On The Wishlist - Frederique Constant Moneta Moonphase

If you knew me, you’d know I love a moonphase complication on a watch. Now, is it useful? Probably not at all. I mean, why would there be a need to check what phase the moon is in unless you’re a werewolf? Or a farmer, I guess. Purists would say that a moonphase is one of the most useless complications you can have on a watch, but why should we measure everything based on how useful it is?

To me, a moonphase is something whimsical, magical, something that reminds us of our connection to the wider universe and this celestial body up there in the sky that has more influence on us than you can imagine. It doesn’t need to be useful. It just needs to be something that, when you look down at your wrist, makes you stop for a second and stare because you love it too much.

The Two Types of Moonphase

Now, the tricky bit with a moonphase on a watch, at least to me, is that it can go one of two ways. One, a manufacturer puts a moonphase in their watch but it just looks awful, dated, like a toy or one of those cheap watches you find at a flea market. Two, a manufacturer decides to implement a moonphase complication, it turns out to be the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen, and it costs so much money that it leaves you speechless.

I’ve been looking for the perfect moonphase watch for a while now. A watch that would call to me, but that also wouldn’t put a massive hole in my pocket economically. And, as you can imagine, I haven’t been lucky. I’d started to convince myself that the two options above were the only ones available, and that if I really wanted a moonphase I would have to settle for a cheap-looking watch or spend the next 50 years putting away enough money to eventually buy the really cool, really expensive moonphase I want (see Arnold & Son Luna Magna)

Then Frederique Constant pulled a rabbit out of the hat and released the Classics Moneta Moonphase. And oh my god, what a pull.

Specs

• Case: 37mm stainless steel, 7.65mm thick

• Movement: Frederique Constant FC-206 quartz, 5-jewel, 5-year battery life

• Functions: Hours, minutes and moonphase

• Dial: Sunray-finished, with applied hour markers and moonphase at 6 o’clock

• Crystal: Convex sapphire with anti-reflective coating

• Water Resistance: 50m / 5 ATM

• Strap: Calf leather with crocodile embossing

• Price: Starting at £995

Frederique Constant Knows A Thing Or Two About Accessible Luxury

The Moneta Moonphase feels like a pretty good summary of what Frederique Constant has always tried to do. The brand was founded in Geneva in 1988 by Aletta and Peter Stas, with the idea of making classically styled Swiss watches more accessible rather than keeping fine watchmaking exclusively for people with very deep pockets. That philosophy has stuck around pretty much ever since, and the Moneta Moonphase feels like a very literal continuation of it.

And that’s what makes this watch so interesting to me. Frederique Constant is a brand that has gone properly deep into mechanical watchmaking. They’ve developed their own tourbillons, perpetual calendars and other complicated movements, and yet here they are putting a moonphase into a quartz watch and selling it for a starting price of £995.

And honestly? I love that.

When I saw it, I couldn’t believe my eyes. A good-looking moonphase complication watch for around £1,000? Sign me up.

The one that really caught my eye is the yellow-gold PVD version. There is something magnificent about its vintage flair. It’s a modern release, but it looks vintage. The gold-tone case, silver sunray dial and leather strap give it that old-school dress-watch feeling without making it look like something your grandad would have kept in a drawer for 40 years.

The dial seems perfectly balanced too. Applied indices, dauphine-style hands, moonphase at 6 and, importantly, no seconds hand.

Ooh, wait a minute.

No seconds hand… IS THIS A QUARTZ?

Cue the mechanical watch purists having a nervous breakdown.

Wait… Is This A Quartz?

[Yes. It is.]

And yes, I know some people might think it’s crazy to buy a quartz watch for £1,000 when you could get a really solid microbrand automatic for that amount. Or you could save a little longer and start looking at some higher-end models, like the Tudor Royal with a moonphase or one of Frederique Constant’s own mechanical moonphase offerings.

And I don’t fully disagree. I get the point. But also… that’s not really the point.

The quartz movement is what allows this watch to exist at this price point. The FC-206 gives you the hours, minutes and moonphase, while keeping the watch just 7.65mm thick and giving you a five-year battery life.

Had this been a mechanical movement, I imagine the price would have been considerably higher, and suddenly we’d be comparing it against a completely different group of watches.

Instead, Frederique Constant has essentially said: here’s a Swiss-made, properly finished dress watch, with sapphire crystal, a moonphase complication and a design that looks like it should cost more than it does. And I think that’s the right price for it.

Would I have loved it even more if it was mechanical, like my Hamilton Khaki Field Bronze? Of course I would. Did I buy the latter for around £700 and get a mechanical movement? Yes, I did.

But that’s not the point.

Sometimes Quartz Is Exactly What You Need

The point is that there’s a bit of magic to a moonphase, and quartz doesn’t take that away.

If anything, it makes the complication more accessible. It’s reliable, it keeps the watch thin, it gives you a five-year battery life, and most importantly, it means you don’t need to spend several thousand pounds to have that little slice of the night sky sitting on your wrist.

And I think that’s exactly where Frederique Constant has nailed it. They’ve offered a really nice package here: a good-looking dress watch, a genuinely fun complication, sensible dimensions, a choice of dial colours and a price that, while certainly not cheap, doesn’t require you to sell a kidney either.

Is it the most horologically impressive moonphase ever made? Absolutely not.

Do I care? Not really. Because every time I look at it, I think, that's a really nice moonphase.

And sometimes that’s enough.

The Frederique Constant Classics Moneta Moonphase is definitely a watch that’s going on the Wishlist.