Introducing: MoonSwatch Mission To The Super Blue Moonphase
What We Know
Yesterday, Swatch released Mission To The Super Blue Moonphase. This very blue watch features the usual chronograph function, this time with a silver-blue opaline dial, and a UV ink moonphase positioned at the two o’clock subdial. The moonphase indicator is painted with UV ink, which glows blue. The hour, minutes, and (tip of the) chronograph seconds hand is, of course, Super-LumiNova®, which also glows blue.
This is the first MoonSwatch in the collection with a pulsometer scale instead of a tachymeter function. This begs the question, “Is this really a MoonWatch?” You all can decide in the comments…
The Bioceramic MoonSwatch Mission To The Supermoon will be on sale only from August 1 to August 19 – the date of the full blue moon and the first super moon of the year – and during the blue hours, from 5 PM onward. As with the whole Bioceramic MoonSwatch Collection, only one watch can be purchased per person, per day, and per selected sales location.
Is Swatch harking back to a well-known artistic trope, tapping into an emotional sensibility for a color (by way of poetic marketing around an arguably poetic complication) that so many other contemporary artists have also claimed an emotional attachment to (Yves Klein, Picasso, Louise Bourgeois)? Or is blue just a really popular color? It certainly was a popular (and very hard to find) colorway from the original run of the MoonSwatch.
What We Think
I have an obsession with the color blue. I have read entire books about the color, I’ve visited The Chapel of Santa Catarina in Porto just to see the Azulejo tiles. Don’t get me started on lapis stone dials. Blue makes me feel all the feelings. So, despite not being much of a MoonSwatch gal myself, this new release did resonate with me aesthetically. Throw in a moonphase, the most romantic of all the complications, and for $310, it’s kind of a deal (assuming – as is always the pain with these Swatch collabs – that you can get one).
“How long can they keep MoonSwatch going?” now seems like a redundant question because clearly, it will keep going until Swatch says so (or they run out of moon inspiration). And while the idea of standing in line for a short two-week window in August after 5 PM only is supposed to be poetic and in line with evening “blue hours,” couldn’t we just be done with the hype charade and sell these things online?
I’m all for democracy in the watch space, but do we need to work this hard for it? Give the people what they want, Swatch. To end on a positive note as I blast Eiffel 65 (on my headphones as a courtesy to others) – this watch is a fun variation on a very commercially successful theme. Along with the black and white Snoopies, I can’t help but feel things are starting to look a little more sophisticated on the Bioceramic front.
The Basics
Brand: Swatch
Model: Mission To The Super Blue Moonphase
Reference Number: SO33N700
Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 13.75 mm
Lug-to-lug: 47.3mm
Case Material: Blue Bioceramic
Dial Color: Blue and silver-opaline
Lume: Indexes, hour, and minute hands and chronograph seconds
Water Resistance: 30m
Strap/Bracelet: Velcro strap
The Movement
Caliber: Quartz
Functions: Chronograph with moonphase indicator
Pricing & Availability
Price: $310
Availability: Available for purchase only between August 1 and August 19, 2024, and only from 5 PM onward at selected Swatch points of sale worldwide
For more, click here.
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The HODINKEE Shop is an authorized retailer of Swatch watches. For more information, visit the Swatch website.
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