Tonight, Tim reviews his new Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch. This BioCeramic (cough, plastic, cough) crossover chronograph was the single greatest story in the watch collector world in 2022. So popular was this watch that people lined up for hours or even days to buy it for $260 at Swatch stores around the world. Tim recently received the "Mission to the Moon" MoonSwatch, and viewers will hear this thoughts on this evening's show. Was Omega right to farm out its flagship? Find out tonight!

The Omega Speedmaster Professional "Moonwatch" is the most valuable name brand owned by the sprawling Swatch Group. No Breguet tourbillon, no Blancpain dive watch, and no Longines Legend can match the sheer star power of a watch that's actually been to the Moon. With power comes responsibility, and Omega needs to protect its image leader. In other words, the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch was a risk for the luxury watch brand.

Despite some huffing from purists, the launch and marketing of the MoonSwatch was a startling success. Of the 15.8 million Swiss watches exported in 2022, 950,000 of them were the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch. Veteran collector generally looked favorably on the promotion in anticipation of bringing younger blood into the hobby. In that sense, the MoonSwatch was viewed as a gateway to luxury-class watches later in life.

And kids loved the affordable Swatch MoonSwatch. The $260 price made the chronograph more expensive than most Swatch watches but more affordable tha most smart watches. The fashion-first sensibility of 1980s Swatch watch marketing proved as potent today as it was during the era of hair metal. If there was one drawback to the MoonSwatch's popularity, it was the kids' realization that they could buy a MoonSwatch and sell it for a 400 percent profit on eBay. Fortunately, the budding watch flippers ran out of steam once supply of the MoonSwatch caught up with demand.

The Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch itself is a friendly package. Its 42mm case diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug measurements, and 13.4mm thickness are within a hair's breadth of the dimensions of Omega's Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch. Omega uses a case compound described as "Bioceramic." The material includes ceramic elements but appears to be comprised largely of plastic derived from plant-based castor oil. In this fashion, Omega attempts to honor its environmental obligations while keeping the MoonSwatch agreeably light and damage resistant.

Mechanically, the Swatch MoonSwatch is humble but still Swiss. An ETA G10.212 4-jewel quartz caliber provides motive power for the chronograph. The caseback of each variant of this watch includes an image of the variant's namesake planet, star, or moon. This image serves as the battery cap. Water resistance is a modest 30 meters, so the MoonSwatch is best kept high and dry.

All of this and "watch prices that go down" are featured in this episode of Watches Tonight!

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