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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Claire Galloway

MoonSwatch chaos as hundreds queue outside Scots store overnight in shopping frenzy

Hundreds of dedicated shoppers queued up overnight outside a Scots store to be in with a chance of buying a sought-after new watch.

Watch fans queued amid the release of the BIOCERAMIC MoonSwatch, a range of watches made in collaboration between brands Swatch and Omega.

A watch from the collection costs just £207 - a fraction of the price when compared with the Omega model, which costs around £5,000.

The highly-anticipated watches went on sale at the Swatch store in Edinburgh on Saturday, sparking a shopping frenzy.

Customers were spotted queuing up on Princes Street as early as 11pm on Friday night ahead of the shop opening the next day.

Customers queue outside the Swatch store in Edinburgh (Supplied)

Hundreds of people had joined the huge winding queue early on Saturday morning, which stretched back to nearby Rose Street by Saturday morning.

While the watches may cost under £300 when bought from the retailer, they are already being sold over £3,000 on eBay.

The collection is the brands' affordable take on Omega's 'legendary Speedmaster Moonwatch'.

Swatch says: "The Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is legendary and a must-have for collectors.

"BIOCERAMIC Moon-Swatch collection makes the iconic design accessible to fans everywhere."

Eager shoppers began queuing last night (Supplied)

In a statement on social media, Swatch UK told customers that due to 'unexpected and phenomenal demand' they would be limiting purchase to one watch per customer.

Shoppers and passersby took to Twitter amid the excitement.

One said: "Edinburgh queuing for the new Swatch X Omega watches. Starts on Princes st, up Frederick st, along Rose st and stops just before Charlotte sq."

Another added: "The swatch queue is crazy in Edinburgh. My estimate is around 1,000 people waiting for a #MoonSwatch. All the way down rose street about 10 people every 10 meters."

There were chaotic scenes outside the Swatch shop in London's Carnaby Street after large crowds turned up for the launch.

The store ended up opening for barely half an hour after police officers were seen speaking to store staff as crowds tried to get inside, a customer said.

Swatch updated customers on Saturday afternoon that three London stores, in Covent Garden, Carnaby and Oxford Street, had to be shut due to 'unprecedented demand and health and safety reasons'.

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