OMEGA and Swatch kept the pressure on all year, dropping collaborative Moonswatches throughout 2023 to constant sell-out crowds and an ever-incresing demand. And they're gonna do it one more time before 2024.
Red alert! This is your last chance to buy a Moonswatch in 2023.
Whether that means adding to your collections of OMEGA x Swatch timepieces or acquiring your first watch from the pair's coveted collab, be warned: you will not got another Moonswatch opportunity. Until 2024, perhaps.
If that sounds like a big deal, it's 'cuz it is... Just like every OMEGA x Swatch Moonswatch drop prior to it.
The next OMEGA x Swatch Moonswatch is actually quite special, too, as the scant details revealed since its first teaser earlier this month make clear.
Whereas most of the previous collaborative watches were iterations of the original OMEGA x Swatch Mission to Moonshine Gold Moonswatch that first released earlier this year, 2023's last Moonswatch is a variation on the original Mission to the Moon that OMEGA and Swatch dropped back in 2022 when their collaborative efforts began in earnest.
That really only means a couple cosmetic differences but to Moonswatch collectors, it's a valuable point of interest. And there are definitely plenty of folks stocking up on these OMEGA x Swatch drops.
Like previous Moonswatch release dates, OMEGA and Swatch have timed their latest watch collab to drop in time with a special lunar event. This time, it's the "cold" moon, 2023's final full moon.
The difference between a conventional full moon and the cold moon are fairly obvious, really: the phrase comes from a term devised by Native Americans in relation to the timing of the event. It's December and it's typically cold outside, so the new full moon is a cold moon. Got it?
As such, OMEGA and Swatch's latest Moonswatch sports a unique snowflake pattern on its seconds hand, made of OMEGA's Moonshine Gold material that's shinier and higher-vis than ordinary gold watch hands.
Swatch also teased that the cold moon-themed Moonswatch has "a secret detail" that glows in the dark, which also feels appropriate.
The cold moon will light up the sky late on December 26 but 2023's final OMEGA x Swatch Moonswatch will only drop in-store at Swatch store locations on December 27.
Better hurry: these things won't last.
Sadly, there is no word from Swatch as to when (or if) it'll ever release the commemorative Moonswatch case that it revealed on Instagram earlier in the month but one can dream.
2023 has been a fairly massive year for OMEGA and Swatch, who have dished a half-dozen or so different Moonswatches, at least. Their collaborative collection extends from watches trimmed with ostrich leather to watches that riffed on original Moonswatch colors.
Some Moonswatches played on national holidays, others merely coincided with moon-related happenings, like the harvest moon.
Don't expect 2024 to slow the Moonswatch's roll too much. These things are just as popular now as they were a year ago and it's hard to imagine OMEGA and Swatch wish to halt the gravy train while it's still puffing along with gusto.
And, to be fair, the fans who crave these things surely aren't going to complain about more opportunities to attain a fairly affordable iteration of an OMEGA Speedmaster, right? Except for when the Moonswatches inevitably sell out, sure, but there'll always be more. Probably.
