he Persée Moon Phase has been long awaited by Maison Alcée enthusiasts. As they assemble this complication themselves, they’ll be immersed into the world of the night sky – and discover the pleasure of watchmaking all over again.

The main technical challenge to be overcome was ensuring the Moon Phase could be added to the Persée without a long, fastidious process of disassembly. To achieve this, a design was developed that only required the eight-day bush and the minute wheel and pinion to be replaced.

Additionally, the Moon Phase had to be designed so that it could be set in the Persée regardless of whether the timepiece was set up horizontally or vertically. So for instance, on day 0 the moon had to be a new moon in either configuration to ensure enthusiasts could still display their Persée in either position; that involved us developing a more complex adjustment mechanism.

The Moon Phase comes in a beautiful presentation box and is designed to match every version of the Persée: Azur, Nuit, Or, Douce and Fantôme.

The set comprises 18 components, all the necessary tools, and a booklet with links to videos to help with assembly.

Not only is the Moon Phase one of the oldest complications, it’s undoubtedly one of the most poetic, tracking the silent progress of lunar cycles day after day.

No attention to detail has been spared on this complication; 95% of its components are made in France.

Hammered and polished on its upper, convex face, the moon has a delicate satin finish on the underside. Each crater is meticulously crafted by hand in the workshop, reflecting the artisans’ painstaking technical commitment to making this Moon something really special.

The brilliant gratté finish has been developed exclusively by Maison Alcée, combining gratté and hammered techniques to produce a sparkling, frosted effect and a real sense of depth. This finish on the Moon bridge is beautifully set off by a fine circular-grained surround.

The Moon ratchet features a gilded, engraved constellation of Perseus (the father of Alcaeus in Greek mythology) against the backdrop of a starry night sky. The surround is graced by delicately lacquered moon phase numbers.

Circle-grained by hand, the wheels are the embodiment of watchmaking’s meticulous artisanal excellence.

Every detail of the Moon Phase bears witness to Maison Alcée’s passionate commitment and demanding standards, offering Time-Builders a piece that’s at once technical, sophisticated and poetic, bringing together the heavens and fine workmanship.

Technical data

• Progress of the 29.5-day lunar cycle displayed at the bottom right of the dial.
• Moon phase number moves forward every day at midday.
• Moon phase number adjusted by hand directly on the ratchet.

Materials

• Moon and wheels: watchmaking quality brass
• Bridge and wheels: 316L stainless steel
• Ratchet: aluminium

Finishings

• Ratchet: lacquered, engraved with the constellation of Perseus
• Moons: satin-polished, hammered, polished relief
• Moon bridge: hand-frosted

The Moon Phase add-on complication is available at a cost of 1,800 EUR – USD 2,100 (not including VAT).