A Close-Up on the Laurent Ferrier Classic Moon Silver

Over the years, Laurent Ferrier has carved out a nice slice of the haute horlogerie market for his brand, making it both a staple and a benchmark in the scene. His designs express an understated luxury achieved by combining pure lines, in which every detail matters, with outstanding craftsmanship and finish. Experiencing hands-on one of the brand’s latest creations, the Classic Moon Silver, teaches us that this one is fortunately not different.

While Laurent Ferrier as a brand is still relatively young, having started in 2009, the man himself can look back on an impressive career in the watch industry. He spent 37 years at Patek Philippe, a company that has the tradition of always hiring the top two students of the watchmaking school, one of whom was Ferrier in 1968. There he rose through the ranks, experiencing everything from the quartz crisis to the renaissance of mechanical watchmaking. That Ferrier is a man willing to commit for the long run also comes forward in his passion for racing. As in watchmaking, Ferrier showed early on a talent for racing and developed a particular love for endurance racing. He competed several times in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, even ending up at the podium with a third place overall in 1979 while racing a Kremer-prepared Porsche 935.

Such determination helps when you decide at the age of 63 to forgo a comfortable retirement and start a brand of your own. Ferrier had a vision, and a clear one, as the Classic Tourbillon Double Hairspring that he launched at his brand debuted and instantly won the prize for best men’s watch at the Grand Prix de d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) in 2010. It is not difficult to recognize the Classic Moon as a direct descendant of that watch, as it shares the same case and crown design, and also the movement architecture, dial design, and hands have an undeniable family resemblance.

Laurent Ferrier is a brand that benefits from being grounded in tradition but without having to carry the burden of heritage with it. While Ferrier is committed to a design language and makes no concessions to quality and finish, the Classic Moon also shows that he knows how to have fun. This is most evident in the moon-phase indication. This is a first for Ferrier, but he definitely jumps right in without holding back. It shows the current age of the moon phase in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Where most brands are satisfied with a standard disk, Ferrier is not. The base is an engraved piece of aventurine in which the shape of the moon and stars are engraved before being filled with Super-LumiNova. This is then fired and further engraved with details, which really come to life when the glow becomes visible in low-light conditions. This is also a fun detail, as there is no Super-LumiNova used elsewhere on the dial, so you can see the two moons and the stars but not read the time. This is a poetic nod to the past when moonlight was indeed the only illumination at night.

Ferrier made other exciting choices that overall really complement this timepiece. Instead of the almost obligatory alligator leather strap, the Classic Moon is fitted with one crafted from brown calf leather with a little bit of aging on it. It fittingly matches the understated look of the watch as a whole. In pure Ferrier tradition, the strap is hand-sewn and has an Alcantara lining for increased wearing comfort. Also, don’t expect an elaborate folding clasp, but instead rejoice that Ferrier opted for a rather elegant gold buckle. As quality speaks for itself, the buckle does not have the brand name on it. In fact, the Classic Moon is only signed twice, once at the front and once at the back. This is quite a breath of fresh air in a time when logos and brand names seem to dominate to such an extent that it is sometimes hard to see the product underneath them.

The caseback shows a harmony of rhodium silver and gold tones, with a dash of red coming from the synthetic rubies. Ferrier refrains from an abundance of decoration and therefore forgoes the use of blued screws. Instead, they make very deliberate choices for the decoration techniques that they deploy and execute them well. This results in a visual harmony with a timeless character. Aiding in this is the design of the bridges. The ones that hold the mainspring barrel and the majority of the gear train are relatively large, allowing Ferrier to apply a nice, relatively wide version of the Geneva stripes. The two bridges that hold the escapement are the most classic-looking components of the movement, being smaller and beautifully curved. This also allows Ferrier to show its capabilities in hand-polished beveling, which is very pleasing to the eye. This is not the only hand polishing that can be found in this movement, as also the screw heads have received this treatment.

The Classic Moon is a beautifully proportioned watch measuring 40 mm in diameter and 12.90 mm thick. It has a pleasant weight to it, and the shape of the case gives it quite a presence on the wrist. The warm glow of the red gold superbly complements the sand silver dial with its horizontally brushed finish. The exact nature of the dial is nearly impossible to capture on film. It really is alive and interacts actively with all different sorts of light. It is understated enough that the spectacle is only for the owner to actively enjoy, but others might catch on to it. The day and month windows are recessed into the dial, which make the difference in play of light even more dramatic, while the date is indicated by a slender red hand. These dashes of color, like also the blue for the date numerals and the railroad track, make the dial only more desirable. The hour and minute hands, along with the narrow Roman numerals, make the dial look larger than it actually is.

Another aspect that oozes quality can be found in between the bridge that holds the mainspring and the one below it that holds part of the gear train. Ferrier could have easily pushed them closer together but didn’t, so it allows you to peek through. There, you get to enjoy the engine-turned decorations that are more clearly visible under the balance wheel, indicating that Ferrier decorated the movement parts all the way through and not only the ones that are clearly visible from the back. In a similar way, it lets the mainspring barrel peek out from under the bridge, making the movement as a whole satisfying to look at. The power-reserve indicator is also beautifully integrated into the back of this caliber. While easy to read, it blends in and does not overpower the rest of the movement design.

With its diameter of 31.60 mm, Caliber LF126.02 nicely fills the 40-mm-large case. This is important as it significantly contributes to the overall pleasing experience that this watch gives. An essential aspect of this is also the crown. While the watch is quite intuitive to set and doesn’t require much resetting as it is an annual calendar, you still will engage in an intimate relationship with it, as the movement is manual-wound. While a power reserve of 80 hours will not make this a daily chore, it is pleasant to grab the onion-shaped crown and feel the smooth motion as it winds up the mainspring. This makes the Classic Moon, inside and out, a highly desirable timepiece. Laurent Ferrier offers it as the Classic Moon Silver for CHF 80,000 with a red-gold case in combination with a vertical brushed satin-finished silver dial or as the Classic Moon Blue with a stainless-steel case combined with a gray-blue dial with an opaline finish, available at CHF 70,000.

This article is from the November / December 2024 print edition of WatchTime Magazine. To subscribe, click here.

To learn more, visit Laurent Ferrier, here.