Moonphase Watches: Head in the Stars
What is a moonphase watch? How does a moonphase watch work? Montres-passion.fr tells you everything you need to know about these fascinating watches.
This complication displays the different lunar cycles on a watch dial: first quarter, full moon, last quarter and new moon. The moonphase function almost invariably accompanies perpetual calendar watches.
Moon phases are shown on the dial via a disc or an aperture. Their accuracy is subject to a systematic drift of one day every 2 years, 7 months and 20 days, due to the discrepancy in the length of the lunar month.
To overcome this issue, high-end watchmaking pieces are fitted with astronomical moonphases. The wheel that drives the lunar disc has more teeth, resulting in a drift of only one day every 122 years.
It is hard to remain indifferent to this complication: any watch enthusiast should therefore own at least one moonphase timepiece.
