The 11 Best Moonwatches - Omega, Bulova and Even Swatch

When I began writing this article, I expected to write a simple article on the best Moonwatches available in various categories. Traditionally speaking, the “Moonwatch” has been designated a model from Omega called a Speedmaster - Famously worn on the "first” voyage to the Moon. And while the Speedmaster (and there are a number of them on this list) is arguably the most well-known in the Moonwatch category, there are other examples of Moonwatches out there at cheaper price points. We thought we’d highlight some of our favorite Moonwatches and throw them into a best-of list for our readers.

The Omega Speedmaster Professional

Okay, obviously we have to kick this list off with the grand-daddy of Moonwatches, and hand it to the Omega Speedmaster Professional. The Speedmaster was first introduced into the marketplace in the late 1950’s. Omega had become the official timekeeper of the Olympics, and thus, a utilitarian Chronograph was necessary to time races and events. While a stopwatch was traditional, it became a whole lot easier to put a watch on the wrist instead of holding (and losing) a stopwatch. Thus, the Speedmaster was born.

The watch was introduced with the Calibre 321 movement - a notorious hand-wound movement that featured a lateral clutch - an important feature when it came to NASA’s later testing of the watch. The watch went through a number of different “upgrades” before the 42mm Omega Speedmaster was settled upon in the early 60’s - during the first manned space missions. Obviously, in Zero-Gravity the Astronauts were expected to move about and needed a wristwatch capable of a number of harsh conditions. NASA bought a ton of different chronographs but ultimately settled on the Speedmaster to fit the bill.

Ironically, Omega didn’t know the watch had been sent to space until they saw it on the wrist of Ed White - On the moon - With the Speedmaster on a black nylon strap over his space suit. Omega then decided to add “Professional” to the name, and so now we have the quintessential Moonwatch with the Omega Speedmaster Professional. You can pick up an Omega Speedmaster Professional for $6,400 USD.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side Of The Moon

The Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon takes all the hallmarks of a Speedmaster and gives it a more tactical look overall. The watch features a black ceramic case with a ceramic bezel. Additionally, instead of the 42mm case of the Omega Speedmaster Professional, the Dark Side of the Moon has been sized up to 44.25mm giving it a more hefty presence on the wrist.

The dial has been reconfigured to feature 2 subregisters and a date window at 6 o’clock, however all the more traditional Speedmaster features are still there. The baton handset and indices are still lume filled and superbly legible and the contrasting black dial still features that toned-down look, except with some red accents. Additionally, the tachymeter bezel and extended pushers remain true to all the Speedmaster glory. We feel it gives the watch a more brooding look. Also, in-leu of the traditional Speedmaster bracelet, the Dark Side of the Moon comes on a paracord textile strap. Currently, you can find the Dark Side of the Moon for $12,000 USD.

Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Meteorite

“Please give me a Moonwatch but with a piece of the moon in it.” The Omega Speedmaster Dark Side of the Moon Meteorite was aptly renamed by the watch community as the “Grey Side of the Moon”. The watch features a super sleek 44.25mm grey ceramic case with Omega’s signature Sedna Gold bezel, baton hands, and indices. What is presented is a really unique colorway you really don’t see too often.

But let’s be clear, the real star of the show is the lovely meteorite dial. Omega has taken a single sheet of “Ancient and Extra-Terrestrial” meteorite and given it a treatment to bring out the pattern in the stone. They do this by coating the meteorite in acid and allowing the etchings in the stone to be revealed. Not only does this ensure a really unique aesthetic, each watch will have a different pattern - ensuring the wearer has a one-of-a-kind dial. The ‘Grey Side of the Moon’ is one of the endgame sci-fi nerd watches. Omega currently sells the Grey Side of the Moon for $15,600 USD.

Omega Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy’ 50th Anniversary Edition

Snoopy is an odd character to grace a Moonwatch, but one that actually has a rich history with both NASA and the brand. It’s been many many years since we’ve seen Snoopy fight the Red Baron in A Charlie Brown Christmas but it aided to the influence the beloved cartoon dog had to space travel. In 1969, the Apollo 10 mission Command Module was named Charlie Brown, with the Lunar Exploration Module aptly named “Snoopy” because it was “Snooping” for landing sites. It became an icon, and NASA even added the “Silver Snoopy Award” as a way to recognize technicians and support staff who did exemplary work in their field. In 1970, Omega won such a prestigious award from NASA.

So, naturally, Omega released the first “Snoopy” Speedmaster in 2003. Snoop was donning an astronaut suit on the case back with “Eyes to the stars” against a a starry backdrop. Fast forward to 2020, and Omega released our favorite version of Snoopy - The Omega Speedmaster ‘Silver Snoopy” 50th Anniversary Edition to commemorate it’s win in the field 50 years ago. The watch is easily identified by its wintery blue and white colorway with a little snoopy floating around on the small seconds subdial. Omega sells the watch at retail for $9,600 USD, but that’s if you can find one (you probably won’t). On the secondary market the ‘Silver Snoopy’ runs upwards of $30,000 USD.

Omega Speedmaster Apollo 11 Limited Edition

Back in 1969, in Houston Texas, Omega hosted an extravagant appreciation dinner in honor of the Apollo 11 Astronauts successful return to earth. One of the featured events of the evening was the presentation of the BA145.022 Omega Speedmaster in Gold to the Astronauts as an appreciation gift. This was the first ever Gold Speedmaster ever produces. It was extravagant, and rare, as only 1,014 were made over the following four years - In fact, the BA145.022 is one of the most notorious Speedmasters of searching collectors. It helps that the watch was also offered to President Nixon (who had to turn it down).

