My experience with the MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon

Chronographs used to be my favourite type of watch. As a student, I wanted a Breitling Navitimer, but I could not afford one.

Later, I bought a Casio Edifice EF-527L-1A. It had a similarly busy dial and I really liked it, but it was too big for my wrist. I did not pay much attention to that at the time.

These days, I prefer watches around 36 to 38 mm, such as the Seiko SARB033, Junghans Max Bill Automatic or Tudor Black Bay 36. I have gradually moved away from chronographs, and the Omega Speedmaster Professional never really appealed to me. At 42 mm, I considered it too big for my wrist.

The smaller Speedmaster Reduced did not appeal to me either. Its modular movement, an automatic base with a chronograph module added on top, always seemed like an odd arrangement to me.

Why the MoonSwatch did not appeal to me

When Swatch and Omega introduced the MoonSwatch a few years ago, I liked the idea. Around €300 for a plastic watch still seemed like a lot, though, even if Swatch calls the material “Bioceramic”.

At first, it was only sold in selected physical stores. People queued for it, and prices on the secondary market were ridiculous. I wanted to see it in person, but I did not want to travel just for that or pay a markup to someone who had only bought it to resell it.

In the meantime, I had visited several cities with Swatch stores, but usually only remembered the MoonSwatch afterwards. In Paris, I did at least have a look at the Swatch x Blancpain watches, but I did not like them at all in person. With each new collaboration and special edition, I had the feeling Swatch would keep milking the concept for as long as it could.

An unplanned purchase at the airport

This September, I was returning from a company meeting in Amsterdam when I walked past a Swatch store at Schiphol Airport. There were MoonSwatches in the window, so I finally stopped to have a look. They had practically every version, including the newer special editions. I wanted to try the basic Mission to the Moon, the one that looks most like the classic Speedmaster.

I mainly wanted to know how a 42 mm watch would look on my small wrist. It looked surprisingly good. It is at the limit of what I can wear, but it did not look as big on my wrist as I had expected. The distance between the tips of the lugs, or lug-to-lug, is around 47 mm. Diameter alone does not tell the whole story.

So I bought it. For €290, without having to queue, search for one or pay a secondary-market markup.

MoonSwatch Mission to the Moon

Design

The design is essentially a Speedmaster Moonwatch in plastic, complete with the familiar dial, tachymeter bezel and domed crystal. The watch is very light. I barely notice it on my wrist.

The lume surprised me too. I expected it to barely glow, but it is perfectly usable in practice.

Movement

The quartz movement ticks surprisingly loudly. The plastic case probably does not help. I cannot keep it on my bedside table, and if I put it next to me on my desk while working, the ticking starts to annoy me after a while.

Strap

The original Velcro strap did not suit me at all, and I took it off almost immediately. First, I tried a NATO strap from Erika’s Originals that I already had for watches with a 20 mm lug width. Eventually, I settled on a rubber strap.

I have also ordered a fitted rubber strap shaped to match the MoonSwatch case, which should look better. I am still waiting for it to arrive.

On the wrist

I have never used the tachymeter and probably never will. I do occasionally use the chronograph, though. I still enjoy pressing the button and watching the central hand go around the dial. It reminded me why I used to like chronographs so much.

I initially thought of the MoonSwatch as more of a toy, but now I wear it like any other watch. I am even considering taking it on my next trip to Japan instead of the Black Bay 36 I wore on my previous two trips.

What about an actual Speedmaster?

Shortly before I bought the MoonSwatch, Omega introduced a new Speedmaster 38. The black version without a date looks much closer to the classic Moonwatch than the older Speedmaster 38 models. A 38 mm diameter and a lug-to-lug of around 45 mm are dimensions that suit me.

The Speedmaster 38 is almost 15 mm thick, however, so I would want to try it on first. The Speedmaster had not really appealed to me before, but the MoonSwatch showed me that I actually like how the design looks on my wrist.

I bought the MoonSwatch at the airport without planning to, and I enjoy wearing it. I did not expect it to make me consider an actual Speedmaster as well.