It remains to be seen whether Swatch and Omega’s co-creation of the MoonSwatch will trigger a renaissance for inexpensive quartz watches, a category battered by the rise of smartwatches from tech giants including Apple and Samsung.
One trend that looks certain to endure is for watches aimed at younger customers to be made from sustainable materials.
In the MoonSwatch example, the case is made from a combination of castor oil and ceramic.
Not to be outdone, Fossil has its own entry in the affordable, sustainable, quartz-based, colorful watch space with the solar-powered #tide Ocean Plastics collection, which has components made with upcycled, ocean-bound plastics.
This upcycling process is handled by #tide, a Swiss company that turns ocean-bound plastic into a new raw material that can be used for cases and watch straps.
Fossil’s 42mm #tide Ocean Plastics collection launches in black and purple colorways.