OMEGA and Swatch are back again for its final special edition watch of 2023. For the last full moon of the year, the latest MoonSwatch pays tribute to the Cold Moon with a sparkling snowflake design and hidden glow in the dark accents.
Throughout 2023, the popular OMEGA x Swatch collaboration has treated us with a new watch every month to mark the next full moon. Each special edition is based around the same watch design, meaning the case, chronographs, strap and movement is the same, but the seconds hand has a different pattern.
For example, we’ve seen strawberries for the Strawberry Moon, beaver teeth and dam detailing for the Beaver Moon and to celebrate National Swiss Day, MoonSwatch launched a Swiss lanterns hand pattern. As the last full moon of the year is for the Cold Moon, I wasn’t sure what to expect but OMEGA and Swatch certainly didn’t disappoint with its latest timepiece.
The latest MoonSwatch for the December full moon is inspired by the Cold Moon and the winter season. As announced on the Swatch Instagram, “This Mission to the Moon has a seconds hand made of OMEGA's Moonshine Gold featuring a snowflake pattern as a homage to the Cold Moon and a secret detail that glows in the dark.”
For the Cold Moon, I was expecting to see a redesign of the Mission to Neptune, mainly because of the Blue Moon watch for August which relaunched the rare Mission to Neptune watch. But the brand has decided to stick to reimagining its popular Mission to the Moon watch.
As with all special edition MoonSwatch watches, the main features of the watch include a 42mm case in ceramic black and grey with moon and space imagery decorating the case back. The watch face has a matte black dial, three chronographs and is powered by a quartz movement. The watch is finished off with OMEGA and Swatch logos and a black velcro strap.
What makes December’s edition of the MoonSwatch different is its seconds hand which sees delicate and intricate snowflakes running up and down the hand. The little ‘window’ at the end of the hand has a secret snowflake inside which glows in the dark, making it perfect for the winter and Christmas season.
While I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see a new Mission to Neptune relaunch, the snowflakes design is fun and pleasing to look at. But this latest watch has me wondering about the future of the special edition MoonSwatch watches.
As we’re into the last month of 2023, the MoonSwatch Mission to Moon with snowflakes is the last watch from the brands in 2023… but does this also mean it’s the last special edition watch from the OMEGA X Swatch collaboration?
As limited edition MoonSwatch timepieces were released every month in 2023, whether it’ll continue next year is up to debate. The special editions have been met with mostly positive reviews with many people queuing up to get the new editions from Swatch stores around the world.
But an important fact to remember is that full moons don’t change, meaning next December will also have a Cold Moon. This has led me to wonder whether OMEGA and Swatch will come up with new designs for each moon or if they'll roll out the same designs from 2023 in another limited batch.
I’ve been loving keeping up with the new editions month after month so I hope the collaboration continues. But it looks like we’ll have to wait until next year to find out.
