The Sun & Moon watch (other companies use the word “Moonphase”), one of the most collectable watches that watch aficionados want to have in their collection.
The history of featuring the sun and moon goes as far back to the earliest clocks made in the 1650s in Netherlands and pocket watches in the 1700s. This was considered quite innovative considering the first pocket watch was invented by German watchmaker Peter Heinlein back in 1510 (when watches were orb shaped and worn like a pendant).
While more of a decorative piece for a watch’s dial in which the sun is shown during daytime and the moon is shown during the night, it’s no doubt quite attractive feature which many watchmakers have some sort of sun & moon model in their collection.
I absolutely love sun & moon watches.
While it’s not known who created the first sun and moon watch, for Japanese movement watches, Seiko once used to create Quartz sun & moon watches, but now their younger watchmaking family member, SEIKO EPSON continues that trend via ORIENT, with their automatic sun & moon watch.
Before I review my Orient Sun & Moon Watch which is a version 3, just know there are several versions.
The first version released in the 2000s was featured in royal blue, gold, silver and black, had a 41.5mm case and at the time, it used the Calibre 46B46 movement (does not hack, doesn’t hand wind and doesn’t have a quickset date feature). The date is in the bottom and the sun/moon on the top left, while the day is on the right. The Orient logo in the seven o’clock position. Also, you will notice that the hour markers are thicker and the hands are nice and thick, while the minute hands are thick in Sword style.
You will see many people selling all silver or all champagne dial versions of this watch. While it may look good and different from post-2017 Orient sun and moon watches, the movement is quite inferior. Personally, unless you are a collector, I would stay away from version 1.
The second version featured a larger 42.5mm case and the Calibre 46B40 movement featured the date on the bottom left, the sun & moon on the top left and the date on the right. While the Orient logo is in the six o’clock position. The minute hands are now Dauphine Style, the dial is now featuring the guilloche pattern and the hour markers are in Roman Numeral and many people tend to sell the black dial version of this watch.
Similar to version 1, while the movement was upgraded, it still doesn’t feature the hackable, hand-winding and quickset date. So, unless you are a collector, similar to version 1, I also do not recommend version 2.
Which leads to the Orient Sun & Moon Watch Version 3 which was released in 2017.
This version featured the Sun & Moon in the bottom right (four o’clock position), the Orient logo now at the two o’clock position, the date near the seven o’clock position and the day position in the ten and eleven o’clock position. The minute hands are now Modern while the second marker is Breguet.
Similar to Version 2, it uses roman numerals for the minute marks and features the guilloche pattern at the center of the dial. But the biggest difference is the watch introduced the Calibre F6B24, which is a major upgrade.
The Version 3 now offers a Japanese movement that hacks, hand-winds and has a quickset date that the other two versions did not have.
But another feature that makes it different from the previous two is that it features a 42.5mm case, the biggest case for the Sun & Moon watch yet. This is not for everyone, especially those who have a thinner wrist. But for me, this is what I wanted, a better calibre and a larger case.
The watch is water resistant up to 50m (165 ft.). The watch band does use a clasp which may not be for everyone, but I suppose you can replace it if you dislike it.
Interesting, for me, I am not a rose gold watch fan, but for this watch, it was an exception. Rose gold, with a champagne dial, brown leather strap with the buckle and yes, I love looking at the caseback. But still of the three versions, this one is the best version so far!
A size comparison between the Bambino V3 and the Sun & Moon V3.
Now as mentioned, there are new versions and since the V3’s release, the Orient Sun and Watch Version 4 is also available.
Everything is identical in terms of movement and location, but the biggest difference is that the Roman Numerals were ditched for the Arabic Style.
You will see many white dial versions of this watch and the guilloche pattern at the center of the dial is gone.
So, it’s rather subjective, do you want the roman numerals with the guilloche pattern on the dial and different choices of color with the V3 or do you want Arabic numeric without the guilloche pattern and white dial (silver and gold case).
Which leads us to the latest version and that is the Sun & Moon Contemporary (aka Version 5) which ditches the Roman Numerals and Arabic numeric for the thick hour marks similar to Version 1, the Dauphine hands of version 2, clear dial with no patterns, the day dial in the nine o’clock to eleven o’clock position but now it’s all black, sans-seriff lettering. Sun & Moon still stays in the same position on the bottom right, while the date moves to the three o’clock position. Even the Orient logo is all black, without the red.
The case diameter is now back to the 41.5mm that the version 1 had and a big change, they went for 20mm strap. And from what I have seen, these are now with metal band, instead of leather.
So, this newer contemporary watch is more minimalistic, but uses the same calibre as the version 3 and 4.
Personally, I prefer the bigger case and the guilloche pattern on champagne dial of version 3. I also realized that with the Contemporary going back to the version 1 thicker hour markers, I have way too many Orient watches using those type of hour markers. And that’s why I went for this version 3 over the Contemporary. I do like the Arabic numerics of version 4, but I felt for me, version 3 was much more to my liking.
There is also a Sun & Moon Open Heart version, which I feel is a bit lacking for my taste (Please note: I have an Orient Bambino Open Heart, so I’m not against open heart watches at all). Maybe if they added a date to the right, I would have liked it more. But there is a flat finish and another with the guilloche pattern, which I prefer more.
But overall, I do feel a sun & moon watch is a great addition for one’s watch collection, but for me, I absolutely love my Orient Sun & Moon Watch Version 3. I actually held off when the version 1 and version 2 were released. And when the Version 3 was released, I was interested, but yet didn’t pull the trigger until a few years later when five different versions were released.
And in the end, I decided that for me, the version 3 was the best.
While I did debate of getting version 4, I preferred the champagne look versus the white dial look. I have many white dial watches, so I wanted to try something different for a change and the champagne version 3 with the brown leather strap was for me.
Overall, if you are contemplating in purchasing an Orient Sun & Moon (Version 3) Watch or any version from Version 3 and after, I do recommend it!
