OMEGA x Swatch have joined forces for the thousandth time, creating a new addition to the Bioceramic MoonSwatch collection called the ‘MoonSwatch Mission to Earthphase’.
This non-limited model was released on November 2nd, 2024, and is priced at AUD$525 (USD$325). As per all MoonSwatch releases in recent times, it will only be available in-store at Swatch. If you’re reading from Australia, you can pick these up from Melbourne, Collins Street, Perth, Murray Street Mall, Sydney, Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Westfield Bondi Junction, and Chermside, Westfield Chermside.
The MoonSwatch Mission to Earthphase debuts a brand-new quartz complication, and at first glance, it seems you have to have an astrology degree to understand what this new earth phase indicator does. However, the deeper you read, the more simple it becomes. Essentially, this operates in a similar way to a retrograde function in a high-end watch e.g. Patek Philippe Minute Repeater Tourbillon Retrograde Perpetual Calendar Ref. 5016P-018, which is worth around AUD$1 Million.
Like an inverse ‘Moon phase’ function, this ‘Earth phase’ function uses the same 29.5-day cycle, but in reverse. So, when there’s a Full Moon, we have a New Earth, and when there’s a New Moon, we have a Full Earth. It’s not a particularly complex function, and the Earth phase turns counterclockwise, in the opposite direction to the Moon. Swatch states that they were inspired by Earth as seen from the Moon.
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MoonSwatch Mission to Earthphase
- Price: AU$525 (USD$325)
- Availability (Australia): In-store (no online), one watch per person, per day, and per store
- Melbourne, Collins Street
- Perth, Murray Street Mall
- Sydney, Pitt Street Mall
- Sydney, Westfield Bondi Junction
- Chermside, Westfield Chermside
- Release date: from November 2nd, 2024
- Case material: Light gray Bioceramic case, crown and pushers
- Case diameter: 42.00 mm
- Case thickness: 13.75 mm
- Lug-to-lug distance: 47.30 mm
- Movement: Quartz chronograph (seconds only), moon phase, patented earth phase indicator
- Water resistance: 30M
- Crystal: Bio-sourced plastic with anti-scratch coating
The new earth phase function might be fairly simple, but the devil’s in the details. For example, the watch’s dial features a graining that resembles lunar dust, the craters of the moon have been created using digital printing, you can spot Neil Armstong’s footprint on the Moon on the case back, and the oceans are coated with UV ink (blue emission) visible only in UV light.
Swatch says that this is the first time these two complications have been combined in the same watch, and while simple logic might explain why, we think it looks pretty good, which is the main reason we wear a MoonSwatch anyway.
No changes have been made to the case material, and the MoonSwatch Mission to Earthphase features a black tachymeter scale on the bezel contrast by light gray markers, which is a new colour, and not the same found on the standard ‘Mission to the Moon’ MoonSwatch.
Again, the Bioceramic MoonSwatch MISSION TO EARTHPHASE (AU$525 (USD$325)) will be available at selected Swatch stores worldwide from November 2, 2024. If you’re shopping from Australia, we’ve included a full list of stores above. Like all Bioceramic MoonSwatches, only one watch can be purchased per person, per day and per store.
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