The new MoonSwatch Mission to Earthphase – Moonshine Gold. All images: Swatch

BEFORE READING the press material for the latest MoonSwatch, the urge to throw in a joke or two about a “blue moon” watch release was almost overwhelming. But that would a) deny the reality that these dynamic timepieces are a consistent win with their designs and b) miss the fascinating factoid that the Mission to Earthphase – Moonshine Gold, as it’s been dubbed, is actually coming out during a Sturgeon Moon.

On 9 August, under the light of the Sturgeon Moon (aka the August full moon), Swatch will release its most technically ambitious MoonSwatch to date: the Mission to Earthphase – Moonshine Gold. It’s the first model in the Bioceramic collection to feature not just a moon phase, but also a newly developed “earth phase” indicator, a poetic inversion that imagines what our planet might look like if you were standing on the Moon, watching it spin.

The Earth phase complication is a subtle but sophisticated innovation. Introduced by Swatch in 2024, it mirrors the lunar cycle – 29.5 days – but in reverse. When there’s a full moon on Earth, the indicator shows a new Earth; when Earth is cloaked in darkness, the Moon appears in full. The result is a slow, counterclockwise rotation of our planet through the watch face, offset by a traditional clockwise moon phase dial at 2 o’clock. Both are rendered in a deep, sparkly navy with UV-reactive ink and tiny, near-hidden details that only reveal themselves under the right light.

It’s also one of the more whimsical MoonSwatches. Nestled beneath the earth phase is a vignette of Snoopy and Woodstock perched on the lunar surface, gazing at their home planet. A hidden phrase, only visible under UV light, pays tribute to the Moonwatch’s NASA legacy and the imagination that got it there.

The 42mm case, crown and pushers are cast in Swatch’s proprietary Bioceramic: a lightweight, scratch-resistant blend of ceramic and castor oil-based material. The moon phase features two full moons, one draped in a net pattern as a nod to the Sturgeon Moon’s angler origins, both coated in Omega’s exclusive Moonshine™ Gold. Super-LumiNova® glows on the hands and indices, while the navy VELCRO® strap completes the mission-spec silhouette.

The finished product is a rich, navy blue (very on form with this year’s colour of choice for watches) that recalls the colour of space.

Like its predecessors, Mission to Earthphase – Moonshine Gold channels the core aesthetic of the Omega Speedmaster, recessed subdials, asymmetrical case, and all, with a more accessible attitude. Only one will be available per customer, in select Swatch stores, for one day only.

In short: a space-age collector’s piece that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And one that proves, once again, Swatch can still find new orbits.

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