Applications are now closed – and what a turnout. According to Swatch, over a million applications came in for the 1,969 watches. That’s around 500 applicants per example. The ESTA process with its 32 questions turned out to be exactly as much fun as Swatch had hoped. Did you get picked? Congratulations. The rest of us will be watching the secondary market.
The MoonSwatch has pulled off a few pranks over the years, but this is something else. The OMEGA X Swatch MISSION TO THE MOON 1969 celebrates Apollo 11’s Moon landing on 21 July 1969 – and it does so with real gold. The dial, hands, crown and pushers are made from OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine™ gold, eleven grams of it, and the run stops at 1,969 pieces. The price? 500 CHF. We’ll come back to why that number is the best detail of the whole launch. (New to the whole MoonSwatch phenomenon? Start with our Omega × Swatch MoonSwatch overview.)
- Price: 500 CHF (priced as gold was on 21 July 1969)
- Limited to: 1,969 pieces, each with a unique serial number
- Gold: OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine™, eleven grams, from melted-down OMEGA spare parts
- Reference: SSX01B700 · 42 mm · quartz chronograph
- How to buy: ESTA application on swatch.com – open 16–21 July 2026
Gold from old OMEGA spare parts
This is the part we latched onto straight away. The gold in the MISSION TO THE MOON 1969 comes from the same era as the Moon landing – Swatch took old OMEGA spare parts, melted them down in its own foundry and re-cast them into OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine™ gold. So this isn’t a watch that’s about 1969; it’s a watch that partly is 1969.
The weight is exactly eleven grams – a nod to Apollo 11. You could call it an over-obvious joke. We think it’s exactly the right kind of joke.
The price that is the whole joke
In 1969, eleven grams of 18-carat gold cost 11 dollars – around 48 Swiss francs at the day’s exchange rate of 4.31 CHF per dollar. And that’s where Swatch lands its point: the MISSION TO THE MOON 1969 sells for 500 CHF, priced against the gold price on 21 July 1969 rather than today’s.
It is, honestly, one of the smarter marketing moves we’ve seen from Swatch – and they’ve made a few. A gold watch that costs 500 francs because you pretend it’s 1969. Rest assured the secondary market won’t be pretending anything at all.
Design and details
The dial and its gold are a tribute to OMEGA’s gold Speedmaster from 1969, the watch created to celebrate Apollo 11. Hence the vertically brushed dial, the black Bioceramic bezel ring with a gold-tone tachymeter scale and the gold-tone bevelled indexes in black lacquer – plus a period-correct OMEGA logo and typography.
Two more details do the real work. The battery hatch is graced with a golden moon in a scratch-resistant coating, where the date of the Moon landing appears alongside a footprint – a nod to the first step in the Sea of Tranquillity. And every example has a unique serial number, engraved on the side of the case at 9 o’clock and picked out in gold lacquer. The strap is black rubber with a VELCRO® fastening and a gold-tone underside with a moon texture.
ESTA – 32 questions to the Moon
No queue outside the boutique this time. To be allowed to buy the watch you had to fill in an ESTA application (Electronic Swatch Timepiece Application) with 32 questions – yes, a nod to the ESTA many travellers fill in before trips to the US. Only 1,969 people are approved, and they’re the ones who earn the right to buy the watch.
The application opened on swatch.com on 16 July at 15:32 CEST and had to be submitted by 21 July at 23:59 CEST. Selected entrants receive instructions on how to complete the purchase and then collect the watch in a Swatch boutique. So the whole process is digital – except the last step, which still requires a physical visit.
It’s a welcome arrangement. The images of the crowds at the 2022 MoonSwatch launch were fun once. For the story behind the other big crossover, see our Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop.
Will it go up in value?
Short answer: probably. A gold watch in 1,969 pieces, priced as if it were 1969, is exactly the right fuel for the secondary market. The ESTA lottery keeps the crowds away, but it doesn’t remove demand – it just moves the bidding online. Expect examples to appear at multiples of the price within hours of collection. If you get picked, it’s simple maths: 500 CHF in, considerably more out. And the demand is confirmed: over a million applications for 1,969 watches says everything about the pressure.
Specifications
- Reference: SSX01B700
- Case: matte black Bioceramic; crown and pushers in OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine™ gold
- Diameter: 42.00 mm
- Thickness: 13.25 mm
- Lug to lug: 47.30 mm
- Movement: quartz chronograph
- Water resistance: 3 bar
- Crystal: domed glass in bio-based material with a scratch-resistant coating, “S” engraved in the centre
- Dial: OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine™ gold, recessed counters with black hands and Arabic numerals
- Hands: hour and minute hands in OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine™ gold
- Bezel ring: black Bioceramic with a gold-tone tachymeter scale, high-gloss finish
- Strap: black rubber with VELCRO® fastening, gold-tone underside with moon texture, Bioceramic buckle
Price and availability
500 CHF. Limited to 1,969 pieces worldwide. Applications were made exclusively via ESTA on swatch.com, open from 16 July at 15:32 CEST and closed on 21 July at 23:59 CEST. Collection takes place in a Swatch boutique for those selected. If you’re not one of the 1,969, the secondary market is the only way in.
Frequently asked questions
What does the OMEGA X Swatch Mission to the Moon 1969 cost?
500 CHF, priced against the gold price on 21 July 1969 rather than today’s. That’s the whole point: eleven grams of 18K gold for the price it was in 1969.
How many are made?
1,969 pieces worldwide – a number that points straight to the year of the Moon landing. Each watch has a unique serial number engraved at 9 o’clock.
How do I apply – what is ESTA?
You fill in an ESTA (Electronic Swatch Timepiece Application) on swatch.com with 32 questions. 1,969 applicants are drawn and earn the right to buy the watch, with collection in a Swatch boutique.
When did applications close?
Applications were open 16–21 July 2026 and are now closed. According to Swatch, over a million applications came in for the 1,969 watches. If you weren’t selected, the secondary market remains.
Is the gold real?
Yes. The dial, hands, crown and pushers are in OMEGA’s 18K Moonshine gold – eleven grams in total, cast from melted-down OMEGA spare parts from the same era as the Moon landing.
Read more
- Audemars Piguet × Swatch Royal Pop – when the rules of the watch world were broken
- Omega × Swatch MoonSwatch – the phenomenon explained
- MoonSwatch straps – a look at the best bands
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