The high end watch brand, Graham, which bears the name of the iconic British watchmaker, George Graham, has launched an exciting new timepiece with the celestial inspiration. Depicting the night sky with 48 diamond stars of the major constellations on the dial, the watch is armed with a flying tourbillon and a perpetual retrograde moon phase display complications. The hand-painted moon phase indication of the timekeeper’s manual high-precision caliber G1769 is set to serve its wearer for a very long time, since it needs a single adjustment every 122 years. Needless to say, the Geo.Graham watch is launched in a restricted edition of 20 pieces which are teamed with one of three existing types of bezels. The basic version of the watch which costs nearly $265,000 has a blue bezel with stars of the Milky Way galaxy, while the two even more luxurious high jewelry versions ditch the sparkle of stars on the outskirts of our galaxy in favor of the glimmer of gems with the total weight of over six carats. Each made in just five copies, these versions are with a bezel that is entirely coved with 68 sapphires or diamonds.
Graham Geo.Graham The Moon Watch
The Celestial Theme Inspired by Graham’s Passion for Astronomy
Geo.Graham The Moon timekeeper is a peculiar horological product that combines a flying tourbillon with ball bearings with a moon phase display which is simultaneously impressive in the technical sense and as a visual element of the blue dial. The whole astronomical theme of the watch is closely tied to the tradition of the firm from Le Locle which was originally founded by George Graham. The renowned horological inventor had an inclination toward astronomy. Not only that he was a close friend and a collaborator of an astronomer, Edmond Halley of the Greenwich Royal Observatory in London, but Graham was also fascinated by the Moon and was studying Newton’s theories of gravitation.
The Moon’s Synodic Period at the Core of the Complication
The featured moon phase indication takes into account the duration of the Moon’s synodic period which is the length of time it takes for a body, in this case our satellite, to complete one orbit of the sun relative to the earth. For the earth’s closest celestial companion, the synodic period is 29 days, 12 hour, 44 minutes and 2.9 seconds or expressed differently – 2,551,442.9 seconds. After the length of time that matches the synodic period, the retrograde moon indication returns to the starting position. Set in this fashion, the stages of the moon indication stays accurate for 122 years, and after nearly a century and a quarter, it needs just a single correction. To make it all run smoothly, this sort of adjustment can be made with a simple push of a button. Interestingly, the rather big indication weighs only 0.07 grams. Its realistic looks are the result of craftsmen from the brand’s workshops in Le Locle which hand painted it. Since the moon disc slips back to the starting position at the end of the cycle, there was a realistic concern about the potential damage from the operation. That is why the caliber utilizes a double absorber system which was designed exclusively for Graham by Christophe Claret.
Graham Geo.Graham The Moon Watch
Apart from the most prominent feature of the watch which is even indicated in the name of the product, The Moon timepiece has another brilliant complication as a part of its hand-wound G1769 movement. It is a flying tourbillon which, as it has already been mentioned, utilizes a ball bearing. The feature is visible at the lower part of the skeletonized blue dial which is in fact the exposed blue coated movement.
Graham Geo.Graham The Moon Watch Tourbillon
45 Diamonds Form Major Constelations
To capture the mesmerizing ambiance of a night sky, Graham craftsmen used precisely 45 stones (with the total weight of 0.24 ct) which are placed on the dial. They are assorted in order to form the constellations of Perseus, Camelopardalis, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major and Ursa Minor along with the North Star. In accordance with the astronomical theme of the watch, there is another cool detail, a blue sapphire domed bezel painted with the stars of the Milky Way galaxy, as it would be seen through a retracting telescope.
Geo.Graham Watch Constellations of the Moon Dial
The flying tourbillon movement with a perpetual retrograde moon phase complication runs on the frequency of 21,600 vph (3Hz). It integrates 29 jewels in its construction and provides a power reserve of four days once it is fully wound by hand, while its resilience is enhanced with the addition of Incabloc shock absorber.
You Could Even Swim with It, though You Really Shouldn’t
The watch is placed into a round 18K pink gold housing with the crown adorned with a sapphire. The diameter of the case is 46mm. Both of its sides sport a sapphire crystal; while the front one is domed and with glare-proof coating, the back one is completed with the hand-engraving of the serial number. If you are rich and eccentric enough, you could even wear this timepiece (with the price of over a quarter of a million of dollars) while swimming since it is water proof to 100 meters. The final component of the watch is a blue crocodile leather strap with a pink gold pin buckle.
Sapphire and Diamond Luxury Editions of Five Pieces
As it has been mentioned, there are also two haute joaillerie versions of the watch which are even more lavish than the basic one. They are both made with 68 gemstones on the bezel. While the diamond version sports 6.12 carats of gems, the sapphire sports the richest ornaments with total weight of 6.45 carats. The variations with jewels on the domed bezel are launched in limited editions which consist of just 5 pieces.
Graham Geo.Graham The Moon Watch with Sapphires
Graham Geo.Graham The Moon Watch with Diamonds
