The official Swatch shop in Thailand has stopped selling the Omega MoonSwatch following chaotic scenes when the timepiece was released at the weekend.

A sign outside the shop in Bangkok today read: 'Thank you for your interest in the BIOCERAMIC MoonSwatch. Due to the unexpected and phenomenal demand, we are concerned for your safety and wellbeing. Therefore, we deeply apologise to announce that the sales of BIOCERAMIC MoonSwatch is now postponed until further notice.'

The banning of sales came after huge crowds of up to 200 people queued outside the store jostling to get to the front of the line to buy the watch on March 26. Some buyers allegedly waited in line as early as the afternoon on March 25.

The timepiece manufacturer Omega has partnered with its sister company Swatch to create the MoonSwatch collection – a series of 11 celestial-themed watches referencing the original Speedmaster model also made by Omega and worn by U.S. astronauts on NASA missions.

Customers can buy the watch for around 260 USD (about 198 GBP). The price is a fraction of the cost of the original Omega Speedmaster Professional, which sells for a minimum of 6,769 USD (5,145 GBP).

Swatch officials have said that the collaboration watches are not limited, but will be limiting purchases to one per person. They said in a statement on their website: ‘The launch of the Bioceramic MoonSwatch Collection is an incredible success that exceeded all expectations. We would therefore like to remind you that there will be watches available in the selected Swatch Stores in the coming weeks as it is not a limited edition.

‘For the moment, we have to update the purchase limit to one watch per person until further notice. We will revert back to two watches per person as soon as possible.’