Not that long ago, Swatch launched its very own MoonSwatch. It was and continues to be one of the most hyped watch releases in recent memory. I have personally never witnessed the madness that followed its initial release. Omega Swatch promised us all this would not be a limited release, yet at the time of this writing the supply remains limited and demand currently still far outpaces supply. In addition, the MoonSwatch is currently only available in Swatch boutiques, and still not available online. This means a large number of enthusiasts have to find their MoonSwatch on the secondary market if they want one today.
As I summarised at the time of its initial launch, “the MoonSwatch is a celebration of the Omega Moonwatch, a celebration between Omega and Swatch, and it is a celebration very well done. It is also the perfect gateway drug for any aspiring Moonwatch enthusiasts out there”. And it turns out that much like an actual gateway drug, the Moonswatch is most easily found when dealing with the creatures that lurk in the darker corners of the universe: The watch flippers. People that buy watches for the sole purpose to resell them – usually almost immediately – at a profit. Further exacerbating the imbalance between supply & demand.
We all know the retail price of the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch by now. However, what is the general public willing to spend on one at the moment? To get to the answer, we would need to look at the current going rate on the secondary market. However, just looking at the list prices wouldn’t really tell us much, as people can ask for any price they want. What matters here is the price people are willing to pay for one. So, that’s just what we did.
When taking a closer look at the prices on stockx.com we quickly see that the golden days are over for the MoonSwatch. As supply increases and the hype continues to die down, we see the resale price dropping closer to retail. That said, there is still a very healthy markup on some particular models. Numbers shown above relate to the popular Mission to the Moon. Another highly popular model is the Uranus model, currently still fetching a 158% premium.
Ignoring these two particularly ‘hot’ models, we see that most other models however only carry small premium. Long gone are the very early days where prices around EUR 1000 were nothing impossible. However, that was at peak hype and hours after initial release. That is at a time where people were judging if they were willing to queue for hours & days instead of just paying a premium to be done with it. Now, hopefuly many people read our initial release article where we strongly suggested our dear readers exercise the long lost art of having some patience.
To date the fact is that the MoonSwatches are still not available online at Swatch. This means that if you do not have a Swatch Boutique near you, you’re all out of luck if you’re trying to get one at retail price. Your only channel to buy would be on the secondary market. The good news is that the prices have dropped considerably, and with some more patience will continue to drop even further. Swatch is certainly churning these out by the thousands and as more pieces keep flowing on the market you will get your chance to get one at a reasonable price. Question is also if Swatch will stick to its promise to eventually release these online, which should help further alleviate the current supply issues.
Maxima enim, patientia virtus.
Very interesting! Some models are essentially selling at just 40 euro/dollar above retail… at current gas prices this is now cheaper than driving to the boutique for me! 😂
Facts 🙈😅😂
I got mine in the Brussels boutique. Walking to work, entered the shop, and to my surprise walked out with a Mission to Jupiter. They mentioned they receive a steady flow of Moonswatches. Have faith! 🙂
I wanted to get one for my summer watch. I don’t have a swatch store close to me, so when on a trip, stopped in at the boutique. Months after release, they still had no stock. I ended up getting a better watch as my summer watch. They lost a sale. I wonder how many others have done the same thing.
many more stories like this one no doubt. just curious, which watch did you go for instead?
I was lucky enough to own a MoonSwatch when it first came out, and a year later it’s still in great condition. You just need to use polywatch from time to time to remove scratches. I also changed the strap because I couldn’t stand the velcro one. But overall, for a $250 watch, it’s a good deal.