Yesterday, the MoonSwatch Mission to Neptune Moonshine Gold was released. But is the hype still there? We went and bought one to find out!
Back in March, we wrote an article on the MoonSwatch hype, which you can read here, but given yesterday’s release of the much anticipated Mission to Neptune Moonshine Gold, we thought it was time to dive back into the MoonSwatch world to see if the hype is still there. And this time, we actually went and bought one!
It’s been around 18 months now since the launch of the Omega x Swatch collaboration, and whilst the internet is no longer flooded with people trying to flip MoonSwatches for crazy amounts, it seems that people can’t get enough of these still. And it seems that some are more in demand than others, especially the Mission to Neptune that was temporarily halted in production due to the issues with the dye coming off the back of the battery cover onto people’s skin.
This hiatus from an already popular model meant that MoonSwatch collectors were frothing at the bit to get their hands on one, and when Swatch announced that they we’re re-releasing the Misson to Neptune, but this time with the Moonshine Gold plated seconds hand, the watch world was abuzz again with some of that MoonSwatch Moonshine Mania we’ve come to know all too well!
However, in our small part of the world, you’d be forgiven for thinking this wasn’t the case. Heading down to the Swatch Store in Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall saw a small group of people patiently waiting for the delivery. A far cry from the thousands we’ve seen line the streets in photos, more like 30 people, and we were about 10th in line. Not bad considering the track record for release days across the globe.
The line outside Swatch in the Brisbane CBD starting to build 
Success!
Thankfully, with a delivery right on time, we proceeded to walk in and purchase the Mission to Neptune Moonshine Gold for it’s Australian RRP of $460.
So this got us thinking, is the hype on the MoonSwatch over? Seems not. Jumping onto forums and sites from around the globe, it seems that other cities and other countries were inundated with hopeful customers waiting to secure their very on Mission to Neptune Moonshine Gold.
Scouring the web and social media pages, it seems the craze is very much still alive! On one account, it showed the Swatch Store at Centralworld in Bangkok, where lines of people, several hundred potentially were waiting to get in. On the Swatch US page, people were braving the pouring rain to get their hands on it from the Swatch store in Times Square and in San Francisco, there were lines down the block with keen buyers waiting.
People waiting outside Swatch at a shopping mall in Bangkok 
Times Square MoonSwatch Mania! 
San Francisco lines
In Toronto Canada, people were putting up images of the crowds waiting outside for hours to get their hands on the Neptune Moonshine Gold, with people commenting on the number of “flippers” in the line. This sadly seems to be a common theme throughout the world, with many, many posts like this one coming to light.
Not surprisingly with the existing Mission to Neptune selling for several thousand dollars, we expected this to hit the market for similar prices. Already we’re seeing these hit the market less than 24 hours after going on sale, as you can see rom the below screenshot taken today.
All this leads us here at Watch Advice to believe that the hype is still very much here, and whilst not the crazy levels we saw last year, it still has people lining up for hours to get their hands on one when they’re released. Given most stores only get around 30-60 (approx) allocated, there will be a lot of disappointed people out there and will mean the next release is sure to be a success!
So yes, the hype is real, and probably will be for some time. Scarcity still drives demand even for a battery powered quartz watch. And as for the people in QLD, well thankfully all those people in the line we’re happy customers and hopefully people who wanted them for the right reasons. And now we wait until the next full moon…
