Fratello Exclusive: An Inside Look At The MoonSwatch Production Facilities

Robert-Jan · Jun 21, 2022

On March 24th, something big happened. Together with Omega, Swatch introduced the Bioceramic MoonSwatch. Eleven different watches, each representing a different planet, each in a different color, but all inspired by the most iconic chronograph in the world — the Speedmaster Moonwatch. To some, this introduction came as a shock. To others, it simply brought […]

Visit Fratello Exclusive: An Inside Look At The MoonSwatch Production Facilities to read the full article.

Evitzee · Jun 21, 2022

Very good article, that's the first 'inside look' of a Swatch watch factory I've seen. 👍

TDBK · Jun 21, 2022

This is an interesting look into the investment required to manufacture at scale. Anyone who says the Moonswatch shortage is intentional/artificial hype from Swatch should consider how much money it would take to double the size of a production line like this, across all the companies involved and the necessary staff. It sure seems like Swatch is making all the watches they reasonably can, and initial demand was just too large to keep up with.

Jones in LA · Jun 21, 2022

Great reporting R.J. 👍

S.H. · Jun 21, 2022

At this point, I started to wonder how it was possible that the MoonSwatch has a price tag of only €250.

?

The movement being unserviceable quartz costing not much due to economy of scale, you have probably around 200-240€ worth of case, dial and hands (using for ex an ETA G: I can buy a new movement for 50€ excluding tax; and that is not a bulk price). Not exactly cheap...

The article in itself is quite interesting, and I thank the author for it. But the tone seem quite naive to me, maybe because I'm not a native English speaker.

cvalue13 · Jun 21, 2022

TDBK
Anyone who says the Moonswatch shortage is intentional/artificial hype from Swatch should consider how much money it would take to double the size of a production line like this, across all the companies involved and the necessary staff. It sure seems like Swatch is making all the watches they reasonably can, and initial demand was just too large to keep up with.

I don’t follow this logic.

Swatch isn’t *merely* not keeping up with demand: it is shipping handfuls of units, to a fraction of its stores, even now after months from release.

And while the author’s story makes the production complexity seem dizzying to the uninitiated, there’s zero suggestion or indication that it’s materially more complex or time-consuming than the production of any other Swatch watch (or at least, any other Swatch chrono, etc.). (The point instead was mostly to prove up that it’s not made in China.)

Seems naive to suggest a manufacturing corporation like Swatch can’t plan to scale a product launch.

This is all a similar marketing gloss as the NEW321 “single watchmaker” shtick.

The story is a cool look inside the manufacturing, but for me does nothing in terms of suggesting Swatch is incapable of scaling a product launch.

TDBK · Jun 21, 2022

cvalue13
Swatch isn’t *merely* not keeping up with demand: it is shipping handfuls of units, to a fraction of its stores, even now after months from release.

Swatch has more than 3,000 stores. I don't know how many Moonswatches are being stocked, but when I read anecdotes, it sounds like deliveries of a dozen or more watches several times a week, so let's presume 5/day/store for 15K/day. To double that production would require twice the equipment and staff, and when demand is satisfied and sales wane in a few months, you'd still have all that equipment and those employees. "Months from release" has nothing to do with it: it just doesn't make sense for a manufacturer to have a lot more production capacity than the average steady-state demand for their products.

STANDY · Jun 21, 2022

The production is made for make a lot for a long time. Not make a lot and sell on release.
These will be available online buy the end of the year 😉 Christmas stocking fillers for all ( will put money on it 😗 )

The me now, me now, me now way the world is……is starting to suck, really.

Thanks @Robert-Jan for another cool article .

S.H. · Jun 21, 2022

TDBK
Swatch has more than 3,000 stores. I don't know how many Moonswatches are being stocked, but when I read anecdotes, it sounds like deliveries of a dozen or more watches several times a week, so let's presume 5/day/store for 15K/day. To double that production would require twice the equipment and staff, and when demand is satisfied and sales wane in a few months, you'd still have all that equipment and those employees. "Months from release" has nothing to do with it: it just doesn't make sense for a manufacturer to have a lot more production capacity than the average steady-state demand for their products.

List of the stores:

https://www.swatch.com//en-us/stores-bioceramic-moonswatch.html

Look a bit less that 3k to me.

Also I bought one for a friend last week: I can tell you they don't get 5 per day. I could discreetly pick one because in Rolex wording I have a "relationship" (platonic!) with the boutique manager. It is still a somewhat hot item with people checking the boutique, sometimes word getting out and small queues forming in the street. Security personnel still in the boutique 🤨

pdxleaf · Jun 21, 2022

STANDY
The me now, me now, me now way the world is……is starting to suck, really.

