Considering the long-established connection between Snoopy and Omega, after the original MoonSwatch caused pandemonium around the globe in 2022 and reinvigorated Swatch’s previously flagging fortunes, it’s hardly surprising that the brand should mine this rich Schulz seam to tease a coming Snoopy MoonSwatch.
There’s only one thing that could stop this cartoon-collaboration MoonSwatch from being the most popular version of the series since the Omega X Swatch’s frenzied launch: if it’s as unimaginative and understated as the Moonshine Gold editions that followed the bright and bold original MoonSwatches.
Photograph: Omega
The recent Moonshine Gold MoonSwatches were released in a series, each month on the full moon, yet before they arrived fans drooled over a possible gold MoonSwatch, much like Omega’s Moonwatch Pro Speedmaster in the same material (even though that piece is worth tens of thousands rather than a couple of hundred bucks). What materialized was something altogether less exciting, with the brand just making the second chronograph hand out of Moonshine Gold, then variations thereof.
The watch site Time+Tide commented on the version that arrived to coincide with National Swiss Day, saying: “There seems to be an increasingly sonorous groan echoing throughout the enthusiast space with each new, and somewhat gimmicky, release.”
Watch specialist and WIRED contributor Tim Barber agrees that the Moonshine Gold series for Swatch was lackluster. “After what was a genuine moment of inspired thinking and total surprise in 2022, the parade of gray MoonSwatches with embellished seconds hands—tied to a daft rubric about smelting gold on a full moon—has been thoroughly underwhelming,” he says. “It completely failed to demonstrate any of the inventiveness or boldness that made the MoonSwatch such a phenomenon.”
The bright blue Neptune Moonshine Gold version was possibly the most successful design-wise of Swatch’s follow-up line, even though this merely took the existing MoonSwatch Neptune piece and added the precious-metal hand.
Courtesy of Swatch
Courtesy of Swatch
The Instagram teaser video shows Snoopy on top of a boxed collection of Moonshine Gold MoonSwatches howling at a full moon. It lasts just seven seconds, yet the message is clear: Those waiting for a budget Swatch Snoopy Speedmaster better get ready to once again stand in line at selected Swatch stores, because it is extremely unlikely the company will break its rule and make these available to buy online.
Initially, the MoonSwatch was considered for online sales, and even Nick Hayek Jr., chief executive of Swatch Group, in WIRED’s exclusive feature on how the initial collaboration was developed in secret, refused to rule out the possibility post-launch. “Ask me in four months if ecommerce can play a role,” he said. “Perhaps. I don’t know.” That was in July 2022, and no MoonSwatch has been sold new online yet.
The Snoopy space connection stems from NASA’s Silver Snoopy award, a silver lapel pin first awarded in 1968 for outstanding achievements related to human flight safety or mission success. Omega was awarded the Silver Snoopy in 1970 after the Speedmaster played such an important role during Apollo 13, serving as backup to the faulty instruments during the mission, with Jack Swigert using his to time the critical 14-second rocket engine burn ensuring a safe return to Earth.
It wasn’t until 2003 that Omega brought in what was to be the first in a series of Snoopy-emblazoned Speedmasters to underline its spacefaring heritage and commemorate the award.
“Bringing in Snoopy was only ever a matter of time,” Barber says. “In fact, it’s remarkable there wasn’t a Snoopy version the first time around, which would of course have been the absolute must-have MoonSwatch. Snoopy brings the MoonSwatch back to the true iconography of the Omega Moonwatch, and it’s one of those quirky things that make the Moonwatch story so rich and unique. It’s something Omega has been able to have fun with, and you have to hope that Swatch can do something really creative with it rather than just bunging a picture of Snoopy on the watch.”
Indeed. If this does happen, it wouldn’t even be the first watch brand of 2024 to do that. Worse still, Swatch could merely place a miniature image of Snoopy on a Moonshine Gold central chronograph hand, an option enthusiasts are already fearing and will doubtless be disappointed to see. At the very least, we’re hoping for inventive use of Snoopy art on the sub-dials of the coming MoonSwatch, as well as the use of the caseback, ideally, where Swatch currently depicts the planet each piece represents in the collection.
Swatch is remaining quiet on the launch date for this new Snoopy MoonSwatch, but the teaser landed on January 25, the day of the first full moon of 2024. The next new moon is on February 24, so those looking to wait in line at stores should keep that date in mind.
