From Swatch x Blancpain to Patek x Tiffany, watch collaborations are here to stay, with super brands like Louis Vuitton, Ferrari and Lamborghini all partnering with luxury timepiece marquees
- More than a million MoonSwatches, based on Omega’s Speedmaster Moonwatch, have been sold, priced at an accessible US$260 – James Bond actor Daniel Craig even wears one
- Richard Mille has a relationship with Ferrari and Roger Dubuis has worked with Lamborghini, while the A. Lange & Söhne 1815 Chronograph Hampton Court Edition commemorates the classic car event Concours of Elegance
In May this year, Bloomberg reported that Swatch sold more than a million MoonSwatches in 2022. Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate sales of around 1.8 million this year. Costing US$260 a pop, the MoonSwatch comes in 12 colours, each representing a planet, and is a nod to its sister brand Omega’s flagship sports timepiece, the Speedmaster Moonwatch.
For days, people around the world lined up outside Swatch boutiques, some braving extreme weather, and most witnessing chaos and even violence as they competed for a spot in line to get their hands on these affordable watches made of bioceramic, a material that mixes ceramic with biosourced material – in this case, pulp from castor oil seeds – and a Velcro fabric strap.
Immediately after its release, resellers flooded online marketplaces, offering the pieces at as much as five times their retail price. Even Omega spokesperson and James Bond actor Daniel Craig wore a deep navy Neptune version.
Watch enthusiast, co-founder and CEO of pre-owned watch platform Wristcheck, Austen Chu, is also a fan: “The Swatch and Omega crossover was probably one of the coolest things to happen in the watch industry. The most important thing is to bring in as many people as possible into the world of horology, and this was the perfect entry point.”
This year, Swatch Group followed that successful collaboration with a crossover with another sister brand, Blancpain, bringing the same colourful execution to its Fifty Fathoms divers’ watch.
The conglomerate, with its vertically integrated watchmaking capabilities and huge number of brands, is well positioned to pursue such collaborations, driving attention to its premium marques without tarnishing their reputation.
“It exponentially boosted awareness of the iconic luxury sports models – the Speedmaster and Fifty Fathoms – and their history, to the general public on a global level,” says Gertrude Wong, watch specialist at auctioneers Phillips, “and I mean literally from the age of six to 60, if you ask them if they know what a MoonSwatch is now, they could probably tell you.”
