Omega and Swatch and took the watch world by storm in 2022 by releasing a collaboration. It came as a total surprise and quickly became one of the most globally talked about products. The launch of the luxury replica Omega x Swatch Speedmaster MoonWatches Bioceramic was something never to be expected – a high-end luxury brand lending its name, logo, and one of the most iconic designs ever to be used on a watch retailing at £207/$260.
When I first saw the teaser images, leaks and then the release, I could not have been more excited! It is one of the coolest ideas I have seen in recent years. I was on holiday at the time and fortunate enough to be near a store for release day. However, I did not manage to purchase one at launch like many other disappointed enthusiasts.
Since then I have managed to purchase the Mission to Jupiter model that I bought it from a colleague who managed to get his hands on it. I’ve now had it for a month feel as though I am now ready to share my thoughts about the concept and the UK AAA Omega fake watches.
Background
Given the levels of coverage over the last few months, I will only touch on the basics so we can focus more on the other aspects of it. The cheap replica Omega x Swatch Speedmaster MoonWatches BioCeramic was launched on 24th March 2022 and is based on the Speedmaster Professional design.
The top Omega copy watches was launched in 11 different variations, each representing a different planet as well as the Sun and Moon, known as the ‘Missions’. Swatch is known to be a colorful, playful and fun brand, and in keeping with this, the collaboration has taken one of the most recognized designs and added a touch of ‘Swatch’.
The combination of the two brands and the boldness of the final product caused an infectious intrigue that slowly turned into unbridled hype. Queues were forming days prior to launch outside the select stores that were stocking it.
I think it is an understatement to say the incredible demand was not anticipated. The first guidance of “two per customer” was quickly reduced to one, although this did not help much as many were left empty-handed, as I am sure many of you are aware.
Swatch Group tried to settle the hysteria and mentioned these were not limited and would be available online, although nearly 6 months later we were still waiting. All of this has led to many turning up on secondary markets for ridiculous premiums, and although prices have been slowly dropping as the media coverage has moved on, they are still trading well above retail price.
Why Does the MoonSwatch Exist?
Now that the hype is calming, there has been time to consider why this collaboration even exists, especially as it was so out of the blue. Yes, they are both a part of the Swatch Group, but regardless, best Omega replica watches‘ whole image revolves around luxury and quality. Suddenly making a product with your branding on it, at less than a tenth of the price of your usual models, must be difficult to approve.
There are a lot of theories out there and I will give an honorable mention to “About Effing Time”, which is a podcast featuring Adrian Barker from Bark & Jack that discusses this at length. I have no inside knowledge but here are a few of my thoughts about what led to the MoonSwatch.
First and foremost, this was an attempt at reviving Swatch. Swatch is one of the most widely recognized brands in the world and was arguably the first to generate the product hype we see today. However, interest in Swatch has steadily declined despite some excitement around the Sistem51 launch and a few one-off models here and there. And this has been during arguably the biggest increase in Swiss made fake Omega watches interest ever.
This is due to a few things: the increase of people using mobile phones for the time, broader knowledge of the watch market and understanding of the competition (Seiko, Citizen etc.), and consumer purchases being driven by social media influence rather than impulse purchases by passing a Swatch store for example.
But the elephant in the room is the Apple Watch. Apple Watch sales in 2020 amounted to ~$30.6bn compared to the whole Swiss watch market exports of ~$16bn. You can now buy a smartwatch that cannot only tell the time but track your fitness, give you notifications or show you a navigation map, all for a price not much more than a Swatch.
On top of the functionality, Apple has achieved a fashionable product desirable to all, including young people and watch collectors. You have to give some credit to Swatch – they have tried. They have had artist series such as Damien Hurst and limited editions with Hodinkee for example, but this has been to no avail. Nothing has earnt the spotlight despite other brands managing like the G-Shock CasiOak.
Swatch Group revenues have been on a steady decline since 2014, and looking at the top 20 watch brands by sales, Swatch dropped out of that in 2018. They had to look for something to bring the attention and sales back to Swatch. To achieve this they looked internally.
What is the most marketable product they have? The Moonwatch. This was very much a way to give some life to Swatch, avoid potentially paying for external collaborations and keep everything in-house. If this was the reason: mission accomplished!
The next theory is that Omega is the brand that has been struggling. Omega has had a tough time keeping up with Rolex’s momentum. Looking at Google Trends for Rolex watches vs. Omega super clone watches for sale, you can easily see that the general interest for Omega has been lower.
Now obviously they have a very loyal set of customers, but for the masses, Omega has been lagging. To keep up, they have tried to take the brand more upmarket, improved movement technology, and leaned into some of their heritage models.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Omega hard, and two of their largest marketing partnerships were postponed – the Olympics and James Bond (credit to About Effing Time highlighting this). This dampened sales for models that would usually be getting coverage as special editions, and they rely on this push every four years.
To bring some focus back to the brand, 2024 China Omega replica watches did the unthinkable. Not just a new model, but something outrageous and marketing genius. Give consumers a chance to own the Speedmaster design at an affordable price, in the hope that they fall in love and aspire for a ‘real’ one. At the same time, they launched it just before Watches & Wonders 2022, detracting some of the attention away from other manufacturers’ launches.
One final bonus, they went against the snobbery of modern Rolex by providing (or trying to) some inclusivity (ironic!). Now, I have no idea whether this worked for others, but it has given me the chance to try the watch dimensions in my daily routine and I love it more than I thought I would.
Anecdotally, looking at Moonwatches on Chrono24, I am starting to see several with high views “over the last 48 hours”, which was not the case pre-MoonSwatch. So there is a case from 1:1 Omega fake watches‘ side for why this collaboration was necessary.
Will Swatch Group ever tell us what was behind the biggest watch release of 2022? No. But it is fun trying to come up with theories! Now though, it is time to focus on the product and whether or not it is something worth buying.
MoonSwatch Owner Review
I will start the review by saying this is firmly a Swatch. Please do not buy a MoonSwatch and expect an Omega. I think that the cross-branding led to some confusion about what the product objectively is.
You would be forgiven for thinking this as the branding across the perfect replica Omega watches and the box will not let you forget that Omega has signed off on it.
Truth is… I like it! Omega went all in. If they didn’t, the whole concept would lack the charm it currently has and we would not all be this excited.
Unboxing
When presented with the box you have an appropriately themed outer sleeve. The sleeve color matches the replica Omega watches online store and it has some facts about the specific planet/astronomical body the model is based on.