It all began with a battered Speedmaster and the discovery of a Soviet Luch Moonphase, according to brand founder, Victor S. What am I talking about? The Mu:n Projects Swiss Made Moonphase that has been quietly blowing up Kickstarter this past week.
You know how I love a good story, so here it is…
Victor along with his cousin, Thibault and two childhood friends, Jean-Samuel and Nicolas, launched the innovative watchmaking project back in 2021. Driven be a late introduction into horology—six years ago Victor’s father found and gave him a damaged, but functioning, Omega Speedmaster—and the fortuitous discovery of a Luch Moonphase in his grandfather’s attic, Victor resigned from his job with nothing but an idea: democratize the moonphase.
Stage one, ask the people.
In early 2021 the partners built an online watch configurator and had enthusiasts submit their designs. More than 800 did just that. Using these are their starting point, Mu:n designed five finalists which were then submitted to a vote. After much feedback, from as many as five thousand enthusiasts, the Mu:n Projects Moonphase was born.
Now, this two-year, interactive adventure is available in two distinct lines with a total of seven different references.
Its flagship Creator Series is a unique, numbered run meant to honour those who have followed and contributed to the brand’s vision over the last two years. It includes three automatic models, employing a realistic moon disc–developed in partnership with the AJS Production workshop–and incorporating unique variations in the deep blue and black colouring of the discs. It is powered by the Sellita SW288-1. Its moon phase complication boasts a precision of 0.03 days per revolution, or, essentially one day every 3 years. The gorgeous decoration of its oscillating weight is inspired by a 17th century tarot card drawn by Jean Dodal, La Lune XVIII. It portrays the allegories of the card in six bas-reliefs. The movement is visible through a piece of sapphire glass in the exhibition case back.
The Origin Series will become part of the brand’s permanent collection and uses a more traditional moon phase wheel. It will be made available in both an automatic reference, and a quartz reference. The automatic will also use the SW288-1 mentioned above; whereas the quartz will be powered by a Swiss Ronda 708.
The dials of all models are a diamond-cut guilloché with applied markers and no fewer than six indices (seconds, minutes, 12hrs, 24hrs, day, and moon age). Each also sports a finely polished leaf handset. Both automatic watches measure 38mm in diameter and 11.1mm thick, with a 20mm lug width. The quartz iteration comes in at 36mm and is a very slim 7mm with 18mm lugs. The cases are mirror-polished. In the Origin Series there are also gold PVD versions of both the automatic and the quartz.
All watches are proudly assembled in Switzerland at the PH Saner SA workshop. Its straps are manufactured in the village of Avoudrey in France, and come in four colours.
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Specs
| Case | 316L Stainless Steel (/w a gold PVD iteration) 38mm Diameter (Quartz: 36mm) 11.1mm Thick (Quartz: 7mm) 20mm Lug Width (Quartz: 18mm) Screw Down Case back |
| Dial & Crystal | Sapphire Crystal Diamond-cut Guilloche Applied Markers |
| Movement | Sellita SW288-1 (Quartz: Ronda 708) Moon Phase Complication 26 Jewels 28 800bph 38-Hour Power Reserve |
| Strap | Full Grain Leather Strap |
Mu:n Projects Moonphase
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Final Thoughts
The Creator Series moon phase disc is a thing of beauty. It requires nine steps in the printing process to realize and its stars are hand painted. The moon craters are actually burnt into the disc surface to provide a visible relief. The movement decoration in the automatic version is also incredible, and the quartz offers a beautifully etched case back referencing the same tarot featured on the automatic oscillating weight. But more than the sum of its specs is the interesting manner in which the watch was conceived and designed. The collective approach is a refreshing one. I have a soft spot or the Creator Series–particularly for the deep blue and silver iterations. But any would make an attractive dress watch. As the project has already reached its funding goal ten times over in the first ten days of the campaign, many would seem to agree.
At the time of writing, Early Bird Quartz references are still available for €280, automatics for €920. For more information, please visit their Kickstarter page.
About the author
Brent Robillard is a writer, educator, craftsman, and watch enthusiast. He is the author of four novels. You can follow him on Instagram.
On Spec articles refer to upcoming projects and rely upon available information on Kickstarter, the brand website, and promotional materials provided by the watchmaker. An On Spec article does not preclude a future full-length review in our Off The Cuff section. If you would like your project to feature in On Spec, please contact us here.
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That cosmic moonphase is a showstealer!
Those moonphase discs are a work of art, with an incredible story behind it too having involved the watch community to contribute their own interpretations of design. Amazing work by Mu:n.