A New Chapter of Understated Elegance: The Orient Star M45 F8 Moon Phase

The moon has always been a favorite topic in watchmaking, and few watch enthusiasts can pass up a moon phase display at some point in their collecting career. With the recently introduced Orient Star M45 F8 Moon Phase, this complication has just become even more tempting, as the brand presents it with a beautiful sense of understated elegance.

The Japanese have always been very keen on finding beauty in balance, and they often achieve this by a very pure approach. For the Orient Star M45 F8 Moon Phase, the dial features a silver finish with slender Roman numerals, blued leaf hands, and a traditional window where the moon phase disc rotates. The text on the dial is kept to a bare minimum, with only the brand's name and logo occupying an eye-catching position at 3 o'clock. Orient Star even went so far as not to offer a scale for the power reserve indicator at twelve o'clock. That is quite a feat, considering the generous 70-hour power reserve is most certainly something to be proud of.

The subtle display of elegance continues with the case. Made from stainless steel and measuring 39.5mm, it is very well proportioned with a relatively slender bezel. The crown also displays this modesty, yet combines it with a touch of character thanks to its drum-like appearance. The ridged edges also give it a pleasant grip, which puts you directly in connection with the caliber F8A62 that powers this Orient Star. It is a manufacture movement, fitted with an in-house-made silicon escape wheel. Orient Star is rightfully proud of this and even made the bridge architecture of the movement in such a way that this part is visible through the sapphire insert in the caseback. The overall finishing of the movement is also very pleasing to the eye, highlighted by perfectly applied Geneva stripes.

Next to the already tempting regular version of the M45 F8 Moon Phase, Orient Star also launched a limited edition of 140 pieces. This one features a gradient grey dial that showcases the Pleiades star cluster. To create this effect, Orient Star used a specially formulated paint in combination with silver dots for the most prominent stars, a thick, clear coating, and specially pad-printed Roman numerals for added depth. The result is captivating. This also goes for the moon phase disc, as Orient Star made the moons out of white mother-of-pearl. This evokes the mysterious shimmer as the moon reflects the sun's light. 

The regular model of the M45 F8 Moon Phase with silver dial is priced at $3,040, while the limited edition goes for $3,280

For more info, visit Orient Star, here.