Business / Fashion - 15 April 2022 by C. Mauer

The Omega X Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch 

Luxury X Streetstyle - but you have to be a little patient...

BIOCERAMIC MoonSwatch - SUN

©Swatch

Collaborations are all the rage but recently in the watch world two icons came together and the result has astronomical dimensions. The Swatch Group headquarters in Biel, Switzerland, calls it a partnership between luxury and street style from two of its brands, Omega and Swatch. 

Both brands are shining stars in the watch world and, fittingly, they drew their design inspiration from outer space. Eleven Swatch models have been named after celestial bodies.

Technical features:

All Swatch models are made of Swatch's patented BIOCERAMIC, a mix of two-thirds ceramic and one-third castor oil-based material.

Although colours like pink and pale blue give away that it is not the Omega Speedmaster, it is hard to spot differences between the two watches. All the important design features of the Omega Moonwatch are present. The asymmetrical case, the tachymeter scale with the dot above the ninety and the Speedmaster totalizers, all of which are functional. The Moonswatch has the Supernova for the indexes and the hands, just like the Omega Speedmasters, and glows green in the dark.

Each MoonSwatch has its own mission statement, inspirational inscriptions and the combined OMEGA X SWATCH branding on the dial and crown. Swatch has also found a creative solution to cover the quartz batteries with the respective planetary images they claim to have received from NASA. The VELCRO© bracelet is also sold in astronaut suits.

MoonSwatch SUN - supposedly the first attempt that started the cooperation

©Swatch

MoonSwatch EARTH

The homage to the earth in green and blue

©Swatch

MoonSwatch MOON

Supposedly the best-selling and the one that bears the most resemblance to the Omega Speedmaster

©Swatch

MoonSwatch MOON

Lovely details  - the quartz battery is covered by a moon field

©Swatch

MoonSwatch EARTH

©Swatch

The colour scheme

Uranus is pale blue and is also called the Tiffany watch by enthusiasts. Venus is a powder pink and has oval dials decorated with illustrations of diamonds.

Pluto is grey and has a burgundy bezel. The Moonswatch tribute to Earth is blue and green. The Mars watch is red and features the hands of the Alaska project, a tribute to an earlier Speedmaster model. The Saturn Moonswatch is beige and dark brown - the Saturn rings encircle the chronometer with rings at 6 o'clock. Neptune is deep blue, Jupiter is bronze/beige with orange hands, Mercury is black and dark. The MoonSwatch is all black and most similar to the original Omega Speedmaster. The Sun MoonSwatch is said to have been the starting point for this project, when a provocatively bright yellow colour was chosen to simulate whether an Omega/Swatch project was even feasible.

MoonSwatch URANUS

Now already called the Tiffany watch

©Swatch

MoonSwatch VENUS

One of the best sellers among the ladies

©Swatch

MoonSwatch MOON

Supposedly the best-selling and the one that bears the most resemblance to the Omage Speedmaster

©Swatch

Conclusion:

With the Omega X Swatch Speedmaster MoonSwatch, the Swiss company has pulled off a coup. It once again shows the brand's innovative power and entrepreneurial spirit. The decision not to limit the watch should come as a relief, as it is a perfect Omega watch with loving details down to the last detail, and you have a piece of history on your arm - namely the first watch to be on the moon.

To buy:

Only available to buy in Swatch shops - there is no waiting list and no preference! So - just have perseverance.

Learn more:

swatch.com

MoonSwatch URANUS ©Swatch

Business / Fashion - 15 April 2022

What could be behind the Omega - Swatch coup?

Swatch has achieved the watch coup of the year - the launch of the MoonSwatch as a result of the Omega X Swatch Speedmaster cooperation. The MoonSwatch is a tribute to the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional, which was worn by American astronaut Buzz Aldrin when he walked on the moon in 1969. Never since the 1980s and 1990s had a Swatch watch succeeded in attracting such worldwide attention. Plus: Scarsity - the golden rule. An analysis.

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Art - Business - 6 April 2022

Art and art insurance in 2022 - art innovation leads to insurance innovation  - an interview with Julia Ries, Head of ERGO Art & Values. NFT art insurance, environment social governance & sustainability in a $65.1bn market. According to the Global Art Market Report 2022, just released by UBS and Art Basel, the international art market recovered significantly in 2021 after having its sharpest sales decline in the last 10 years in 2020. Total sales of art by dealers and auction houses were estimated at $65.1 billion, a 29% increase in sales over 2020. The art market is undergoing a lot of change and so the question is how key players, such as art insurance companies, view this. Alethea & Art Magazine received an interview from Julia Ries, Head of ERGO Art & Values.

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Julia Ries, Head of ERGO Art & Values ©Ergo

Business / Art / Fashion, 12 April 2022

The year 2022 for Swatch -

The man behind the design at Swatch is Carlo Giordanetti, member of the Swatch Product and Design Committee. He is also CEO of the Swatch Art Peace Hotel,

an artist residence in Shanghai.

Collaborations between brands and art abound - but what makes the collaboration between Swatch and the world of art so different, and why is it so fruitful? Alethea & Art Magazine interviewed Carlo Giordanetti at the launch of Swatch X Centre Pompidou in Paris to find out what role Swatch plays in the world of watches today, what sustainability measures the brand is taking and what his next plans are.

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Photo: Carlo Giordanetti , member of the Swatch Product and Design Committee ©Swatch

Art Calendar / Interview - 12 April 2022

The World Reimagined -

Interview with Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye - "Art is our greatest unifier"

A UK based arts education project designed to highlight the dimensions of the impact of the transatlantic slave trade in order to realise racial justice. Over 100 globe structures will be installed in seven UK cities from August to October 2022, created by

 both established and undiscovered artists.

An interview with the artistic director of the project, Ashley Shaw-Scott Adjaye.

Read more

Yinka Shonibare - The World Reimagined - Globe Render

©Yinka Shonibare