Typically staged on a small rotating disc, the moon-phase display poetically tracks the lunar cycle.
Hermès exalted the classic horological complication with a prominent double moon on Arceau L'Heure De La Lune -- the recipient of the Calendar and Astronomy Watch Prize at the GPHG 2019.
The award-winning timepiece has been revised with a two-tone look and a meteorite dial to further express the cosmic concept.
The first of the three new variations, Arceau L'Heure De La Lune Blue Grey Moon in a white gold 43mm case boasts a dial crafted from a piece of lunar rock, embraced by a titanium bezel with blue DLC coating.
The face of the rose gold iteration is made from a fragment of Vesta -- one of the largest-known asteroids -- while the titanium bezel is in grey with a circular satin-brushed DLC coating.
Hermès even sourced a section of the Erg Chech meteorite, named after a region of the Sahara desert in Algeria. A dial fashioned from the magmatic rock is paired with a white gold case and a rose gold bezel for the third model.
Arceau L'Heure De La Lune Erg Chech.
The celestial choreography is orchestrated by a 117-component module, incorporated into the Hermès H1837 self-winding movement.
Accordingly, the lacquered mobile counters indicating the time and date gravitate around the meteorite dial, while maintaining their horizontal orientation, over a period of 59 days, gradually revealing the moon discs.
Hermès playfully swapped cardinal points for the simultaneous display of the moon phases for the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
In white mother-of-pearl, the northern moon at 6 o'clock depicts the lunar surface while its southern counterpart at 12 o'clock portrays the winged-horse Pegasus taken from the Full Moon motif designed by Dimitri Rybaltchenko.
The maison's equestrian heritage is further reflected by the sloping font inspired by a horse's gallop and the Arceau case with a stirrup-shaped lug, designed by Henri d'Origny in 1978.
The Arceau L'Heure De La Lune Blue Grey Moon, Vesta and Erg Chech with a portion of the respective space rock are limited editions of only 12 pieces.
Vesta version named after one of the largest-known asteroids.
