Lunaphiles, rejoice! Arnold & Son, a luxury watchmaker that traces its origins back to the creator of the first ship’s clock, has released a unique watch that shows the phases of the moon in a unique way. The trick? They almost magically rotate a marble-sized moon right inside the movement, something that only a few watchmakers have tried before.
The Luna Magna is a standard time-teller with a watch dial at 12 o’clock powered by a hand-wound movement. The big moon, made of marble and aventurine, is suspended in a little firmament of stars.
How big is the moon, though? Big.
“With this original timepiece, the Swiss watchmaker with English roots aims to make a lasting impression by presenting the largest moon ever created in relief for a wristwatch,” wrote the creators.
The moon is 12mm and made of two fused materials: white marble and dark aventurine glass. A system inside the movement rotates the sphere to reflect the phases of the moon and a small hand on the back shows the “age of the moon,” i.e. the day of the month.
This will cost you a solid $US47,517 ($62,100) for a hand-made watch encased in gold on a leather strap. The watch, which was made for the Watches and Wonders Geneva show, a recent addition to the luxury timepiece event circuit, is limited to 28 pieces.
While you won’t be able to tell what time it is in Taipei or use it to correctly measure the boiling time for an egg, you can point to your watch and smile, secure in the knowledge that you’re wearing something as expensive as a Tesla Model 3 on your wrist.