Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch Mission to EarthPhase Moonshine Gold: The Hunter’s Moon — When the Story Starts to Lose Gravity
We should be excited. The Hunter’s Moon is here, the next chapter in a story we have followed since the very beginning. We built our business around the MoonSwatch, championed it's accessibility, wrote about every watch, and celebrated each release. We still love it. Yet there is no escaping a growing sense that this one feels off.
The Swatch x Omega MoonSwatch Mission to EarthPhase Moonshine Gold: The Hunter’s Moon is the latest instalment in an increasingly complicated series of lunar tributes. Released between 7th and 21st October 2025 only, it is designed to celebrate October’s full moon, a moment long tied to renewal, focus, and reflection. It should feel poetic. Instead, it feels confused.
The EarthPhase Idea
When Swatch introduced the EarthPhase MoonSwatch in 2024, the concept made sense. It mirrored how Earth would appear from the Moon, reversing the traditional moonphase. That single idea connected the MoonSwatch back to Omega’s history in space and made it more than just another colour variation.
The EarthPhase Moonshine Gold editions were meant to build on that poetry, linking each drop to a lunar event. A new release under a specific moon created a sense of occasion, meaning and a rebirth of the successful 2023 MoonShine Edition. The idea was good. The problem is that repetition has stripped it of energy.
A Timeline That Feels Tired
The first relaunch of the 2025 Moonshine Gold was electric. The Sturgeon Moon dropped for one day only and felt like a greatest hits of the MoonSwatch line. The deep blue of Mission to Neptune, the white dial of the Super Blue MoonPhase, the newly introduced EarthPhase, Snoopy on the dial, and that 18ct Moonshine Gold alloy gleaming across the moonphase disc — it had everything. August revived that early magic. It had storytelling, charm, and purpose.
Now, only two months later, comes the Hunter’s Moon edition. It follows the Sturgeon Moon and the Harvest “Popcorn” Moon, making it the third release built on the same idea. It looks almost identical to the last two MoonShine Snoopy EarthPhase models, apart from a single new element: a golden the moonphase disc with a new motif. The colour scheme remains navy and white, the lume still glows green, the case is still Bioceramic, and the layout is unchanged.
It is not an unattractive watch. In truth, it is beautiful. But as a follow up, it feels repetitive. The hand, finished in Moonshine Gold, reaches toward the wearer as if asking for attention. Perhaps that is the point. Or perhaps it is Swatch asking us to keep chasing the next edition...
Familiar Beauty
On the wrist, the Hunter’s Moon MoonSwatch carries all the design strengths that made this collaboration famous. The navy Bioceramic case measures 42 millimetres in diameter and 13.75 millimetres thick, with a 47.3 millimetre lug-to-lug. It keeps the asymmetric Speedmaster case, the quartz chronograph, and the signature tachymeter bezel.
The new details are largely visual. The dial is white opaline with Grade A Super-LumiNova® that glows green. At 10 o’clock sits the Earth phase indicator, glowing blue under UV light. Beneath it, Snoopy and Woodstock appear on the lunar surface looking back at Earth. At 2 o’clock, the moonphase disc carries two golden moons, one featuring Snoopy’s face and the other showing a human hand reaching outward. Both are finished in Omega’s Moonshine™ Gold.
It is poetic, yes, but also puzzling. The symbolism of the hand is unclear. It might represent human curiosity or reaching for new frontiers, but it feels like another small flourish added to keep the series alive.
The Drop Window
The Hunter’s Moon is available from 7th to 21st October, a far cry from the single day Moonshine drops that built this line’s mystique. Those early releases felt like events, little lunar rituals that brought collectors out of their homes and into queues under the same sky.
A two week window removes that spark. What was once a celebration has become a scheduled product cycle. The urgency has faded, and with it, a bit of the MoonSwatch’s magic.
The Snoopy Effect
The Snoopy partnership remains one of Omega’s most beloved stories, tied to NASA’s Silver Snoopy Award and decades of creative watchmaking. When Swatch brought Snoopy into the MoonSwatch line, it felt like a perfect bridge between fun and heritage.
The Snoopy EarthPhase MoonSwatch released in August reignited that energy. It felt special and earned its “grail” status among fans. It also set expectations high. The Hunter’s Moon that followed borrows nearly everything from it. Same Snoopy, same colour palette, same hidden UV details. Only the golden hand is new.
That is why this release feels misplaced. The charm that once made the collaboration irresistible has been dulled by repetition.
The Meaning of the Hand
The hand on the moonphase disc has been interpreted as a symbol of curiosity, courage, and exploration; a poetic gesture that fits Omega’s heritage. It could also be Swatch’s way of telling us to reach for what we want. In another context, it might have felt powerful. Here, it feels vague.
There were so many other directions this could have taken. The Hunter’s Moon is steeped in folklore, it marks the season when light lingered just long enough for evening hunts. Imagine a new white Supermoon colourway for October, glowing with extra lume to match its name, or a design that leant into the “hunter” theme with small bow-and-arrow detailing on the sub-dials or caseback. Even subtle texture changes could have made it feel new.
What Still Works
Despite the fatigue, there are things this watch gets right. The EarthPhase complication remains brilliant. It operates on a 29.5-day reverse cycle, showing Earth as seen from the Moon. When we see a full moon, the watch shows a new Earth. It is one of the cleverest details Swatch has ever integrated into a MoonSwatch.
The Hunter’s Moon also nails the small things. The texture of the dial, the gold detailing, and the subtle glow under UV light all show the same attention to charm that made this series iconic. It is a watch designed for emotion, not precision. And that is why people still love it
A Brand Losing Its Rhythm
This isn’t a bad watch. It is beautiful, accessible, and full of clever design. The problem is rhythm. Swatch has fallen into a pattern of rapid fire releases that leave little time for anticipation.
The MoonSwatch used to feel spontaneous. You never quite knew when it would appear or what it would represent. Now, the calendar feels predictable. The two-week sales windows and similar colourways are replacing curiosity with routine.
For a brand built on surprise, that shift is hard to watch.
Why We Still Care
It is easy to criticise Swatch for repeating itself, but that misses why people fell in love with the MoonSwatch in the first place. It is a watch that made high design feel human. It got people talking about watches who never cared about watches before. It built a global community around colour, storytelling, and joy. This longer lead time, also give opportunity for those who missed out to get their hands on this watch on the build up to Christmas.
Even when it stumbles, the MoonSwatch still matters. It is a cultural touchstone, not just a product. The Hunter’s Moon reminds us of that, even as it tests our patience.
The Perfect Strap Pairings
The stock navy rubber strap works, but the Hunter’s Moon deserves something with texture or contrast. Our favourite options bring it to life:
Shop our Straps For MoonSwatch
The Season in Reflection
The MoonSwatch changed watch culture. It proved that collaboration, colour, and storytelling could move an entire industry. The Mission to EarthPhase Moonshine Gold: Hunter’s Moon continues that legacy, but it also exposes its limits.
We will always celebrate the MoonSwatch for what it stands for. But this release shows that even the brightest ideas need breathing room. The story cannot keep repeating forever.