Omega Moonwatch Surges After Cheap Swatch Version Goes Wild

tech.hindustantimes.com:

Sales of the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch have surged in the wake of a wildly successful collaboration with plastic timepiece pioneer Swatch that’s introduced the iconic chronograph to a wider public. 

The Speedmaster Moonwatch model, which retails for about $7,000 and is lionized for being the first watch worn on the moon, increased sales in Omega stores by more than 50% since the launch of the $250 MoonSwatch in March, Swatch Group AG CEO Nick Hayek said in an interview at the company’s headquarters in Biel, Switzerland. 

Hayek said sales of all Speedmaster models have “risen by double digits,” since the MoonSwatch debuted. The original Moonwatch is a hand-wound model featuring a black dial and hesalite glass, though the brand also sells variants with automatic calibers and ceramic or gold cases, topped off with more expensive sapphire glass.

The MoonSwatch, a quartz-driven timepiece in a ceramic and bio-plastic composite-case, borrows key design elements from the Speedmaster and caused a global retail sensation when it was unveiled in March. Thousands of eager customers thronged stores in the hope of getting hold of the model, which comes in a variety of colors based on celestial bodies of our solar system. The watch quickly sold out, and demand continues to outstrip supply at the 110 Swatch boutiques where the timepiece is currently sold.

Omega is the largest and most important unit within the Swatch stable of brands, which also include high-end manufacturers Breguet and Blancpain, as well as the more affordable Longines range. While the Moonwatch, first worn by Neil Armstrong and his fellow astronauts on their Apollo mission to the moon in 1969, has long been a mainstay of Omega’s offering, the brand remained behind