Adam Kos Google "queue for bananas" and see what it was like to wait for unavailable goods during the communist era. Anything that has an aura of exclusivity is of course in demand, so even if you couldn't find the taste of bananas, you would simply want them. The same goes for iPhones and Swatch's current collection of watches.
The revolutionary phone was wanted by (almost) everyone, and everyone wanted it the day it went on sale. First of all, so that they can get to him with stock, and secondly, so that he will be the one who will be able to brag about the hot new product on the day of the sale. I was no different, waiting for the iPhone 3G in a three-headed queue at our carrier. But times have changed. As far back as I can remember, there were certain queues at Czech APR sellers for iPhone XR and XS. Since then, the magic has kind of disappeared. The change in sales strategy and the pandemic certainly have an effect on this. After all, it's more convenient to buy online a week in advance and not rely on the fact that there will be a piece left on the day of the sale, which have limited supplies and also release most of them as part of their own pre-orders.
Moonwatch + Swatch = MoonSwatch
What Swatch showed, however, probably surpassed anything we've seen so far beyond photos of banana lines and waiting for iPhones. Omega is a Swiss watch company that was founded in 1848 and is one of the most famous watch companies in the world. But it is part of the so-called Swatch Group, where it represents products of a higher price category (the Swatch Group also includes Certina, Glashütte Original, Hamilton, Longines, Rado or Tissot and others).
MoonSwatch color variants
Omega's most famous watch is the Speedmaster Monnwatch Professional, i.e. the first watch that was on the moon with Apollo 11. Among collectors of classic watches, this is one of those that everyone should own, despite their price, which, depending on the model, climbs well over CZK 120. Now take the genius of Swatch, who took this iconic design, implemented a battery-only Quartz movement instead of a mechanical caliber, used a bio-ceramic (30% platinum, 60% ceramic) instead of a steel case, replaced a steel pull with Velcro, and added a ton of colors according to planets (and moons) of the solar system.
The line at Chadstone for the Swatch X omega Moonswatch 😂😂😂 easily 500m long and apparently only 150 watches stocked pic.twitter.com/Tg6pHn4iNa
— Sam Mackintosh (@SMackintosh) March 25, 2022
But the most important thing is the price. You can have this iconic watch with the Omega logo (and Swatch too, of course) for as little as EUR 250 (approx. CZK 6). The company named this collaboration rather aptly, MoonSwatch. In general, Swatches are supposed to be cheap and affordable watches for everyone, so the price is not exactly low by the standards of the brand, because the prices of ordinary unlimited watches range up to 200 thousand CZK. And according to the brand, the MoonSwatch edition is not limited, so it is and will be commonly available to anyone.
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But the idea that "everyone" can wear that iconic watch design with the real Omega logo on their hands (so it's not a fake or a copy but a real collaboration) caused a frenzy. This was exacerbated by the fact that only two watches could be purchased per person, exclusively in brick-and-mortar stores (which do not exist in the Czech Republic). There were queues of thousands waiting all over the world, so that the company not only had to sell only one watch per person, but after an hour almost everywhere sold out and closed stores, while in many places even the police dispersed the raging crowds. If there is a guide on how to advertise and create a sense of exclusivity, this is probably it.
The joke is that this is not a limited edition, so this watch will still be sold. With the passage of time, they will also come to online stores, and probably not only the original one, but also to distributors. It could therefore be said that it is actually a completely "ordinary" thing, which is not even that cheap, but which managed to make the whole world crazy, as Apple did with its iPhones. All it took was good advertising, an engaging collaboration and a feeling of inaccessibility. It is, of course, a question of what influence the secondary market with dealers has on this, but we will not address that here.
Pandemonium in London, over watches. "Police have closed all London Swatch watch stores due to chaotic scenes when they opened to the public on the first day of the launch of the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch collection."https://t.co/NvvqgkoGdk pic.twitter.com/GFc7cjbveV
— Alan (@GammaCounter) March 27, 2022
Similar to Apple
If the Apple Watch is the best-selling watch in general, Swatches are right behind them. And this is literally the shot in the arm that the world of "non-smart" watches needed. Consider if Apple merged with Casio, for example. They would create a watch with a classic simple LCD display, the only added features would be a stopwatch and an alarm clock, but the design would be based on the Apple Watch. Aluminum would replace plastic, charging a button battery.
MoonSwatch allegedly leaves dye stains on Hong Kong man's wrist after wearing it https://t.co/sk8DfFlS6u pic.twitter.com/Sv84NxxyIv
- Mothership.sg (@MothershipSG) March 28, 2022
If we were to base the price of the 3rd generation Apple Watch, which starts at CZK 5, and take it as a ratio of the price of the Omega X Swatch, we would have to divide this price twenty times to get the same result. Such a watch in collaboration with Apple and Casio would therefore cost 490 CZK. If Apple then sold them exclusively in its Apple Stores, let's be sure that even in this case a certain madness would break out. In this case, it's not really about the features, but the iconic look and brand.
- Newly introduced Apple products can be purchased, for example, at AlgeIn iStores whether Mobile Emergency
