The Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION TO THE MOONPHASE is seeing double. After the model launched on March 26, Swatch is now celebrating the new moon, with the all-black NEW MOON watch. Just like the FULL MOON model, this watch features a moon phase on the dial, with Snoopy catching some zz’s on it.
Two years after the launch of the legendary collaboration with OMEGA, Swatch releases not one, but two new, non-limited models celebrating the moon. The NEW MOON model depicts a black moon phase disc with a black semi-transparent mask, to celebrate the new moon.
The Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION TO THE MOONPHASE – NEW MOON is available from April 8, only in selected Swatch stores. As with the whole Bioceramic MoonSwatch Collection, only one watch can be purchased per person, per day and per Swatch store.
On the subdial at 2 o’clock, Snoopy, NASA’s mascot, lays on the moon phase. On the model’s moon phase mask and disc, a hidden quote from a Snoopy comic strip is nestled amidst crescent moons and stars, that can be seen under UV light. The Silver Snoopy Award is the most prestigious honor the United States’ space agency awards to individuals and organizations for outstanding achievements related to human flight safety or mission success. This prestigious prize was awarded to OMEGA in 1970 for its role in the history of space exploration, including its essential contribution to bringing the crew of Apollo 13 back home safe and sound.
In 1970, an exploding oxygen tank during the Apollo 13 mission placed the astronauts’ lives in danger. One of the many challenges the crew had to face was timing the 14-second launch time that would allow them to get back to Earth. Luckily, they had an OMEGA chronograph watch, the Speedmaster Moonwatch, to get the job done. Not only that, but in May of 1969, the Apollo 10 mission, which was tasked with carrying out the initial sweep before an attempted moon landing, had to skim the surface of the moon and ‘snoop around’ to identify the Apollo 11 landing site. The lunar module was christened Snoopy. Ever since then, the Snoopy emblem is considered a lucky charm among astronauts.
Snoopy also shows up on the moon phase disc of the Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION TO THE MOONPHASE – FULL MOON, which is already available at selected Swatch stores.
Like all the models in the OMEGA X SWATCH collaboration, both Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION TO THE MOONPHASE watches are made from Swatch’s patented Bioceramic, a unique mix of two-thirds ceramic and one-third biosourced materials produced from castor oil.
Fans will find in these two new non-limited models all the characteristic features of OMEGA’S legendary Speedmaster Moonwatch, the first watch to go to the moon: the asymmetrical case, the famous tachymeter-scaled bezel with the dot over the 90 and the typical Speedmaster subdials. The Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION TO THE MOONPHASE watches feature their mission statement on the caseback, and the OMEGA X SWATCH logos on the dial and crown. A moon inspired by the world of Snoopy can be seen on the battery cover. A spacesuit- ready VELCRO© strap adds that final touch of astronaut chic.
