Swatch debuts Moonshine Gold-touched MoonSwatch, limited by the full moon

Almost a year after introducing the MoonSwatch, a "giant leap" between a Swatch watch and the first chronograph worn on the moon, Swatch and Omega have taken a "small step" toward bringing a bit of moonshine to your wrist.

On Tuesday (March 7), in conjunction with the evening's full moon, Swatch issued for sale a special edition of its MoonSwatch "Mission to the Moon" model featuring a seconds hand made using "Moonshine Gold." According to Omega, which made the Speedmaster Professional on which the design of the MoonSwatch is based, its exclusive Moonshine Gold alloy is a "paler hue than traditional yellow gold" and has a higher resistance to fading.

Although not sold as a limited edition, Swatch held production of the Moonshine Gold seconds hand to occur only during February's full moon, as described on the certificate that comes with the watch.

"It's not limited; however, the limitation comes from the production itself (only one day)," said Swatch in a press handout.

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Further, like the original MoonSwatch models that were and continue to only be available for sale at select Swatch stores, the Moonshine Gold edition was only available for sale in London, Milan, Tokyo and Zurich beginning at 7 p.m. (local time) on Tuesday.

"We chose particular locations in these cities due to their special association with gold," Swatch said. "For example, we chose London, because this is where the price of gold is fixed on a global level and Paradeplatz [in Zurich] because of the banks and gold reserves."

The Moonshine Gold MoonSwatch costs about 25 CHF (Swiss Francs) more than the regular edition (about $285 U.S. based on the markets and the currencies at the time).

The Moonshine Gold seconds hand is only sold with the "Moon" model of the MoonSwatch. The 2022 watches, which continues to be produced for sale, included 10 other colorways, each named and themed around a different planet in our solar system or the sun. The "Mission to the Moon" is the closest in style of the Omega Speedmaster worn by NASA's Apollo astronauts, including a black dial and gray ceramic plastic standing in for the original's steel body.

The Speedmasters that were flown to the lunar surface did not have gold hands. Omega introduced Moonshine Gold in 2019 with two Apollo 11 50th anniversary limited editions in celebration of the first moon landing. Those models were priced between $32,000 and $34,600 for comparison.

Swatch said it chose to associate its Moonshine Gold MoonSwatch with the full moon because "it has a magical influence on many things, human beings included." For those who were unable to be the four selected cities on Tuesday, Swatch suggested another chance might come soon.

"Perhaps during the next full moon," the watchmaker said.

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