Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The New Ochs und Junior Luna Sole Blue Patina ‘Ferragosto’
A silver case and blue dial with white gold leaf details host Oechslin’s ingeniously simple display of astronomical phenomena.
Ludwig Oechslin has devoted a lifetime to finding simple solutions to complex problems. His brand, Ochs und Junior, specialises in developing complications with as few components as possible and is renowned for its minimalist, Bauhaus industrial design style. Compressing astronomical features into a disarmingly simple display, the new Luna Sole delivers the time, date, moon phases and the Moon’s position relative to the Earth and Sun. The new Luna Sole comes in a 40mm sterling silver case with an elegant combination of blue patina and white gold leaf details on the dial.
The Luna Sole is being released to coincide with the annual Ferragosto (15 August) holiday. This date has been feted since Emperor Augustus ruled Rome and evolved to become a Christian festival in Roman Catholic countries celebrating the Assumption of Mary. Previously available in titanium cases, it will be fun to see how the 40mm sterling silver case of the Luna Sole patinates over time. With its 9mm case thickness, the Luna Sole is the thinnest model in Ochs und Junior’s repertoire. Fitted with a screw-down crown, the case is water-resistant to 100 meters and, like other models, reveals the marks of milling and machining.
To create this mini astronomical phenomenon, Ludwig Oechslin produced a module comprising just six parts – including the dial. A short explanation is necessary to understand how this disarmingly simple dial relays so much information. Two overlapping discs are placed in the centre of the blue patina dial; the lower disc portrays the Sun as a circle ( in white gold leaf) on one side and as a blue heart-shaped area on the other. The superior disc, which represents the Moon, has a white gold powder hoop matching the size of the Sun. The different phases of the Moon can be ascertained by using the hoop’s position over the heart-shaped solar disc.
The solar disc rotates every 24 hours so that at midday, the Sun is featured at the top of the dial and midnight at the bottom. When it rises in the morning, it appears at 9; when it sets, it sits at the 3 o’clock position on the dial. The Moon also completes a rotation but at a slower speed of 29.5 days. When the Moon is opposite the Sun, it signals a full moon; when it is directly above the Sun, it indicates a new moon. To maintain the Sun and the Moon in perfect synch, there is a direct drive from the Sun gear to the Moon fear via a reduction gear, and the deviation is just one day in 122.3 years.
The more straightforward hour and minute indications rely on six elongated white gold leaf indices and matching hour and minute hands, while the date uses Oeschlin’s Mese date display with 30 + 1 holes perforated on the perimeter of the dial indicated by white gold-leaf dots. The caseback is engraved with Ferragosto 2024, and beneath it is the base ETA 2892-A2 automatic movement operating at 28,800vph with a 42-hour power reserve.
The Luna Sole comes on a grey Ecopell leather strap with a silver-plated buckle. The Luna Sole Ferragosto can be pre-ordered on the brand’s website or by emailing [email protected]. It retails for CHF 8,500 (excl. VAT) or CHF 9,188.50 (incl. VAT).
For more information, please visit ochsundjunior.swiss.
