Swatch has built the release around what it calls an ESTA – Electronic Swatch Timepiece Application – a 32-question online form modelled on the US travel authorisation of the same name. Applications have now opened the Swatch website and close on July 21 at 23:59 CEST (Saturday, 22 July 7:59am AEST). The questionnaire mixes multiple-choice and open-ended questions covering Omega heritage and history, with a time limit of two hours and 15 minutes once started. 

Only 1,969 applicants will receive approval to purchase, with collection at a Swatch store.

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