Letter from the Publisher

VARIATIoNS oN A ThEME
The disc/aperture system can give rise to various technical and aesthetic
variations, often yielding exquisitely poetic results. Equipped with a mobile sky
chart, the extremely complex Celestial by Patek Philippe provides a perpetual
view of the exact configuration of the night sky as viewed from the Northern
hemisphere, complete with the visible movement of the stars and the moonphases,
as well as the moon’s position in the sky. A golden ellipse placed beneath
the sapphire crystal serves to delineate the portion of the sky visible above
Geneva and of all cities located along the same latitude—a stunning heavenly
vision on the wrist. Representing another spectacular showcase for such
horological achievements, the Pontos Décentrique Phases de Lune by Maurice
Lacroix features a broad opening between 2 and 5 o’clock, where two
superimposed disks reveal the moonphases and the day/night indication. Several
recent timepieces also distinguish themselves by providing simultaneous displays
of the moonphases in both hemispheres. while this is not a major
technical feat in itself, since it simply involves revealing both
moons which are in any case present on most mobile discs, it
certainly adds an original touch to a dial. The same applies
to Duomètre à Quantième Lunaire by Jaeger-LeCoultre,
which is equipped with a Dual-wing movement
based on two independent energy
sources—one for precision and the
other for the functions—displays the
moonphase in both the Southern and
Northern hemispheres. A double moon
also appears on the horological Machine
n° 2-SV by MB&F, which features a
rectangular case with two separate dials:
the right-hand one for jumping hours and
retrograde concentric minutes; and the lefthand
one for the retrograde date as well
as the moonphases in both hemispheres.
• 458 Grand Complications, Vol. VII
top left
Patek Philippe, Celestial
top center
Jaeger-LeCoultre, Duomètre à
Quantième Lunaire
above
Maurice Lacroix, Pontos Décentrique
Phases de Lune
below
MB&F, Horological Machine n° 2-SV