Horological Meandering

Today (Sep 22) is the Mid-Autumn Festival in the Chinese Lunar Calendar (Aug 15). This means, of the entire year, the moon will be at its fullest tonight. Contrary to popular belief that there are 29.5 days in each lunar month, the exact count is 29 days, 12 hrs. 44 minutes 2.8 seconds – which explains some of the discrepancies in the moon phase function in watches we own (1 day out of 122 years/1,000 years, depending on the model).

 

Being obsessed with the romantic moon, I can hardly resist the urge to post a couple of real-time, ‘full moon’ pictures of some of my favorite timepieces - 7 in all:

 

Firstly, Patek Perpeptual Calendar 5059P

 

Next, Patek Nautilus 5712G

Vacheron Constantin Toledo 1952 WG

Patek Annual Calendar 5396R

Lange Langematik Perpetual RG

Datograph Perpetual WG

And my latest love, Lange "Hommage" 1815 Moonphase in honey-colored gold:

Which one do you like?

 

 

Now, who knows why we eat moon cakes?

 

There are indeed a couple of fairy tales related to the moon and there is history associated with the moon cakes too. Allow me to share the story:

 

From 1,280 AD to 1,368 AD, China was ruled by the Mongolians during what we called the Yuan Dynasty. People in the preceding (Sung) Dynasty were so unhappy under the Mongolian rule that they decided to plan a rebellion. As the Mid-Autumn Festival drew near, leaders of the rebellion circulated details of the attack plan in small pieces of paper hidden inside the moon cakes – these cakes were specialties of the Han clan (largest clan in China) that the Mongolians did not care much for. The uprising was successful, the government overthrown and the Ming Dynasty was established in 1,368 AD...and this lasted until 1,644 AD. Thereafter, moon cakes were consumed to commemorate the occasion. Of course, instead of pieces of paper, we now have sweet paste made of lotus seeds and salty eggs (very high cholesterol!). Other specialties include steamed taro, pomelo and other seasonal fruits.

 

Here are some pictures of our tradition:

 

The moon cakes

They come in all sizes:

Taros, my favorite:

Pomelo (from Thailand), plums (from California) and mouth-watering peaches (from Japan):

Ah...one must not forget the lanterns - we hang them out in the evening while we marvel at the full moon.

No wonder we need a public holiday on the day following the Festival (i.e. tomorrow), and not on the day of the Festival

Hope you enjoyed the pictures and the story.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Sam

Very fine selection, impressive. That WG Datograph Perpetual kills me.

 

Glad to see how you celebrate something as beautiful as the moon in its maximum esplendor.  She is beautiful, I love her.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

 

Vte

 

For the way that the moon "Shone" out at me.

Then I go for the L&S Perpetual.

Really stunning to see so many moon phase watches together.
Thanks for sharing your story.
GEO

 

 and the answer for your question is ... all are a loveable watches .

 

 Faisal

Thanks for the beautiful and educational post!

the same phase of the Moon. At the Epoch 2000.0  it is approximately 29.530588853 days. There are higher order secular terms which some manufacturers "guaranteeing" accuracy with a  days per century(as an example) may not take into account. In a century the period will lengthen by approximately .001337 days

I'd be happy with any of those "moon watches".

Funny, I always thought for some unknown reason that Moon Cakes had to have an egg inside to be real moon cakes (to my way of thinking) and that the other fillings were just pretend moon cakes.

Enjoy your feast!

Regards,
Richard.

those are all stunning pieces...and I like them all.

Best,
Goh

and a stunning collection...thanks for sharing...

And a good idea to celebrate with our 'moon' watches.That's a stellar collection you have there!

May I join you with this one which was on my wrist today.(yes, I've decided to keep it)

Unfortunately,the full moon doesn't show well in this pic.

This other one shows it off well though:

Best

Fernando

Love your 5102....when are you going to upgrade to the Sky Moon Tourbillon?

Sam

Too bad about the weather tonight.

Sky Moon ? You gotta be kidding,it's not even on my wish list.

I would be happy with your new Lange honeygold 1815 MP.

cheers

Fernando

with all the moonphases you have! Very nice looking group indeed. Thanks for the festive post, Sam.

and a very relevant post...at least for sep22...

my fav is the 1815 MP. thks fr sharing.

this is my humble contribution to your thread...taken in the office earlier. like you, decided to wear a MP watch today. apols fr lousy picture

happy mid autuum festival to you and all in this forum.
This message has been edited by Hororgasm on 2010-09-22 08:50:29

Interesting piece BTW

Sam

also got a sweet tooth. another affordable piece, probably more appropriate..... 

I am just drooling for those Patek and Lange parade!
Thank you for sharing!

Ken

... of course your new catch - Lange 1815....!

happy mid-autumn festival, Sam.

stefan

 A Great informative post, nicely done !

Many thanks !

As you are asking how we like your moonphases:

1. 1815

2. 5396

3. Langematik pp

4. Datograph pp

The others are actually all 5. .

Nice collection, indeed !

And I believe you own ( still ? ) the purist's gem 5119 RG ? THAT is a very, very nice model. I am nervously waiting to add this to my humble collection, soon!

Those lanterns are realy lovely !

Germans have also, for kids, in school a tradition of a lantern procession: St. Martin it is called.

Regards

Moritz

Interesting how different cultures have similarities. I just learned that the Chinese fairy tale of Chang-e, the lady living on the moon, is literally identical to another tale in Hindu

The 5119R is a gorgeous and very wearable watch. I made the stupid decision of parting with it a year ago - it's a dressy watch and being retired, I rarely wear a suit nowadays... I have been missing it ever since especially as I still own matching cuff links

Hope u get it soon.

Cheers
Sam

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And thank you for sharing your beautiful watches with us!

 

The Toledo calls out to me very strongly!

 

 

 

Best

 

Blomman

Enjoyed your POTW article. Next time I will post some simple watches

Sam

Sorry for the poor quality picture. it is made with an iphone. Radu

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good dial design, great MP and most useful functionality...the QP

thks fr sharing

for introducing and highlighting the moon-cake festival with your synopsis and your collection of spectacular watches!
here is my belated contribution to the full moon

ps  still trying to get the lighting desired

best

henry