Tatler handpicks the best luxury timepieces for the upcoming festival, which falls on September 10 this year
Every year, the Chinese communities around the world celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar. This celebration of the moon dates back over 3,000 years and a variation of the festival is celebrated across Asian cultures. Earth’s only satellite has captivated humans for millennia, with scientists, romantics, poets and now watchmakers channelling the moon’s influence.
Before the current age of mechanical timekeeping, our ancestors used the phases of the moon and position of the sun to tell time and track the seasons. In the modern evolution of this ancient instinct, a lunar phase aperture has become a favourite within haute horology for the way it enhances the aesthetics of luxury timepieces, making watches that are ideal for gifting (or keeping), especially during Asia’s festival of the harvest.
Here are the best moon phase timepieces of 2022, each paying homage to culture, science, art and history.
1. Cartier
The Moonphase Pasha de Cartier was revealed at Watches and Wonders 2022, featuring a circular moon phase movement set in an illustrated night sky and housing a Manufacture 1904 LU MC movement. The watch is available in an all gold or steel version.