Hahah don't read too much into my post, I just saw Swatch and I remembered the Moonswatch thing.
Yeah, it was an incredible display of dumb consumerism. Seriously, as I said, it's a company selling a cheap knockoff of a watch that they also own. (Omega is owned by Swatch, Omega is a luxury brand on about the same level as Rolex, and the Omega Speedmaster is pretty iconic. There's a good chance you've seen it in a movie or somewhere.)
It was so dumb. Most people either don't wear a watch at all these days, because everyone's got a phone in their pocket anyway. Some have a "smart" watch or something like a Fitbit. Some people wear a watch because they're used to doing so but don't care, maybe they just feel uncomfortable without something around their wrist, so they buy a cheap Casio or Timex or whatever that costs a couple of bucks and lasts ages and doesn't need servicing, and then there's a small community of people who appreciate watches for the craftsmanship (or, often, for the ridiculous price tags as a show of wealth) and collect them as a hobby, but they're largely into mechanical watches - no battery, just springs and gears. The Moonswatch combines the worst aspects of the latter two - it's really just a boring quartz watch, it offers nothing compared to a $10 Casio F-91W, but it's also pretty expensive for what it is. But it was still a huge sensation and people really camped in front of stores like when a new iPhone is being launched, it really blew my mind. It does look like a Speedmaster at first glance, but the only people who even know what a Speedmaster is are the same people who also know that the Moonswatch is a cheap, ridiculously overpriced knockoff. I just don't get it.
But whatever, r/watchescirclejerk (one of the few good subs remaining on leddit, at least last I checked) had a field day with it. A field year, really.
Hahah don't read too much into my post, I just saw Swatch and I remembered the Moonswatch thing.
Yeah, it was an incredible display of dumb consumerism. Seriously, as I said, it's a company selling a cheap knockoff of a watch that they also own. (Omega is owned by Swatch, Omega is a luxury brand on about the same level as Rolex, and the Omega Speedmaster is pretty iconic. There's a good chance you've seen it in a movie or somewhere.)
It was so dumb. Most people either don't wear a watch at all these days, because everyone's got a phone in their pocket anyway. Some have a "smart" watch or something like a Fitbit. Some people wear a watch because they're used to doing so but don't care, maybe they just feel uncomfortable without something around their wrist, so they buy a cheap Casio or Timex or whatever that costs a couple of bucks and lasts ages and doesn't need servicing, and then there's a small community of people who appreciate watches for the craftsmanship (or, often, for the ridiculous price tags as a show of wealth) and collect them as a hobby, but they're largely into mechanical watches - no battery, just springs and gears. The Moonswatch combines the worst aspects of the latter two - it's really just a boring quartz watch, it offers nothing compared to a $10 Casio F-91W, but it's also pretty expensive for what it is. But it was still a huge sensation and people really camped in front of stores like when a new iPhone is being launched, it really blew my mind. It does look like a Speedmaster at first glance, but the only people who even know what a Speedmaster is are the same people who also know that the Moonswatch is a cheap, ridiculously overpriced knockoff. I just don't get it.
Here's an article about it, including a pic of one of the queues. The third pic has the original Speedmaster on the left and the Moonswatch (with a nasty-ass color scheme) on the right. https://www.fratellowatches.com/some-afterthoughts-on-the-omega-x-swatch-speedmaster-moonswatch/
But whatever, r/watchescirclejerk (one of the few good subs remaining on leddit, at least last I checked) had a field day with it. A field year, really.