What If: The Omega × Swatch MoonSwatch Speedy Tuesday Editions
Love or hate it, the MoonSwatch certainly stirred things up this year. Here at Fratello, most of us are fans of the watch, and nearly everyone was able to get one (or several) from the Swatch boutiques. But I’m wondering what the next step for Swatch will be. Will we see more collaborations with other brands, or will we see a few new variations of the MoonSwatch?
Creating new MoonSwatches
I don’t believe that the latter will happen. Likewise, I’m not a fan of the idea of Swatch doing a similar collaboration with another brand or model. I’ve seen the Swatch-made prototypes of a Seamaster 300M and a Blancpain in bioceramic, but to me, neither really came across as a Swatch. Instead, they just looked like bioceramic copies of existing watches. Anyway, we still thought that the MoonSwatch is a nice canvas, so asked my colleague Dave to create two images of the imaginary MoonSwatch Speedy Tuesday models.
The Speedy Tuesday 1 (2017) and 2 (2018)
Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday models
In case you don’t know, the Omega Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday models were introduced in 2017 and 2018. The first watch was to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Speedy Tuesday community, and together with us, Omega came up with this “Tribute to Alaska III” watch. It was based on the Speedmaster Professional model that was qualified for use during the Space Shuttle missions. Like that rare model, it featured a radial dial, but this time with a reverse panda motif and a fully brushed case.
Ultraman’s headshot in the 9 o’clock sub-dial on the 2018 Omega Speedmaster Professional Speedy Tuesday “Ultraman”
Then, in 2018, we thought it would be nice to create a more thematic watch. Ultraman was the theme that we came up with, and the Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday “Ultraman” had some very nice details referring to the Japanese superhero TV show. In the 1971 series Return of Ultraman, the actors wore a Speedmaster with an orange chronograph seconds hand. This watch was nicknamed the “Ultraman” by collectors. We used that as the inspiration for our second Speedy Tuesday edition and added several new details as well. With a production of 2,012 pieces each commemorating the founding year of Speedy Tuesday, both editions are now long sold out. For more background information about the Omega Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday models, click here.
MoonSwatch Speedy Tuesday 1 and 2
Back to the MoonSwatch. Dave and I discussed the Speedy Tuesday elements that we wanted to see in the MoonSwatch, and he used his Photoshop skills to get these images done. And I have to say, I would buy both of these immediately if Swatch were to make them available. With the bioceramic material, practically any color is possible, so an orange case for the “Ultraman” becomes an option along with a gray case for the “Tribute to Alaska III.” For the MoonSwatch “Ultraman,” we also made sure to have the NATO strap keepers in orange bioceramic.
Lots of details
The level of detail is quite high on the MoonSwatch models, so we thought we could use every bit from the Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday models in the Swatch as well. The gray case for the Speedy Tuesday “Tribute to Alaska III” should remind you of the brushed stainless steel case. There are also silvery white sub-dials and brushed silver hands. On the “Ultraman,” you now find the Japanese superhero’s silhouette on the sub-dial at 6 o’clock rather than at 9 o’clock.
Whereas Omega produced the step dial for the Speedmaster Speedy Tuesday “Ultraman” in aluminum (a first for the brand), Swatch’s engineers can shape the bioceramic material in any way they want. Therefore, the MoonSwatch already had a step dial, whereas it was a novelty for modern Speedmasters on the 2018 “Ultraman”.
I am very curious about the next big thing from Swatch. The MoonSwatch put the brand back on the map this year, and whether you like or dislike the watch is irrelevant. The fact is that Swatch is now much more visible than it had been in recent years. Now, to be clear, we are not asking Swatch to produce these MoonSwatch Speedy Tuesday editions; we just wanted to see how they would look. But what kind of MoonSwatch design would you like to see, or would you prefer that Swatch collaborate with other brands to make different models in bioceramic? Let us know in the comments.
