In the past days of Artemis II, the Orion capsule and the journey around the Moon, passion for our favorite satellite has been rekindled. A vital source of inspiration for anyone, a reference for organizing life on Earth since our ancestors, it has found outlets in art, film, music. And even in watches.
In what sense? This is not a recent thing. Since the 16th century, in fact, master watchmakers have integrated the phases of the moon within the dials of pendulum clocks. And those phases have since been taken up in so many designs, just as space and the moon have become a source of artistic inspiration for sensational creations.
An unbreakable bond? We would be inclined to say yes. Then again, did you know that clocks have been to the moon? Don’t you believe it? In fact, July 21, 1969, is not only the day of the first man on the Moon, thanks to the Apollo 11 Moon Landing mission, but also the day of the first watch. A Speedmaster by Omega, later renamed Moonwatch. An icon of our times that has remained a favorite over the years, and which Omega recently reworked into one of the most beloved capsules together with Swatch.
But the list is long. Just look at the masterpiece of Hermès, which with Arceau L’heure de la lune has incorporated two moons in natural white mother-of-pearl into the blue pearl dial: the southern one is a pad-printed print of a Pegasus inspired by Dimitri Rybaltchenko’s “Pleine Lune” motif; the northern one is a print of the lunar surface.
Almost as much a masterpiece as a galaxy or a starry sky. Patek Philippe’s Celestial is an example, with its moving celestial map that reproduces the visible movement of the stars as well as the position and phases of the moon. Or even the Midnight Planétarium by Van Cleef & Arpels, which imagines a life in harmony with the cosmos by depicting the orbits of the planets in the celestial vault: a shooting star tells the time, while the dial depicts the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn in miniature.
Aesthetic masterpieces, but mostly mechanical ones. More or less veiled references to lunar cycles or the galaxy. There is something for everyone, for those that certainly represent space clocks.
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