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Ornatus-Mundi
[Zenith]
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BaselWorld 2016: Rainer Nienaber presents his 'Neumond' moonphase watch w. 10year accuracy

For me a real new discovery, and I should say I should be ashamed*. German AHCI member and master watchmaker Rainer Nienaber from the small town of Bünde in northern part of Germany (the town was once famous for its cigar-industry) presented his new Neumond ('new moon') wristwatch with a super-large moonphase disk that displays the phases of the moon precisely for 10 years:



The Neumond is an automatic watch (driven by the ETA 2824, thus no image from the back) that comes with a central, large moonphase display. Its not only large but also quite precise, only after 10 years it will be one day off. Conventional moonphase displays, even those used in perpetual calendars from the most prestigious brands.



Mr Nienaber spend a lot of thoughts on this watch, particularly on the dial. I really learnt to love the hands and the typeface of the font. The 'man in the moon' is decidedly (and intentionally) angry (I have no idea what message Mr Nienaber wants to convey to the owner here; or better: I do not want to know ...!). But there is more...



The base dial is guilloched and then subsequently sandblasted to achieve 'beach' like impression: like waves in the sand. This has to be done very carefully to retain the sharp edges. Afterwards, the surface is extremely sensitive in handling.



For the moonphase Nienaber uses a specially-made 2-component lacquer which contains already the glistering effect. The moon disk is crafted in German silver to acquire a desired antique appearance over time.



Finally, there is the case which is actually new old stock. The cases for me were the main reason why I never really touched Mr. Nienaber's watches. At first view, they looked a bit clumsy, with its edgy case and the cannelure bezel.

However, there is a nice story to this. They were designed and ordered with the case supplier Fricker some 2 decades ago. With their 41mm diameter they were considered outrageously large, and the case maker suggested to reduce them in size by 2-3mm. Nienaber insisted and commisioned a significant number. Today, he is glad he did so as the fashion has changed.



And finally, I was proven totally wrong with my former impression. The watch looks lovely on the wrist, and fits very nicely. With the large and central moonphase I think Nienaber presented a winner. I really need to take a closer look, and also inspect the workshop - next time I visit my parents!



Cheers and thanks for looking,
Magnus
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*) Why should I be ashamed? Well, Bünde is less than 40km away from my home town. I never arranged for a visit with Mr Nienaber nor did I take a closer look. Only after Marcus Hanke posted images of his new Nienaber watches (here) I slowly changed my attitude.