In 2019, Omega updated the model and re-released it with a more modern and contemporary case and dial. The bones of the original BA145.022 are still there - The gold case, gold bracelet, red bezel, gold dial, and onyx indices, however Omega has updated the case with its “Moonshine” gold - a much brighter and less yellow hue to gold. Moonshine gold doesn’t age as fast as regular yellow gold, and therefore maintains it’s hue a lot longer than traditional Gold. Omega has also updated the movement to the more modern and resistant Calibre 3861 - complete with Moonshine gold dial plates and a more luxurious look. Overall, it’s one of our absolute favorite Speedmasters. Again, only 1,014 were made, and come with a price tag of $36,500 USD.

Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Dual-time

What list of our favorite Moonwatch be without a watch that features an actual moon? The Omega Speedmaster Moonphase presents all of the best part of the Dark Side of the Moon configuration of Speedmaster, and adds a little window into the stars at 6 o’ clock. The Moonphase complication has a long history in the cosmos, so we loved seeing Omega include it in an actual Moonwatch.

You’ll notice that the watch features two sub-registers - one for the date, and a second for another time zone. Unlike a GMT however, the second time zone here features a complete time-zone with minutes too. That makes the watch uniquely useful to frequent travelers. Omega lists the Speedmaster Moonphase Dual-Time for $10,900 USD.

Omega Speedmaster Moonshine Gold Green

The last Speedmaster on our list is a doozy. It’s one of those watches, that when it was announced and released, we both went “This is the nicest Speedmaster we’ve ever seen”. The Omega Speedmaster Moonshine Gold Green was released late last year and was wildly popular. So popular in fact, that Omega had to add “We're sorry, but this product is no longer available. Make sure you join the waiting list.” to their webpage shortly after it’s release. They simply sold out very quickly. And we aren’t the only ones who felt this way, as Ryan Reynolds (notorious Speedmaster fan) was seen wearing it at the Met Gala.

The watch is truly a sight to behold. Once again, Omega opted to use its Moonshine Gold, but instead of doing the dial in the gold too, the brand opted to include a deep hunter green to both the bezel and dial giving a contrast that we don’t see too often. Many have compared it to the Rolex Daytona ‘John Mayer’ but we think that the Speedmaster has a bit more of that vintage charm we look for in a speedmaster. If you can find one, the watch retails for $37,900 USD.

The Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch ‘Mission to Neptune’

While you can read all of our thoughts about the MoonSwatch in our Review, as well as our definitive ranking of the models that were released, we found that the ‘Mission to Neptune’ was our favorite. The MoonSwatch release was controversial at best, and really had a bit of a polarizing discussion around it for a long time. First, there was the business of what was arguably a disastrous release with even some violence thrown in the mix due to the limited nature of the release, as well as how cheap it was to have an Omega-branded Speedmaster - Even if it was largely plastic and with a quartz movement.

Overall, we felt like the MoonSwatch was an attainable look into the world of the Omega Speedmaster for those who otherwise may not have the financial ability to pick up a Speedmaster Professional. We like that Omega and Swatch came together and gave some ground to put the MoonSwatch together for their enthusiasts. Now, we just need them to make them more widely available. Price for the Omega x Swatch MoonSwatch is a modest $260 USD.

Bulova Lunar Pilot

When it comes to mainstream alternatives to the Omega Speedmaster, the Bulova Lunar Pilot is an obvious contender in watch enthusiast circles. For starters, it does share a small piece of street credit when it comes to the Moonwatch, being that It’s actually been to the moon. David Scott was the Mission Commander for the Apollo 15 mission when his Speedmaster crystal cracked and popped out, so he reached back to NASA and asked to use his personal “back-up” watch. That watch was the Bulova Lunar Pilot (Fun fact: David kept the watch in a deposit box until it was auctioned off for $1,600,000).

The Bulova Lunar Pilot is not unlike the Moonwatch in configuration, although the significant difference is that the watch doesn’t utilize a traditional bezel. Instead, the Tachymeter has been moved to the inside of the crystal making the dial one comprehensive dial that’s easy to pick out the time at a glance. Additionally, the pushers are elongated and extended on the side of the case to make it more ergonomic to utilize with a glove on. Overall, if you’re looking for a solid Moonwatch with similar street credit, check out the Bulova Lunar Pilot for around $550 USD.

Bulova Lunar Pilot 50th anniversary

There are many iterations of the Bulova Lunar Pilot, but our second favorite is hands-down the 50th Anniversary edition in gold. The case is Titanium and features gold accents, not so un-similar to the Speedmaster Apollo 11 (but significantly cheaper). The watch was released for the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 15 mission and features a really cool and unique caseback commemorating the event. The watch is a larger 45mm, but because it’s Titanium will wear a lot lighter. The Bulova Lunar Pilot 50th Anniversary is limited to 5,000 pieces, and come with a modest price tag of $995 USD.

Sinn 140 St Space Chronograph

One Moonwatch that almost certainly and consistently gets overlooked when discussing the best moonwatch, is the Sinn 140. When it comes to watches that have been blasted off into space, it’s hard to compete with the Speedmaster, because from a sheer marketing standpoint, it almost feels like Omega has monopolized the space community with it’s Moonwatch offering.

However, the Sinn 140 St Space has been to space too. In fact, it was first in space 1985 on a German Payload Specialist for the Challenger. It was further blasted into space in the 90’s. The chronograph features a really unique anti-fog technology that helps with sudden changes in temperature in space - Something other watches in the space have had a hard time working with. And because of it’s value proposition, the Sinn is actually quite the contender at $4,300 USD.