Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!
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TIME HONORED fantastic firmament THE ENCHANTMENT OF THE MOON AND STARS IS AN ALLURING GIFT FROM THE WORLD'S FINEST WATCHMAKERS TO THE WOMEN OF CHICAGO IN THE FORM OF LUNAR PHASES. BY ROBERTA NAAS PHOTOGRAPHY BY JEFF GALE AND JEFF CRAWFORD F or decades, mechanical watches created specifically for women took a backseat to the ever more important category of men's mechanical timepieces. Today, however, women have their rightful place in the watchmaking world, as savvy luxury brands design timepieces for women who dress for success and value fine craftsmanship and engineering. Among the most coveted are mechanical moon-phase watches. Long a symbol of romance and eternity, the moon has enraptured us for time immemorial and served as the inspiration for much folklore and poetry. This may well be why so many watch brands put time and research into the development of specialty watches for women that depict the phases of the moon in increasingly continued on page 74 From Corum, this Admiral's Cup Legend 38 Mystery Moon ($14,500) features a natural mother-of-pearl dial engraved with a sunburst pattern and a round moon-phase indicator aperture set within a sub-dial of diamond-set stars. The dial rotates so that the date and moon-phase indicators complete one revolution in 31 days. The inner disk of the moon-phase indicator changes every 23.5 hours for exact precision in replicating the phases of the moon. C.D. Peacock, 4999 Old Orchard Ctr., Skokie, 847-679-1837; corum.ch This Patek Philippe Ref. 4968G-001 moon-phases and small-seconds watch ($58,600) houses a part mechanical manual-wind movement. The bezel and case are set with 273 diamonds graduated in size and weighing 2.12 carats. The dial of the extremely precise moon-phase watch is black Tahitian mother-ofpearl that yields lustrous color. The moon-phase sub-dial is surrounded by stars. Tourneau at Water Tower Place, 835 N. Michigan Ave., 312-266-7600; patekphilippe.com The elegant Ulysse Nardin Classico Lady Luna ($22,800) is a 35mm timepiece crafted in 18k gold with a mother-of-pearl outer dial set with eight diamonds and three pearls. The self-winding movement features a precise moon-phase indicator disk that revolves around the entire inner sunburst-motif dial twice daily. Burdeen's Jewelry, 1148 W. Lake Cook Road, Buffalo Grove, 800-6560414; ulysse-nardin.com This Harry Winston Midnight Moon Phase ($26,700) is the first Midnight to house a mechanical quartz movement with moon-phase indication and date. The watch is bedecked with brilliant-cut diamonds on the case and features a satin sunburst dial with a tree etched onto its surface. From behind the tree, the moon-phase aperture is visible. Harry Winston, 55 E. Oak St., 312-705-1820; harrywinston.com TOP TO BOTTOM: 72 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM 072-074_MA_SS_TimeHonored_Winter13.indd 72 1/2/13 12:23 PM