To The Moon And Back

The celestial orb gets top billing on A. Lange & Söhne’s new Lange 1 Moon Phase.

- Alvin Wong

Elusive yet cherished, mysterious yet majestic – the moon has fascinated man throughout the ages. Little wonder then, watchmakers, too, have long sought to capture its charms in timepieces that are usually regarded as gateway complications.

A complication that charts the waxing and waning of the moon, the moon phase display is usually regarded as an ornamental feature that serves more poetic than practical purposes. Unlike a tourbillon, which serves to negate the effects of gravity on the regulating components of a watch, or a perpetual calendar, which tells the user everything he needs to know about the moment in a calendar year, a moon phase serves no purpose, really. It has led some collectors to term it as an “emotional complication”, despite technical advances that allow the mechanism to be accurate without adjustment for over 100 years, as well as evocative artistry that has the moon phase indicator replicate the shadows and textures of the actual moon with uncanny likeness.