More than just a passing phase
Written: Dec 28 '05 (Updated Dec 28 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Elegant, timeless design. Built to the strictest tolerances.
Cons: Costs as much as a Hyundai
The Bottom Line: -
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| carnut2k4's Full Review: Lacroix Phase de Lune MP6347-SS001-92E Wrist Watch... |
What time is it on the moon right now?
Maurice Lacroix is among the elite watch makers of Switzerland. They’re nowhere near as famous as certain other Swiss watch firms – but I see that as a positive attribute. Scarcity is one of the marks more appealing qualities in my eyes. They have a range of watches that should appeal to a large cross section of the buying community, as long as you’re into big, clunky watches.
My Lacroix is the Phase de Lune model – that’s ‘Moon Phase’ for all us non-Frenchified folk. The stainless steel 38mm case is on the large side and it’s roughly one third of an inch thick. The black 20mm strap is made of genuine Louisiana crocodile leather. A standard, stainless steel lug and pin secure the strap aided by two leather strap loops. Although being solid as a brick shithouse, it’s surprisingly light, making it very comfortable to wear. Being water resistant to 50 meters ensures that getting caught in the occasional rain shower will have no ill effect. I doubt anyone would strap one of these on and test it at depth to see if 50 meters is accurate.
The functional stuff
The white face and stainless hands are sleek looking but may prove prohibitive to those with older eyes. Luckily Lacroix offers a white face with gold hands and numerals for just a few hundred dollars more. The second hand sweeps almost smoothly and is an easy-to-spot contrasting blue. The outside of the face has classic Roman Numerals and inside of that circle are days of the month which has its own dedicated hand. Small windows display the day of the week and the month and a large window above VI displays the moon (complete with background stars) and as it spins clockwise you can accurately assess the waxing or waning nature of the Moon on the cloudiest of nights. Aside from the adjusting knob / winder, there are four buttons which should only be depressed with the specific tool for them that comes with the watch. They will change the day, date, month and moon phase – however you must read the manual to find out when you can make these changes. Pushing the buttons at certain times can damage the intricacies going on beneath that beautiful face.
One of the nicer features is the self winding function. Simply wearing the watch will keep it wound all the time. One of the really cool things is you can actually see the watch winding itself. The underside of the timepiece is not metal. It is a clear sapphire crystal (as is the front cover) that exposes the innards. Move the watch and you’ll see the darn thing winding. Very cool.
One or two minor complaints
The price of the watch keeps me from wearing it every day. Sometimes I go a week or more without wearing it which means it needs to be wound manually first. It also means using the pin to push in the buttons to reset the day, date and month – but first you need to make sure you’re not at a ‘bad’ time for making the adjustments. If you are, you have to wind the time forward to a ‘safe’ point and then make the adjustments. It’s a little annoying, but not nearly as annoying as trying to set the moon phase. You can look in your local newspaper or online for this – but who the hell would? My moon phase was accurate for the first month (almost five years ago now) and ever since then I’ve had to look at the sky to assess the moons position. Given that the watch has neither a light, nor indiglo feature you’re pretty much gonna have to look at the sky to see where the moon is anyway if you find yourself outside at night.
Last thoughts
The Lacroix Moon Phase is a beautiful timepiece. I get complements and questions about it all the time. If I could buy it over again I would – though I’d get the gold hands and numerals. It’s a classic clunky watch in the spirit of TAG or Rolex but if you get one you’ll probably be the only kid on the block with one. It may cost more than your fist car did but it’s more than just a watch, it’s an heirloom. You’ll enjoy it for a lifetime and then your descendants will thank you.
Price paid: $1900
Recommended:
Yes
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carnut2k4
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Member: Jason
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