ochs und junior special edition selene nebra in 39mm & 42mm

Ten years after the first production of the ochs und junior selene nebra as a single piece, Ludwig Oechslin is offering it in its classic version as a series watch for the 2023 festive season. It is available as such for a limited time in the ochs line and can be ordered until January 6, 2024. After that, the Nebra dial option will again only be available as a one-off production.

The nebra finish is one of the most admired dial finishes of our customized watches

While many collectors today automatically associate nebra as a patination technique particularly to ochs und junior, it was not always so! In 2012/2013, a customer in Lucerne, Switzerland requested a dial that was representative of the Nebra sky disc. And just what is the Nebra sky disc? It is a bronze disc that was discovered in Nebra, Germany measuring 32 centimeters in diameter, and weighing 2.2 kilograms. Time has lent it a green-blue patina, and the disc itself bears gold symbols. These symbols are believed to represent the sun (or possibly the full moon), a crescent sliver or moon, and a cluster of some 7 stars believed to represent the Pleiades. There is quite a bit more to the Nebra sky discs story but suffice it to say its celestial provenance proved to be the perfect canvas for Ludwig Oechslin’s lunar time machines.

Ludwig Oechslin’s moon phase watch displays the time, the date, and of course the phases of the moon. It features a unique moon phase function executed as a 5-part epicyclic gear system module that will be accurate for 3,478.27 years before its calculation will be off by 1 day. The analogue, spiral “dot date” indicator offers a better visual than a digital display from the same distance, and brings the date in visual harmony with the clockwise display of the hours and minutes.

Moon phase

The center represents the earth and the large dot at 12 o’clock represents the sun. The full moon is when the moon is opposite the sun and earth at 6 o’clock. The new moon is when the moon is hidden between the sun and the earth at 12 o’clock. The new moon is represented by a dark circle at 6 o’clock.

Date

The 30+1 holes around the perimeter of the dial display the date. The 10 minute markers serve as reference points. For example: the marker indicating 30 minutes also shows the 15th day of the month (30÷2=15). These 5-day markers allow for the date to be easily read at a glance. While it is a departure from a typical date function, reading it becomes intuitive after a short time.

Time

The exact minute and second can be read using the date holes , which are spaced at 2-minute intervals. The holes mark even minutes, and the gaps indicate odd minutes. The holes and gaps are the same width as the minute hand.

How does Ludwig Oechslin’s moon phase work?

An epicyclic gear train driven by a central finger bonded directly to the hour pipe turns the lunar disk beneath the dial counter-clockwise. The central finger engages with a wheel bearing 12 teeth, whose pinion with 14 teeth meshes with a wheel bearing 18 teeth, whose pinion with 14 teeth meshes with the fixed recessed ring gear with its 109 teeth machined into the under side of the dial.

What is the benefit of a highly precise moon phase calculation?

The average time between two identical moon phases is 29.530589 days. Most moon phase watches approximate a lunation as 29.5 days, which leads their calculation to be off by 1 day after 2 years. The closer your moon phase calculation comes to the average lunation of 29.530589 days, the “flatter” the difference between your prediction and the actual moon phase. The ochs und junior moon phase calculates the lunation as 29.5306122449 days. As a result, it will predict the moon phase correctly for 3,478.27 years before it is off by 1 day. This means that you only have to set your moon phase once, and you can trust that it will accurately display the phases of the moon.

Technical specifications

ochs und junior ochs line special edition selene nebra

Available for a limited period of time, and can be ordered until January 6, 2024.

Case

• Material: Grade 5 titanium
• Diameter: 39mm & 42mm
• Thickness: 11 mm
• Glass: Sapphire crystal
• Screw-down crown in grade 5 titanium
• Water-resistant to 100 meters

Dial and hands

• Dial: Nebra
• Markers: Gold leaf
• Sun: Hammered 24-karat yellow gold
• Hour hand: Distressed 18-karat gold
• Minute hand: Distressed 18-karat gold
• Second hand: Nebra
• Date disk: Nebra
• Date dot: Hammered 24-karat gold
• Moon disk: Nebra
• Full moon: Hammered platinum PT950
• New moon: Patina

Movement

• ETA 2824-2 with 38 hours of power reserve

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes, seconds, date
• Moon phases

Strap and buckle

• Ecopell Olifant leather strap
• Grade 5 titanium buckle with visible machining marks

MSRP

• CHF 7'520 (export price)
• CHF 8'100 (incl. taxes)

For more information, please visit ochsundjunior.swiss