For several weeks, Swatch has been teasing its latest MoonSwatch collaboration with Omega, and the Swiss brand has just unveiled what will be officially going on sale on March 26, 2024. Given the numerous teasers on Instagram, we knew that this latest MoonSwatch would be something moon-related (well, more moon-related than usual), and it would also somehow include the famous Peanuts character Snoopy, who has a history of appearing on Omega Speedmaster watches. Two years after the launch of the original MoonSwatch, the ultra-popular collection has finally received its first new complication. The new Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase in white Bioceramic swaps out the 1/10th second register of the original MoonSwatch series for a Snoopy-themed moonphase complication.
While it might seem like a random association, Snoopy’s appearance on Omega Speedmaster watches has a legitimate historical precedent: the cartoon character was chosen by NASA to be an emblem of outstanding achievement during missions. First awarded in 1968, the Silver Snoopy Award is a special honor given to NASA employees and contractors for achievements related to human flight safety and mission success. Snoopy has appeared on three different Speedmaster models over the years, and you can learn more about the 50th-anniversary version from 2020 right here. Given the popularity of the various Snoopy-themed Omega Speedmaster watches, it only seemed like a matter of time before the famous cartoon dog would appear on a MoonSwatch, and today that has finally happened.
Known as the “Full Moon” (which informs its all-white colorway), the new Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase (ref. SO33W700) largely follows in the footsteps of its predecessors with a Bioceramic case in the familiar shape of the Omega Speedmaster, along with a domed biosourced plastic crystal and 30 meters of water resistance. With that in mind, while the case still measures 42mm in diameter by 47.3mm lug-to-lug, it is now half a millimeter taller and measures 13.75mm thick. Just like before, a Biocermaic crown flanked by a set of chronograph pushers is located on the right-hand side of the case, while the caseback features a small user-accessible battery door. However, while the original MoonSwatch models had realistic prints of their respective planets, the new Misson to the Moonphase watch has a cartoon drawing of a full moon located on its rear battery hatch.
To further complement its all-white color profile, the new Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase gets fitted with a white-colored dial, which also happens to be properly in-theme with the recently-released white lacquer dial Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch. Similar to the flagship white dial Speedmaster from Omega, the hands and various printed elements on the dial are black on the new Mission to the Moonphase Moonswatch. However, the subdial position at 2 o’clock is now a moonphase indicator that features an image of Snoopy laying on the moon graphic of the moonphase disc. The moonphase display itself is luminous, and as an added detail for collectors, a hidden quote from the famous comic strip is printed on the frame of the moonphase indicator in UV-reactive ink that reads “I can’t sleep without a night light!”
Swatch makes no specific mention of what movement is used inside the new Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase, although you can guarantee that it is some type of ETA design. Based on its layout and functionality, I’m fairly certain that it is a slight variation of the 4-jewel ETA Caliber G10.962 quartz chronograph moonphase movement. While the standard ETA design offers the added functionality of both a date display and a secondary hour-counter hand within its chronograph sub-dial at 10 o’clock, the new MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase doesn’t appear to have either of these features. Despite this, it still offers the same 60-minute chronograph of the standard MoonSwatch, plus its party-piece Snoopy moonphase display. Lastly, to complete its all-white colorway, the new Mission to the Moonphase watch is paired with a white Velcro strap with white Bioceramic hardware, in the same style as the Velcro straps that can be found throughout the rest of the MoonSwatch collection.
Omega’s various Silver Snoopy Speedmaster models have a strong following within the collector community. However, they are all premium options within the greater context of the Speedmaster, and they are therefore priced outside of most people’s budgets. With an official retail price of $310 USD, the new (non-limited edition) Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase ref. SO33W700 is slightly more expensive than the standard MoonSwatch models, although this is exponentially more affordable than the four to five-figure sum that it takes to secure an actual Silver Snoopy Speedmaster from Omega. To close out its press release for the launch, Swatch has the rather ominous words “more to come…” printed as the final line before the tech specs page, and I can only imagine that we may end up seeing other models expand upon this concept in the future. For more information on the Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to the Moonphase, please visit the brand’s website.
