Imagen: Swatch, web oficial
The storyWhy this reference matters
Omega and Swatch launched eleven models at once, each named after a body in the solar system, from the Sun to Pluto. They sold only in selected Swatch shops, with no website, one watch per person per day per shop. There were queues in the UK, Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan and Switzerland. In London about ten people got in before the shop closed its doors and did not open again that Saturday, with Metropolitan Police officers trying to bring order to the crowd.
The material gives the collection its name. Bioceramic is two-thirds ceramic and one-third a bio-sourced plastic derived from castor oil, and it explains two things at once: why the watch weighs almost nothing, and why it lacks the metallic sheen you expect from the photographs. The case copies the asymmetric silhouette of the Speedmaster Professional at full size, 42 mm, with the tachymeter scale written in French on the bezel exactly as on the original.
Of the eleven, the Mission to the Moon is the one that plays around least. The other ten invent colours Omega would never put on a Speedmaster. This one is light grey with a black dial, a black bezel and cream lume, which is exactly what the watch that went to the Moon looks like. It is the literal tribute of the series and, for that very reason, the one that draws the most sidelong glances when it turns up on somebody else's wrist three metres away.
SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table
| Brand | Swatch |
|---|---|
| Family | Bioceramic MoonSwatch |
| Reference | SO33M100 |
| Years made | desde 2022 |
| Calibre | ETA G10.212 (cuarzo con cronógrafo) |
| Movement | Cuarzo |
| Complications | Cronógrafo |
| Diameter | 42 mm |
| Lug width | 20 mm |
| Case | Bioceramic (dos tercios de cerámica y un tercio de material de origen vegetal derivado del aceite de ricino) |
| Crystal | Plástico abombado |
| Water resistance | 3 bar (30 m) |
IdentificationHow to tell it apart
The layout of the counters gives it away in two seconds. On the MoonSwatch the running seconds are at six, the minute counter at ten and the tenths of a second at two. On a real Speedmaster Professional the small seconds are at nine, the minutes at three and the hours at six. Anyone who mixes the two up at a distance has no excuse close to.
The dial reads Omega's logo above the word swatch at twelve, Speedmaster in italics to the left of centre, MOONSWATCH to the right and SWISS MADE at the bottom. The bezel says TACHYMETRE, in French, accent and all. The strap is black Velcro with the Omega symbol on the free end and Swatch's signature on the keeper.
Turn it over. The battery cover on the back is moulded into the shape of each mission's celestial body, so on the SO33M100 it is the Moon. The case is monobloc: it does not open from the back like a normal watch and the only way to the battery is through that cover. The weight is the clinching argument, because in the hand it comes nowhere near what a 42 mm chronograph looks like it should weigh.
CollectingWhat collectors check
The crystal is plastic and scratches if you look at it. It is the number one complaint from everyone who wears one daily and the thing that most affects the price of a used example. The good news is that acrylic polishes out. The bad news is that with a monobloc case it is not a five-minute job. Hold the crystal up to the light before you look at anything else.
Velcro is the second wear point. It is opened and closed every day, it collects lint and loses its grip. A worn strap costs you, and a strap swapped for a non-original costs you more, because the Omega symbol on the end is half the watch. Check as well that the chronograph pushers return the hands cleanly to zero.
On value: this is a Swatch made in industrial quantities. The 2022 resale premium has evaporated as Swatch kept production up and ended up selling them online too. Paying a grey-market premium today, after everything that has happened, makes very little sense. What does matter is the original box and that the battery has not been sitting dead inside it for years.
Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference
Is the MoonSwatch plastic?
Not entirely. It is made of Bioceramic, two-thirds ceramic and one-third a plant-based material derived from castor oil. It is hard and very light, but the crystal is plastic and does scratch easily.
Can the MoonSwatch battery be changed?
Yes. The case is monobloc and does not open from the back like a conventional watch, but the case back carries a protective cover, moulded into the shape of each mission's celestial body, that gives access to the battery.
Where can you buy a MoonSwatch?
At first only in selected physical Swatch shops, one per person per day, which is what caused the queues of 2022. In time Swatch began selling them on its own website in several markets.
How does the MoonSwatch differ from a real Speedmaster?
In nearly everything except the silhouette. The MoonSwatch is quartz, made of Bioceramic, with a plastic crystal and 30 metres of water resistance. It also puts the running seconds at six rather than nine, so the counter layout does not match the Moonwatch either.
Keep readingWhere to go from here
Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with
See Swatch Bioceramic MoonSwatch at auction now → What is up for sale on Catawiki today. Read the page above before you bid: half the mistakes come from not checking the reference.Confidence: media — this page was checked against the sources below. If a detail looks wrong to you, write to us and we will fix it.