The New Omega X Swatch MoonSwatch Mission On Earth Launches: Here’s What You Need To Know

It had been teased all week that a new MoonSwatch release was on the horizon. Some weren’t even sure if the impending Omega x Swatch release was going to be a MoonSwatch at all. We saw the video Swatch posted on Instagram which had the original blue MoonSwatch briefcase being bumped from orbit by a new, fresher, teal/turquoise briefcase as both floated high above the Earth. Could it perhaps have been signaling the Seamaster Swatch everyone assumes is a forgone conclusion? Well, as it turned out, it signaled three new variations on the classic MoonSwatch theme. And that trio lands in stores today.

Following up on the Snoopy MoonSwatch releases in both black and white earlier this year – a nod to the Silver Snoopy Award – everyone's favorite Bioceramic chronograph has now set its sights firmly on our home planet in three formats: The Mission on Earth: Lava, The Mission On Earth: Polar Lights, and the Mission on Earth: Desert. 

As you might expect, the Lava takes on a decided – well – lava-like appearance with a fiery case color. The dial is black with orange accents which is all well and good. In fact, it’s one handsome watch. But if you look closely at it, and you remove the colorful case from your mind’s eye, Speedmaster buffs will start to see something very familiar. The dial is directly inspired by fan-favorite Omega Speedmaster Ultraman which first appeared in vintage form in the 1960s, signified by its orange chronograph hand and orange accents on the dial. It was so named for its appearance in the Japanese television show, Ultraman. It was then revived as a Speedy Tuesday limited edition by our friends over at Fratello.

But the homage doesn’t end there. You might remember another bold MoonSwatch – the Mission to Mars – which featured a red case and white dial design that harkened back to the vintage Speedmaster Alaska Project watches. Compared to the new Mission on Earth designs, that was what I’ll call a mild homage. This new trio up levels the tribute paid to the past, while also markedly improving the amount of detail that has no business being on a $300 version of the iconic Omega Speedmaster. And I mean that as a compliment.

Let’s dig into the dial of the Lava as our exemplar but just know that most of the details I outline here are true of the Polar Lights and Desert model (and yes, I will get to those as well). So the first thing that caught my eye on the Lava was the Ultraman-esque marker styling which is a combination of rectangular markers with a touch of faux-patina and a separate orange square end. This plays really nicely off of the orange hands filled with the same faux-aged luminescent material. I mean, the resemblance is so close, it’s nearly uncanny – but it’s also not meant to be a 1:1 re-creation. Instead it's more of a mashup of inspiration. On that point, we look next at the subdials, with their concentric circular texture and radial numerals evocative of the Alaska Project II and III models of yesteryear.

Then we move to the Polar Lights edition with its turquoise case, which brings a brightness against the night-sky dial in a deep blue that includes silver specks meant to evoke aventurine glass dials. Here we get the same layout as the Lava in terms of the typography, and overall orientation. What changes is the – shall we say – mood of it all by way of the color scheme and broader presentation. Variations on a theme.

Which brings me to the final model in the new trio, dubbed the “Desert” edition which might remind you a lot of the IWC Mojave Chronograph in its overall look. Considering both chronos are sand-themed, this makes a ton of sense. But at $300, this is also leagues less expensive than a Mojave IWC. But I digress. Looking at this model, you get a far more pared down, stealthier appearance. This watch is less about contrast and more about an overall vibe – an aesthetic The case is sand-colored and the dial is a color called "greige," which is just another way of saying taupe. The vintage flourishes and radial orientation of the numerals are sort of lost on this edition just because of the lack of contrast and the overall modern appearance of it.

As with every MoonSwatch, this trio of new editions come in at a 42mm case diameter, each are 13.25mm thick and have a lug-to-lug distance of 47.3mm. They all glow with green Super-LumiNova and come equipped with complimentary velcro straps.

In my opinion, this launch would probably have been most effective if there was only one addition to the line – and that watch could probably have just been the Lava edition because of ties to Ultraman. Now I say that because the overall design is so tied to vintage with this new round of releases. One thing I haven’t seen covered closely is just how faithful to vintage Speedmasters the ultra serif typographical styling in the subdials is. It’s positively crazy we are getting this level of historical tribute on a watch of this price. But those details feel a bit out of place on the Polar Lights and the Desert editions. I can’t help but think it would have been better to go the Swatch x Blancpain route and have slight dial variations across the line for greater differentiation.

But that’s getting nitpicky because this is the first time we have gotten multiple MoonSwatches in a briefcase since the original launch back in 2022. And just like the Snoopy editions, these will not be limited. If you have passed by a Swatch boutique in the past few days, you have no doubt probably already seen the open briefcase in the display windows showing off this new trio.

Well, today is launch day, so if you’re reading this article while standing in line somewhere across the globe, I hope some of this insight was helpful in making your choice. And I say that because the rules are the rules when it comes to MoonSwatch: You can only buy one watch at a time. Who’s to say if these things will see the rampant lines we saw in past launches, so if you’re on the couch and on the fence about venturing out to get one … maybe there’s still time. 

Let us know what your favorite new MoonSwatch is, and definitely let us know if you were able to pick one up. Happy MoonSwatch Day everyone. Good luck. 

MoonSwatch Mission on Earth