Swatch store mobbed by watch buyers after new tie-up with Omega

Watch buyers flocked to Swatch’s central London stores on Tuesday, as it released its latest collaborative piece with high-end designer Omega.

Snaking queues were seen outside the Swatch Covent Garden store on Tuesday, with the site being one of five shops where the company was selling its ‘MoonSwatch: Mission To The MoonPhase’ pieces. 

The watches are part of a series of successful Omega-Swatch launches after the pair rolled out the MoonSwatch collection in 2022. 

Both companies are part of the Swatch Group. 

Each of the 11 watches under the MoonSwatch range was named after one of the planets, as well as the Sun and the Moon. 

At the time, thousands of shoppers queued up to buy them with stores only allowed to sell one per person. 

The Carnaby Street store was forced to close after just half an hour following chaotic scenes. 

The MoonSwatch range is a nod to Omega’s well-known Speedmaster Moonwatch Professional watches, which was famously worn by astronauts including Buzz Aldrin.

At stores such as Goldsmiths, watches from the Omega Speedmaster range sell for anywhere up to £86,000.

The MoonSwatch pieces, meanwhile, are priced much lower – with the latest watch selling at £270. 

The velcro-strapped watch features Snoopy, NASA’s safety ambassador since the 1960s, on the moon phase disk. 

This feature of the watch shows the different phases of the moon, for example when it is waning or waxing.

The watch also includes a hidden quote from a Snoopy comic strip which can be seen on the subdial under UV light. 

Cartoon pieces are often highly prized by collectors, with companies such as Rolex and Omega having released Mickey Mouse and Snoopy limited-edition character watches.

Last June, a Gérald Genta Retro Disney piece featuring Donald Duck playing basketball was sold at auction for $20,320 (£16,000). 

The Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon Spiderman range, meanwhile, can sell for around  $400,000.