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In this blog, we will be walking you through how each of the elements on Tidal Moonphase was designed and how they all come together comfortably.

Pillars of our design process: 

1. Inspiring
2. Classy
3. Stylish

Inspiring 

At the heart- Moonphase cutout

At the centre of attention is the Moonphase cutout. This cutout isn’t static, rather, it moves along with the phases of the moon. 

(Credit: https://www.space.com/62-earths-moon-phases-monthly-lunar-cycles-infographic.html)

A 29.5-day cycle from new moon, to full, and back to new, this predictable pattern served as a tool to tell time before the more sophisticated Julian calendar was created in 45BC. For context, the Gregorian calendar (the de factor calendar for non-secular purposes) was introduced as a refinement of the Julian calendar in 1582. 

Through this cutout, Tidal Moonphase provides a powerful reminder of how grand and beautiful the world around is and inspires you to take action on the things you love. 

<<Download a Moon calendar form>>

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I always look up at the Moon and see it as the single most romantic place within the cosmos.

Tom Hanks

We have a blog about the top 10 Moonphase watches here.

Around the moonphase- Guilloche Dial 

With the core element of the watch decide, our next step was to decide how we can bring out the best in it. 

We considered the texture of the dial to be the next most important design element and started creating iterations of it- smooth, matte, sand-blasted, and pattern finishing. We ultimately landed on a guilloche dial. 

 

We chose this design for 2 main reasons: 

1. The classiness it brings the timepiece 
2. The resemblance to waves 

Guilloche dials are commonplace in luxury watchmaking. It is a decorative technique that involves an intricate and repetitive pattern used since classical Greece and Rome and in neo-classical architecture. 

The resemblance of our guilloche dial to waves aligned itself perfectly with what sat at the heart of it- the moonphase cutout. 

The gravitational interactions between the Moon, Sun, and Earth causes tidal waves and this combination of design elements subtly reflect this phenomenon. 

Neil’s an Amercian astrophysicist and this video is an entertaining version of how the Moon and the Sun causes the wave. “A true scientist is not defined by his degree but by his attitude towards educating the common people with the scientific wealth he has accumulated,” as a viewer writes in the comment section. If you prefer a shorter version, here it is: https://youtu.be/3RdkXs8BibE. 

Hour and minute markers, hands, and date indicator 

The next step was to design how you can read time on our watch. 

We wanted the overall effect of these elements to be stylish and make the experience of time-telling on Tidal Moonphase smooth. 

We iterated on multiple versions of the hour markers and the interplay between roman numerals and clean rounded markers played out the best. 

With the general shape of the markers designed, the differentiating factor lies in the manufacturing process. Instead of choosing a flat 2D dial for this design, every marker is an individual metal piece on its own, carefully placed into the dial. 

(More than 70 individual components are brought together on each dial!)

Art caseback- bring it all together

We knew that this watch required a special caseback, something that’ll further inspire its wearer, if the front design doesn’t already. 

To do so, we designed a manufacturing method to incorporate a thin artwork into the back of all our watches. 

 

We airbrush our Tidal Moonphase artwork onto a 0.3mm glass and place it into the oven for over 6 hours to harden. 

We build it into the custom made caseback and place it under a nearly unscratchable material, the sapphire glass. 

Conclusion

Tidal Moonphase is the result of countless design iterations and focus on the 3 pillars described in this writing. We very glad that our labour of love is well-received and worn by users in over 30 countries.

We will be releasing new blogs about the other components that are not yet covered in this blog. If you want to hear about our latest blog releases, subscribe to our email list below. No spam, only high quality content. 

Till next time.