Get ready to embark on a celestial journey like never before as we discuss yet another Moonswatch! This time is the 6th Mission to Moonshine, coined the Blue Moon Edition. This watch is set to launch on August 30th, 2023, and it is rumoured to be the final Swatch x Omega collaboration watch. After 526 days since launching these 11 planet theme watches, and turning the industry on its head will this really be the last in the collection? In this blog post, we'll give our thoughts and views on what to expect for this highly anticipated launch!
The Cosmic Inspiration: What is a Blue Moon?
The Swatch X Omega collaboration draws inspiration from the August Blue Moon, moonphase. A Blue Moon is a rare celestial event, occurring when two full moons appear in a single calendar month. It's a symbol of rarity, beauty, and mystery - qualities that resonate deeply with both Swatch & Omega.
A "Blue Moon" is not actually blue in colour, despite its name. Instead, it refers to a specific and somewhat rare event in the lunar calendar. A Blue Moon occurs when there are two full moons within the same calendar month. Typically, there is one full moon per month, but occasionally, due to the slight misalignment between the lunar month (about 29.5 days) and the calendar month (typically 30 or 31 days), you can have two full moons in a single calendar month.
The term "Blue Moon" has been around for centuries and has been used in various contexts to describe rare or unusual events. However, it was popularized in the 1940s by an error and this definition has since become widely accepted.
So, in essence, a Blue Moon is a calendrical event and has nothing to do with the moon's actual colour. According to some the Blue moon can appear to have a bluish tint on very rare occasions, but this is unrelated to the term "Blue Moon." The moon might appear slightly blue during specific atmospheric conditions, such as when there are smoke or dust particles in the Earth's atmosphere, scattering shorter wavelengths of light and allowing longer wavelengths, like blue, to become more prominent. However, this phenomenon is genuinely rare and can happen at any time throughout the year.
The Watch Design: What to expect?
The team at MGB thinks the "Mission to Moonshine Gold - Blue Moon Edition" will share the case from the highly coveted Neptune watch, a beautiful deep Navy Blue case with a Navy dial. However, in Moonshine fashion will feature the stunning 18Ct Gold Moonshine hand. There is another theory within the team that we think (and hope) there may be a nod to the original 1991 Blue Moon swatch that was released over two decades ago
The Original Blue Moon?
In 1991 Swatch released the SDN100 BLUE MOON a sleek blue dial with pink hands and green hour marks, as well as with a dark-green bezel and an original textured strap. This watch was much smaller in size coming in at 34mm which was reflective of the style within that era,
Do we think the launch of the 2023 Model will pay homage to this watch?
When & Where will this Watch be Available?
The details we have so far are as follows:
-August 30th, 2023 is the launch date
-Available at selected stores only
-86 Cities 99 Stores will launch
- For those based in London we know that Battersea Power Station
SW11 8BZ LONDON - 251 Circus Road South will be selling this watch
-All Moonshine Edition watches have Retailed at £250, we expect this to be in line
This watch will also be available to buy at MGB Watches exclusively as a member: See link below