I wish that was all of it. 114 degrees in parts of the country, drought drying up massive dams, massive rainfall and flooding in other areas, school shootings and people screaming about rights to own an AR15 but the same people scared to death of transgenders, half a country believing a clear lie that a presidential election was stolen, meth drug addiction so widespread there are camps of homeless in most major cities in the US with no prospect of help and the only solution is not in my neighborhood, young kids (and adults) dumping all their savings into get rich schemes they read about on a forum, Rolex and Snoopy flippers, this really sucks.

Massive crowds of people wanting to buy an ugly MoonSwatch watch, that sucks too, but not as much.

(Probably just cranky due to all the rain we've been having...)

Robert-Jan · Jun 21, 2022

Evitzee
Very good article, that's the first 'inside look' of a Swatch watch factory I've seen. 👍

Thanks, apparently I was the first external visitor to the MoonSwatch production facilities.

Robert-Jan · Jun 21, 2022

Jones in LA
Great reporting R.J. 👍

Thanks!

Robert-Jan · Jun 21, 2022

S.H.
?

The movement being unserviceable quartz costing not much due to economy of scale, you have probably around 200-240€ worth of case, dial and hands (using for ex an ETA G: I can buy a new movement for 50€ excluding tax; and that is not a bulk price). Not exactly cheap...

The article in itself is quite interesting, and I thank the author for it. But the tone seem quite naive to me, maybe because I'm not a native English speaker.

I wonder who is naive here, to be honest. There's more to a watch than the movement, and you also seem to forget that a company needs to make some money. Normally, in watch & jewellery business, the margin is 50% - VAT (on the retail price). What surprised me most about the production of the MoonSwatch, as I also wrote in the article, was the number of human interventions, a.o. to do quality checks. That makes the production of such a mass product relatively expensive.

I also wonder why people are so bothered by the serviceability of a Swatch. It's a 250 Euro fun watch, that comes with two years of warranty. I have Swatches in my collection from the 1980s, still running perfectly.

Robert-Jan · Jun 21, 2022

cvalue13
I don’t follow this logic.

Swatch isn’t *merely* not keeping up with demand: it is shipping handfuls of units, to a fraction of its stores, even now after months from release.

And while the author’s story makes the production complexity seem dizzying to the uninitiated, there’s zero suggestion or indication that it’s materially more complex or time-consuming than the production of any other Swatch watch (or at least, any other Swatch chrono, etc.). (The point instead was mostly to prove up that it’s not made in China.)

Seems naive to suggest a manufacturing corporation like Swatch can’t plan to scale a product launch.

This is all a similar marketing gloss as the NEW321 “single watchmaker” shtick.

The story is a cool look inside the manufacturing, but for me does nothing in terms of suggesting Swatch is incapable of scaling a product launch.

That question will be answered by the follow-up article planned, an interview with Hayek. Most important for Swatch was the secrecy of this project. They couldn't produce more in advance, because the likelihood would be very high that the word would get out before the launch. And the "surprise effect" was one of the biggest marketing assets they had. That meant they couldn't produce too long in advance. It was a well-considered decision, you can debate whether it was a good one or not. Also, Swatch was convinced that this would be a successful introduction, but they did not anticipate the total craziness going on two days later.

Robert-Jan · Jun 21, 2022

TDBK
Swatch has more than 3,000 stores. I don't know how many Moonswatches are being stocked, but when I read anecdotes, it sounds like deliveries of a dozen or more watches several times a week, so let's presume 5/day/store for 15K/day. To double that production would require twice the equipment and staff, and when demand is satisfied and sales wane in a few months, you'd still have all that equipment and those employees. "Months from release" has nothing to do with it: it just doesn't make sense for a manufacturer to have a lot more production capacity than the average steady-state demand for their products.

Only Swatch boutiques will get the MoonSwatch, those are only 110 boutiques worldwide. This watch will not be sold at retail partners.

Robert-Jan · Jun 21, 2022

STANDY
The production is made for make a lot for a long time. Not make a lot and sell on release.
These will be available online buy the end of the year 😉 Christmas stocking fillers for all ( will put money on it 😗 )

The me now, me now, me now way the world is……is starting to suck, really.

Thanks @Robert-Jan for another cool article .

Thanks, much appreciated.

STANDY
The production is made for make a lot for a long time. Not make a lot and sell on release. These will be available online buy the end of the year 😉 Christmas stocking fillers for all ( will put money on it 😗 )

I wouldn't put money on it...

cvalue13 · Jun 21, 2022

TDBK
Swatch has more than 3,000 stores.

