Blue Moon
Superbly precise: moon-phase watches by A. Lange & Söhne
Five timepieces with moon-phase displays are showcased in front of impressive
star atlas images from the “Harmonia Macrocosmica” by Andreas Cellarius.
In English, the term blue moon refers to the second full moon within a given calendar
month, a rare phenomenon that on average occurs only every two and half years.
Most mechanical moon-phase indications must be corrected by one day “once in a
blue moon”. This is because for simplicity’s sake, they round the period of time between
two new moons down to 29.5 days even though it is actually 44 minutes and 3
seconds longer.
Fascinating on both sides: The RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL CALENDAR “Terraluna” with its orbital moon-phase display in front of a celestial rendering by Andreas Cellarius.
A. Lange & Söhne moon-phase watches are much more precise. Most of them reproduce
the lunar month with an accuracy of 99.998 per cent. The new GRAND LANGE 1
MOON PHASE is one example. Its display only needs to be corrected by one day every
122.6 years. But Lange’s product developers demonstrated that precision can be further
enhanced: The orbital moon-phase display of the RICHARD LANGE PERPETUAL
CALENDAR “Terraluna” presented this year is calculated with such accuracy that it
takes 1058 years to deviate by one day. Additionally, it shows the constellation of the
moon relative to the earth and the sun.
Since 1994, the manufactory has developed 15 calibres with moon-phase displays.
Five models from the current collection that feature this and other complications were
photographed against fascinating backdrops: depictions of the universe from the “Harmonia
Macrocosmica” set the stage for the highly precise timepieces. They come from the
magnificent sky atlas created by German-Dutch mathematician and cartographer Andreas
Cellarius in 1660*. The scenography emphasises the affinity between astronomy
and horology: in timepieces with astronomical complications, watchmakers have always
attempted to emulate the progression of celestial bodies as accurately as possible.
From today’s perspective, Cellarius’ rich illustrations make it clear how fundamentally our
view of the world has changed in the course of the past two millennia: it evolved from
Ptolemy’s geocentric standpoint that placed the earth in the middle of the cosmos to the current
model of an expanding universe.
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