Comments:
Excellent post, Nicholas - thank you.
I remember when this set was released - living in the Southern Hemisphere, I had never seen a watch that correctly represented the waxing and waning of the moon from my vantage point!
Interestingly, the movement in the Southern Hemisphere model has 4 extra parts to reverse the rotation of the moon phase disc - and, apart from the reference number, that is the only difference between the calibers.
Overall, I am not a fan of the various Grand Lange 1 models where Lange chose to upsize the case but retain the base caliber - the resulting overlapping irretrievably irks me. However…I’ve always made an exception for this set, given my opening point.
Thank you again for the post - interesting, different and real nicely done.
Interestingly, the movement in the Southern Hemisphere model has 4 extra parts to reverse the rotation of the moon phase disc - and, apart from the reference number, that is the only difference between the calibers.
Overall, I am not a fan of the various Grand Lange 1 models where Lange chose to upsize the case but retain the base caliber - the resulting overlapping irretrievably irks me. However…I’ve always made an exception for this set, given my opening point.
Thank you again for the post - interesting, different and real nicely done.
Ah the Luna Mundi!
In addition to the limited edition Luna Mundi set (which was very easy to get -- they didn't sell well), Lange released the PT/rhodium dial version (115.025), and the YG and RG versions with two-color subdials (115.021/115.031), at about the same time. All were Grand Lange 1 models with overlapping subdials.
I was honestly disappointed when the Grand Lange 1 with overlapping subdials was released around 2003. I felt like the company had taken the clean Lange 1 design and broken it. I was grateful when Lange abandoned this variation, which lasted only for a few years, by redesigning the dial and removing the overlap.
The other concept that bothered me a bit was Lange's decision to re-use the Ursa Major motif on the dial for the Northern Hemisphere Luna Mundi so soon after the company had, just 4 years earlier, used that same Ursa Major motif on the Emil Lange 1815 Moonphase models. This felt lazy to me.
But as with most other Langes, the Luna Mundi and all these other models were much nicer in person than in the press release photos!