Swatch Just Quietly Addressed My Biggest Beef with the MoonSwatch

Whether you’re frustrated by the stock strap or looking for another way to style your MoonSwatch, Swatch’s new rubber MoonSwatch straps are worth a look.

Image of the Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to Mercury shown on a wrist against a speckled dark blue sweat on top of a light blue fabric background.

By Ben Bowers

Published January 13, 2025

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Updated January 13, 2025

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The MoonSwatch has earned more than its fair share of positive attention ever since it broke the internet in Q1 of 2022. Beyond the expected griping around its limited availability, though, the most consistent exception to this trend involves the controversial stock strap it ships with.

Just in case you’ve been living on the dark side of the moon, the MoonSwatch is Swatch’s very popular and seemingly ever-expanding line of quartz-powered homage watches to the iconic Omega Speedmaster, famed for being the first watch worn on the moon during the Apollo 11 moon landing.

The back of a Swatch MoonSwatch Mission to Mercury shown to reveal a black Nato strap threaded through two spring bars. The reverses watch is resting against a fuzzy brown material. — I swapped out the stock strap that came with my Mission to Mercury MoonSwatch almost immediately for a basic black NATO strap and haven’t looked back since.

I’ve always thought the MoonSwatch’s strap was terrible, and I’m far from alone in this take. Reddit is littered with threads on the topic. It’s reached such a seeming consensus that there’s also an entire genre of threads acknowledging that liking the strap is an unpopular take.

Of course, anyone in my camp has always had the option of swapping on another strap of their choice, which I immediately did with the Mission to Mercury version I bought. Many third-party strap makers have also launched dedicated MoonSwatch strap lines to meet this demand.

Now, Swatch has finally decided to address the elephant in the room by launching its official line of MoonSwatch-branded rubber straps for $45 a piece.

The Story Behind the Stock MoonSwatch Strap

The two pieces of the Swatch MoonSwatch strap shown laying against a light blue fabric background. The strap matches the Mission to Mercury MoonSwatch and is a light silver in color. — A close up look at the silvery strap that shipped with my Mission to Mercury MoonSwatch. It remains pretty much crease free because I replaced it almost immediately.

Despite my beef with the stock MoonSwatch strap, I can appreciate why Swatch chose to ship the two piece velcro-backed fabric strap that it did, instead of another casual and sporty textile strap style like a NATO strap.

The MoonSwatch strap design is a clear riff on what’s now often known as a “NASA strap” in watch communities. The term refers to the long Velcro strap NASA originally developed in-house to accommodate changes in an Astronaut’s “wrist dimension.”

All it takes is one look at an original photo of Apollo Astronauts wearing the Omega Speedmaster to understand why a unique strap that could expand to fit around the wrist of an astronaut wearing a space suit was necessary.

Omega two piece velcro strap for the Omega Speedmaster with Nasa logos in black attached to an Omega Speedmaster watch. Two other version of the strap in silver and white are also shown separately beside the watch. — Omega actually sells an elevated version of the two-piece strap that ships with the MoonSwatch that’s designed to pair with the Speedmaster. While I haven’t worn or touched the strap, it appears to address a lot of my gripes with the MoonSwatch version. But in fairness to Swatch, Omega’s version also costs nearly as much as the MoonSwatch at $220.

Given this historical context, I can’t fault Swatch for wanting to pay homage to this fun historical detail. It’s just that the version of the strap they went with has always felt aesthetically ham-fisted to me. The branding seems garish and over the top.

It’s also always felt like Swatch had to cut a few corners in the design to keep the fun quartz watch affordable.

As at least a few online commenters have noted, the sheen and feel of the material feel cheap. Many also talk about how stiff it is and how quickly it creases. It’s too small for anyone with a larger wrist and can be too bulky for those with smaller wrists (like me). Some just take issue with how Velcro inevitably attracts dust and lint.

In fairness to Swatch, Omega sells a similar-looking but elevated version of the two-piece velcro stock strap that ships with the MoonSwatch. While I haven’t worn it, it appears to be made of nicer materials and features premium details like a polished stainless steel ring loop and NASA’s famous planet-shaped logo nicknamed the “meatball.” But it’s also priced at $220, nearly as much as the $270 MoonSwatch costs.

Swatch’s New Rubber MoonSwatch Straps Feel Long Overdue

Three Swatch MoonSwatches in various bright colors shown laying in a pile on a light grey surface. Each bold colored watch is paired with a brightly colored matching rubber strap in colors of dark blue, light pink and blaze orange. — The initial line of Swatch MoonSwatch rubber straps features 11 different color options that are clearly matched to various bold MoonSwatch styles.

Swatch’s new in-house bi-colored rubber MoonSwatch straps seem like the kind of first-party strap alternative that MoonSwatch fans have been waiting for.

Eleven different color options are available, each featuring a core base color along with a pop of contrasting color in the form of stitching and official OMEGA x Swatch, MoonSwatch, and Speedmaster logos on either strap piece. Mercifully, the branding also looks more subtle than the stock strap, if only because the logos appear smaller.

The various color pairings are clearly designed to match the bold color palettes of the current MoonSwatch family. Still, I can imagine more than a few fun alternative watch and strap combinations for anyone looking for a more adventurous look.

Like the stock strap, the rubber version features a matching Bioceramic loop and closes via Velcro, which may still frustrate some who rightfully take issue with how Velcro tends to age.

The two pieces of the official Swatch MoonSwatch rubber watch strap shown separated side-by-side against a light grey background. Each strap is shown backwards to reveal the special texture Swatch included that resembles the cratered lunar surface. The strap shown is black, with the lunar surfacing backing in white. — The back panel of Swatch’s official line of rubber straps for the MoonSwatch features a fun easter egg for space nerds (like me). The pocked texture is nod to the lunar surface.

In terms of texture and feel, the top of the strap features a pattern that’s supposed to resemble the look and feel of a space suit. The back of the strap also features another fun texture easter egg that nods to the moon’s craters.

The strap attaches via a handy quick-release system and comes with a specialized tool to simplify the band-swapping process. And arguably most importantly, it’s available in five different sizes, ranging from small to XL.

As of right now, the straps are only available for purchase online initially, which ironically is the exact opposite of how Swatch handled the early launch of the MoonSwatch. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if Swatch eventually started stocking select options in its boutiques, too.