Independents

The first complication requires that a calendar is included to the movement. This is done by means of a tempered steel hand that rotates above a yellow gold ring that is engraved with 365 strokes (one for each day of the year). The whole is visible through the sapphire back glass.

 

The second complication (The Lunar Cycle) is featured by means of a very special double hand that rotates above a ring engraved with 29 1/2 strokes (one for each day of the lunar cycle). Therefore, this double hand rotates for one revolution between two new moons and points everyday the accurate Age of the Moon. In addition to that, the current moon phase is displayed in a uncommon manner : the double hand is composed of two hands - one bears a disk made of platinum that represents the Moon itself - the other one bears a black enameled  disk. At New Moon, the two hands are one above the other ; the black disk masks completely the platinum disk ; the moon cannot be seen. Then, the two hands rotate day after day, however the black-disk-hand goes slower that the platinum-disk-hand. Thus, the Moon appears gradually. When the double-hand is at 6 o'clock, the platinum-disk-hand is fully visible as well as the Moon is in the sky as this is now Full Moon. Then, the black-disk-hand jumps instantaneously ahead the platinum-disk-hand and from now on the Moon is gradually re-covered until the next New Moon.

As the question was about the Moonphase, I won't detail further the Equation of Time ;-) !!

The VH Classic Janvier proposes an uncommon manner for displaying the lunar cycle but this is not a new one as it is inspired from a clock by Antide Janvier (1750-1835) .... as well as the De Bethune spheric moons comes from antique clocks of the XVIIIth century.

Cheers

  

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