👎

S.H.
Look a bit less that 3k to me.

Maximum of ~105 stores selling globally selling MoonSwatch, since launch

Robert-Jan
Only Swatch boutiques will get the MoonSwatch, those are only 110 boutiques worldwide. This watch will not be sold at retail partners.

Worth noting that since launch, and seeming to shift over time, a handful of boutiques are listed as not selling the MoonSwatch. At present there are 4-6ish listed as such.

Robert-Jan
That question will be answered by the follow-up article planned, an interview with Hayek.

Looking forward to it, RJ. I’ll read it eagerly, though still with a heavy does of marketing-skepticism. Afterall, Omega continues to flog the notion of the NEW321 availability being at all related to the “single watchmaker” story, despite it making negative levels of sense.

Not at all that I fault Swatch (or Omega) for playing the game of making money the 2022 way. Quite the contrary.

Robert-Jan
I wouldn't put money on it...

😎

Archer · Jun 21, 2022

cvalue13
Seems naive to suggest a manufacturing corporation like Swatch can’t plan to scale a product launch.

I guess it depends on what exactly you mean by "plan to scale a product launch."

Sure, I'm sure they can make a plan to scale production from some initial production number to another higher number. In fact I'm sure that's what happened, as that is essentially how every production works in my experience. I've done this myself in my former life as a project engineer, several times, taking a new product and creating the production lines to make that product, and then getting that line up and running. You never take a process from zero to 100% immediately - things just never work that way, so your plan will be to start making trial runs, then smaller batches, before you ramp up to full production capacity. The time needed for that depends on the complexity of the project and the machinery required.

But if you are saying that they can increase the production numbers beyond what was planned for, in a very short space of time, that is a whole different thing. To take a process that is at 100% capacity as the article essentially says this is at*, and ramp it up from there is not easy. It requires planning, space for the equipment, capital purchases, training of personnel, and host of other things that unless you have actually done it personally, you probably would never think of. That is something that no matter how big or advanced the company might be, doesn't happen quickly. Even doing all this assumes that the bottleneck in the system is actually something that Swatch group has control over, which is not a given.

Could they do this over time? Yes certainly, but this wouldn't be over a period of a few months, but likely a year or more assuming they actually have floor space. If they don't have that, it would go out even longer.

* "Swatch then uses these granules for all the machines that we had passed in the big hall. These machines run 24 hours a day."

cvalue13 · Jun 21, 2022

Archer
I guess it depends on what exactly you mean by "plan to scale a product launch."

Want to make a distinction: I was responding to an earlier suggestion that Swatch intended for these to be readily available, but was entirely caught off guard by demand.

Even if demand ended up outstripping supply by *more* than Swatch anticipated, I don’t buy that Swatch intended this to be a readily available model. RJ’s posts above go on to suggest/preview that (1) these won’t be sold online, and (2) they won’t be sold outside of the ~100 Swatch boutiques worldwide (which boutiques are located in fewer than 70 cities world wide). Do we need any other proof that Swatch never intended these to be the readily available?

And it wouldn’t be a surprise: this textbook high-low collaboration has been staged and played out like a Platonic-ideal hype release. That bias is further contextualized by the Swatch group having elsewhere employed this same rule book for other “halo”
Products such as the Snoopy.

Is Swatch suggesting that despite employing all the *other* elements of a textbook hype release, the most important *scarcity of product* element was an unintended oversight/surprise? I don’t think they’re saying that. And their retail availability emphasizes that.

For example, Swatch’s assertion that they *couldn’t* produce enough stock before launch due to secrecy concerns is … strange. It seems only relevant to why there wasn’t sufficient stock at release. Since we’re now post-release, we’re seeing the production levels that were planned - for all the production planning reasons you enumerate.

Archer · Jun 21, 2022

cvalue13
For example, Swatch’s assertion that they *couldn’t* produce enough stock before launch due to secrecy concerns is … strange. It seems only relevant to why there wasn’t sufficient stock at release. Since we’re now post-release, we’re seeing the production levels that were planned - for all the production planning reasons you enumerate.

The bolded part would be relevant to why there wasn't sufficient stock at release, but if we take the article at face value, demand was far higher than anticipated. I suppose what the article is asserting is that current production cannot keep up with current demand. I don't think there's enough verifiable detail in either the demand or production capacity to either confirm or dispute that as fact.

If there was a plan in place for scarcity is more about intent, and unless you are in the heads of the people making those decisions, I think it's tough to say if that really the case or not. To me dragging out the release to this current point with such low availability would defeat the stated purpose of this collaboration, and I've seen many people on forums say that they have lost interest while waiting for them to become available.