You can't make a MoonSwatch with Swatch's AI tool – but you can do this…

Swatch recently announced a new AI tool that allows its customers to design their own watches. Swatch’s AI-DADA technology or customisation service left many people excited that they could make their own MoonSwatch, so I decided to give it a go – and I have a few issues with it.

In 2024, a MoonSwatch was released every month for the full moon. While Swatch didn’t drastically change the design, the limited edition watches featured a new seconds hand style to coincide with each moon, for example, the Beaver Moon MoonSwatch had a beaver’s mouth at one end of the hand, and a bitemark at the other.

I loved keeping up with the MoonSwatch designs and I’d hoped Swatch would continue that into 2025, but this didn’t come to fruition. Instead, Swatch announced a new Snoopy-inspired MoonSwatch to celebrate the cartoon’s ongoing relationship with both Swatch and OMEGA.

But now, Swatch has created an AI tool that could let you design your own MoonSwatch – or so some people claim. The Swatch X You service is set to “launch the ultimate in personalisation as a world’s first”, as said by Swatch and reported by Esquire. Essentially, the service allows you to create your own watch based on its design database which has styles and patterns used by the brand from the past 40 years.

I think it’s a bit misleading to say that you can make your own MoonSwatch with it – that’s not to say Swatch is claiming you can, but some outlets are – as the watch you can customise isn’t based on the MoonSwatch model. But you can create space and zodiac sign-themed watches using some of Swatch’s most loved designs – so I gave it a go.

There’s two models to choose from, the Swatch SXY New Gent 41mm and the Swatch SXY New Gent 41mm with Swatch Pay! which means you can use your Swatch to make contactless payments. From there, you can choose from five designs – ESA - Earth, ESA - Space, Lunar Zodiac, Zodiac, Decktwo - Paris.

The ESA - Earth designs were my favourite as the patterns were so vivid and colourful. You can also move the watch around the design and rotate it so you can get different elements and colours on the watch, so you can make a design that’s completely unique to you.

The zodiac patterns are more cartoony, and the Decktwo - Paris is quite boring as it only has one style to choose from. I imagine over time more city-inspired backgrounds could be added to the tool, but we’ll see. Next, you choose a mechanism which is a choice between indexes or classic (which comes without hour markers), and mechanism colour – black, silver or gold.

Once you’ve finished your design and mechanism, you can add personalised text on the back or leave it plain – that’s it! Overall, the Swatch X You tool is easy to use and fun to play with – I could have spent a lot of time making loads of different watches, but alas, I had to write this article instead.

However, Swatch X You definitely has some teething issues that need improving. It’s hard to scroll down to select from all the designs, and you can’t zoom in that much to see what part of the pattern is predominantly on the dial. It’s not a particularly revolutionary tool either, as many brands allow you to customise their products to suit your tastes.

If you’re a big Swatch fan, you’ll probably like the Swatch X You service – and it’s surprisingly affordable to make your own watch. The standard watch is priced at £96, while the Swatch Pay! version is £106, and as far as I could see, you’re not charged extra for a specific design or mechanism.

Is Swatch X You doing amazing things with AI? No, and as of writing, you can’t make a MoonSwatch either. But it’s very fun and worth checking out if you can’t get enough Swatch timepieces in your life.