If you, like many of us, couldn’t get your hands on a coveted MoonSwatch in 2022 and 2023, Omega is auctioning 11 complete sets of its 11-piece “Mission to Moonshine Gold” collection in special suitcases through Sotheby’s.
The online sale—which runs from Monday through the next full moon on Feb. 24—marks the first opportunity for watch enthusiasts to purchase an entire set as a rare collector’s item.
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Even better, all proceeds from the auction will be donated to Omega’s longtime charity partner, Orbis International, a New York-based non-profit that fights avoidable blindness and vision loss worldwide. Through its programs and on board the Flying Eye Hospital, Orbis has treated millions of patients in addition to training local eyecare professionals in areas of great need.
The sister brands first teamed up in March 2022 to launch the initial set of MoonSwatches, fusing the design of the legendary Omega Speedmaster with Swatch’s revolutionary Bioceramic material in different thematic color combinations inspired by space and the planets in our solar system.
Bioceramic is a composite that blends zirconium oxide ceramic powder with biosourced material derived by castor oil to create a novel material that is lightweight and comfortable to wear given its thermal properties that adapt to the body’s temperature.
Priced at US$270, the original MoonSwatches triggered a consumer feeding frenzy with people lining up outside Swatch boutiques trying to obtain one of the few pieces that slowly trickled out at retail.
In 2023, the collection underwent a radiant transformation with 11 Mission to Moonshine Gold versions, each accented with a special seconds hand coated in 18-karat Moonshine Gold, Omega’s proprietary yellow gold alloy with a subtle shimmer.
The Mission to Moonshine Gold editions, priced at US$300, were launched monthly starting in March 2023. Each piece comes with a certificate stating that it was produced during the full moon of the preceding month. One exception to that rule is the striking blue-hued “Blue Moon” August second edition, produced during the second full moon of that month.
Otherwise, the watches share the same classic “Speedy” black-and-gray aesthetic. What sets them apart is a special detail on the second hand, such as a strawberry pattern for the Strawberry Moon in July or a flower pattern for the Flower Moon in May. The October edition is fitted with a glow-in-the-dark lollipop seconds hand as a tribute to 1961’s Speedmaster CK2998, the last model with the 2998 reference fitted with a chronograph lollipop seconds hand.
Prior to the sale, the suitcase sets are being showcased at 11 Omega boutiques worldwide, including New York, London, Zurich, Tokyo, Beijing, and Paris.
Each suitcase is dedicated to one of these cities and comes with a golden monocle emblazoned with the Omega x Swatch logo and a coin engraved with the three-letter aviation code of the designated city. The code is also engraved on the side of each watch in the set.
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