If you were hoping for a collection of cheeky MoonSwatch Snoopy watches dropping today, let me be frank – no such thing is in the works, at least not in the immediate future.
Despite a teaser last week across Swatch channels that led many people to believe the world’s most loved beagle was about to grace the dials (or hands or casebacks at least) of Swatch and Omega’s game-changing MoonSwatch, the news out of HQ in Biel today is still very noteworthy, especially to avid watch collectors out there, maybe just not as hype-inducing.
With your MoonSwatch dreams of Charlie Brown and Snoopy’s other cronies parked and/or shattered for now (never say never), Omega and Swatch have found another way to get Speedmaster lovers excited. This time, they have clubbed together to offer something even more limited and exclusive than its previous collabs – as of this month they are giving you the chance to own a rare set of MoonSwatch Moonshine Gold pieces.
11 suitcases, each immaculately packed with every single 11 MoonSwatch Moonshine Gold model ever made, are now on display in, you guessed it, 11 Omega stores around the world from London to Sydney via New York and Tokyo.
But before you start forming a not-so-orderly queue round the blocks, hold fire as these limited edition suitcases are not for sale per se. Instead, they will be going up for auction at Sotheby’s with all proceeds going to Omega’s charity of choice since 2011, Orbis International, a global charity focused on the prevention of blindness which is dedicated to saving sight worldwide.
“The MoonSwatch has been a sensation since its innovative launch in 2022, when it captured the imagination of the watch community and new collectors alike," says Josh Pullan, Global Head of Sotheby’s Luxury Division. "We’re thrilled to be collaborating with OMEGA to offer these sets of the Mission to Moonshine Gold edition, complete with the iconic presentation suitcase.”
Swatch and Omega's 11 destinations of choice to display these killer suitcases (each one boasting a golden logo and a Willy Wonka-esque golden coin inside) are Sydney, Beijing, Paris, Hong Kong, Milan, Tokyo, Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, Bangkok, Regent Street in London, Fifth Avenue in New York and Zurich. Every watch in each set has the three-letter airport code of the city they're being displayed in engraved on the side. For London, which boasts multiple airports to fly into, some collectors will be left ruing the fact LHR got the nod over LGW, LTN, STN and LCY respectively – but beggars can't be choosers.
Each of the 11 watches in the set boasts a unique MoonShine gold seconds hand. Cast your minds back and you'll remember Swatch and Omega started dropping these pieces one at a time throughout 2023 (the strawberry, the flower, the snowflake and the pink one are my faves) after the OG MoonSwatches sent the watch world into bedlam in March 2022 – causing even the most horologic of nerds (looking at you Daniel Craig and Ed Sheeran) to join the frenzied queues and bag one for themselves. And the link between each one? A different full moon taking place somewhere around the world at that particular time of the month, of course.
While neither Omega nor Sotheby's have given any indication on estimates, what we do know is bidding for these rarest of MoonSwatch Moonshine Gold sets starts from February 12 and will be accessible to anyone online, with final offers accepted on February 24, which naturally coincides with the next full moon. If I've learnt one thing from the past two years or so since Mr Nick Hayek Jr et al first launched these new Bioceramic creations, it's that where there's a full moon, there's often some form of MoonSwatch news about to shine down on us. So happy bidding, and maybe keep the queuing up kit by the door, just in case a MoonSwatch Snoopy does materialise one day soon.