Introducing: The Herms Arceau LHeure De La Lune

January 13, 2019

Continuing its tradition of creating watches that combine interesting mechanics with whimsical ideas, Herms has released one of the coolest moonphase watches I've ever seen. The Arceau LHeure De La Lune presents a pair of stationary mother-of-pearl moons with a complementary pair of floating lacquer dials floating over the top that rotate around the dial once every 59 days, covering and uncovering the moons to to indicate the current moon phase in both the southern and northern hemispheres at once. One of the floating dials shows the hours and minutes, while the other counts the date. Herms has further amplified the dreamy effect by inverting the moons, with the the top one showing the southern hemisphere and the lower one the northern hemisphere. Finally, the moons show different designs, with the lower moon featuring a transfer of the luner surface on top and the upper moon baring a subtle pegasus motif by artist and designer Dimitri Rybaltchenko (a work he calls "Pleine Lune" or "Full Moon"). You have a choice of two executions, one with a meteorite dial and graduated grey lacquered discs and the other with an aventurine dial and white lacquered discs C both utilize the same 43mm white gold Arceau case. Each version is limited to 100 numbered pieces.You're probably wondering at this point how this unusual complication works. Inside is an Herms caliber H1837 movement fitting with a module called the "LHeure De La Lune" that was designed specifically to create this display. The module alone requires over 100 components and is 38mm across (which is the resulting "wingspan" of the rotating discs), and there is currently a patent pending for the mechanism. Initial Thoughts I'll admit it: I actually let out an audible "Whoa!" when this one landed in my inbox. I'm already a big fan of what Herms does, on both the more classic side and the more idiosyncratic side, and this one does not disappoint at all. If you told me about this watch or only handed me a spec sheet, I think I'd probably assume the watch to be a little too over-the-top despite the fun idea, however Herms has executed an already great idea with great skill too, resulting in a watch that's beautiful in both concept and form. There's the natural beauty of the meteorite, aventurine, and mother of pearl, sure, but I think it's the way the various colors and textures interact that makes this one really sing C it's all about subtle contrasts and mirrored forms. I'm not sure which of the two I prefer?C I keep going back and forth C but if you asked me today I'd have to go with the meteorite version. The fact that the watch looks just a little bit different each day you wear it is awesome and I enjoy the idea of a dramatic but slow complication.?To come back down to Earth for a minute (get it?), a 43mm white gold watch is probably a little more than my relatively small wrist can handle, and the Arceau LHeure De La Lune is a lot of look to sport every day too, but that doesn't make me wish I could rock one of these any less. Now if there were only a desk clock version I might be in business... The Basics Brand: HermsModel: Arceau LHeure De La LuneDiameter: 43mmCase Material: White goldDial Color: Meteorite or AventurineIndexes: Arabic numerals on lacquered registersLume: NoneWater Resistance: 30 metersStrap/Bracelet: Matte abyss blue or graphite alligator strap with white gold folding clasp? The Movement Caliber: Herms caliber H1837 with exclusive patent-pending moduleFunctions: Hours, minutes, date, double moonphase display Diameter: 38mm (with module), 26mm (without module)Thickness: 7.9mm with moduleWinding: AutomaticFrequency: 4 Hz (28,800 vph)Jewels: 42 (28 movement, 14 module)Total Components: 310 (193 movement, 117 module) Pricing & Availability Price: $25,500Limited Edition: 100 individually numbered pieces of each versionFor more click here.