Putting The Moon On The Wrist In Five Distinct Styles

After we’ve taken a closer look at five very cool watches that put the Earth on your wrist one way or another just last week, this time around we move over to our nearest neighbour, the Moon. This satellite of our beautiful planet has been there forever and has guided us through time on our explorations of our home planet. Instrumental in the early days of telling time, the moon has always been a major influence on watchmaking. So it makes perfect sense to compile a Buying Guide of what we think are some of the most distinct styles of moon phase watches you can get, from the very comical to the superbly complex and everything in between. So without further ado, let’s get straight into the details!

The Complex One – HYT Moon Runner

With HYT you’re never short on horological spectacle, but the complex HYT Moon Runner takes things up a notch or two. Already a stand-out watch due to the meca-fluidic retrograde hour display, the Moon Runner adds several complications to it, most notably the spherical moon phase display. Set in the centre of the watch, an arched bridge coming down from the top indicates the exact age of the moon. Running around it are two discs for the month and date. one step further out we find a hand that follows the minute track. The open construction of the dial even allows for a peak of the bellows underneath that drive the fluids in the capillary. Available in Red Magma, Supernova Blue or Neon White, the HYT Moon Runner is always limited and priced between CHF 120,000 and CHF 130,000.

For more information, please visit HYTWatches.com

Quick Facts – 48mm x 21.80 – hydrocarbon and titanium case – titanium crown – domed box-shaped sapphire crystal – fluidic hour indication – applied luminescent Arabic hour indices – matte black minutes track with rotating hand on disc – months and days on two matte black rings – spherical moon phase indication – Calibre HYT 601-MO – manual winding – 41 jewels – 28,800vph – 72h power reserve – retrograde fluidic hours, minutes months, date, spherical moon with lunar phases – two-tone black rubber and Alcantara or white T-light rubber strap with titanium clasp – each one limited in production – CHF 120,000 (Red Magma, Supernova Blue) or CHF 130,000 (White Neon)

The Whimsical One – De Rijke & Co Miffy Moonphase

We move things from the ultra-complex to an unequivocally fun and much more affordable watch, with the De Rijke & Co Miffy Moonphase. Even though this inaugural variation sold out quite quickly, we can confirm more colour variations are in the works by Laurens de Rijke, the founder of the one-man brand De Rijke & Co. The Miffy Moonphase uses the Amalfi Series platform with a rotatable inner case, but now with a very fun moon phase display. The disc underneath the dial shows Miffy stradling the moon, just like in the children’s books. Power comes from a Sellita SW288-1 with 38 hours of power reserve. It’s worn on a handmade leather strap that passes through the fixed lugs and closes with a stud. Limited to 25 pieces and retailing for EUR 3,300, this version is sadly no longer available.

The inaugural De Rijke & Co x Miffy moonphase.

For more information, please visit DeRijkeandCo.com

Quick Facts – 38mm x 10.8mm – stainless steel case, with rotatable inner case – fixed lugs – screw-down crown – solid caseback with laser-engraved Miffy – Miffy blue dial with applied hour indices and minute track – oversized moon phase with Miffy straddling the moon – central hour and minute hands with Super-LumiNova – orange central seconds hand – Sellita SW288-1, automatic – 25 jewels – 28,800vph – 38h power reserve – hours, minutes, seconds, moon phase – cognac leather strap – Limited Edition of 25 pieces (sold out) – EUR 3,300

The Classical One – Breguet Classique Calendrier 7337

Earlier this year Breguet updated one of its most classical astronomical watches, the Classique Calendrier 7337. Being one of the favourite watches of our Managing Editor Brice in its previous iteration, this latest generation of the 7337 has a slightly refreshed dial but is still very “Breguet“. The hand-turned guilloché silver-coloured dial shows Clous de Paris and barleycorn patterns and hosts an off-centred dial with arched windows for the date and day of the week. Sitting proudly on top is a classical moon phase display with a scale for the moon’s rotation (roughly 29,5 days). The movement remains the same from a technical perspective and is driven by a 3/4 rotor placed out of the centre a little. This superbly elegant watch comes on an alligator leather strap and retails for EUR 45,800.

For more information, please visit Breguet.com

Quick Facts – 39mm x 9.95mm – rose or white gold case – sapphire crystal front and back – engine-turned hand-guilloché dial – Clous de Paris and barleycorn patterns – eccentric moon Breguet hands – off-centred calendar indications – Calibre 502.3 QSE1, in-house – automatic winding – 236 components – 35 jewels – flat balance-spring in anti-magnetic silicon – inverted straight-line lever escapement – 45h power reserve – hours, minutes, small seconds, moon phase, day and date – alligator strap with folding clasp – EUR 45,800

The Ceramic One – Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar 41mm Blue ceramic

The moon phase indication inside the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar isn’t necessarily any different from the one in the Breguet, but seeing it as part of a perpetual calendar display in a full-blue ceramic watch evokes a very different emotion. It gives the very classical moon phase display an unprecedented modern feel. Spread across the dial are indications for the date, day of the week, number of the week, month, leap year and of course the phase of the moon. This uses an aventurine disc with a photorealistic depiction of the moon. The complex QP display is driven by the brand’s in-house Calibre 5134 which can be admired through the sapphire crystal caseback. It retails for CHF 129,000 and is certain to spark a conversation wherever it goes.

For more information, please visit AudemarsPiguet.com

Quick Facts – 41mm x 9.5mm – blue ceramic case, brushed and polished – blue ceramic bezel with white gold studs – screw-locked crown – sapphire crystal front – titanium caseback with sapphire crystal – blue Grande Tapisserie dial – blue subdials and inner bezel – white gold applied indices – Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating – Calibre 5134, in-house – automatic winding – 374 components – 38 jewels – 19,800vph – 40h power reserve – hours, minutes, seconds, date, day of the week, week, month, leap year, moon phase – blue ceramic bracelet with titanium folding buckle – CHF 129,000

The Out Of This World One – Arnold & Son Luna Magna Meteorite

Although the Arnold & Son Luna Magna is yet again a watch with a spherical moon phase, this one made the list for the simple fact half of the lunar sphere actually comes from outer space. Set in a platinum case, the bottom half of the meteorite dial is dominated by the 3D moon phase display, with a sphere made of meteorite and milky white opal. On top of that is an off-centred hour and minutes dial in white, with blued hands and Roman numerals. The rest of the dial is also made of meteorite. Around the back, you get another view of the 3D moon phase, with an additional age of the moon indication. Priced at CHF 70,900 this certainly isn’t cheap but part of that is due to the full platinum case. It’s limited to 28 pieces and worn on a grey alligator leather strap with platinum buckle.

For more information, please visit ArnoldandSon.com

Quick Facts – 44mm x 15.90mm – platinum case, polished – domed sapphire crystal, sapphire crystal caseback – meteorite dial with sand-coloured PVD treatment – white opal and meteorite spherical moon phase display – hours and minutes subdial with blued hand and Roman numerals – Calireb A&S1021, in-house – manual winding – 21.600vph – 90h power reserve – hours, minutes, astronomical three-dimensional moon phase, secondary age of the moon indicator (on the back) grey alligator leather strap with platinum buckle – limited to 28 pieces – CHF 70,900