The CIGA design Moon Walker Honors Mankind’s Crowning Achievement

For all the inspiration that watchmakers take from nature, it takes a particular boldness to attempt a one-for-one representation. CIGA design isn’t afraid to have a go. We’ve covered a couple of CIGA’s new releases in the form of the Hunter Automatic and the Blue Planet II, and like the latter, this new watch features a remarkably realistic sculpture of the natural world. This time, the spotlight is on good old Luna. The CIGA design Moon Walker celebrates the first time man stepped foot on another celestial body, and it’s a watch that rewards a closer look.

There’s no subtlety here about what this watch is about. The Moon Walker’s curvaceous 46mm titanium case is positively UFO-shaped and features a polished finish all the way around. A lugless format allows the rubber strap to seamlessly integrate into the overall design, which enhances wearability and the space-age aesthetic all the same. The case measures 17.05mm thin and is protected by a synthetic sapphire glass both front and back. But we are here for something else entirely, of course: that crazy dial. Thanks to the wonders of CNC micro-engraving – as well as ultra-high-res imagery from our friends at NASA – CIGA design has managed to craft about as good a representation of the Sea of Tranquility and Ocean of Storms as you will ever see on a watch. Every crater, ridge, and mare has been painstakingly captured. Look closer, yet, and you just may see a fun Easter Egg: Armstrong’s own first footprint complete with Apollo 11’s landing coordinates and the exact moment of touchdown – all viewable only under 10x magnification. You’ll want to break out the loupe for this.

If after having admired the dial you still somehow care to tell the time, you’ll be able to do so via the innovative single-hand system that is underpinned by the Swiss-made automatic caliber CD-09. From a single point of the reference (our astronaut friend), minutes and hours go by. Precisely set gear ratios allow for the hour wheel to rotate in proper coordination with the inner minute wheel. The CD-09 can also be viewed through a sapphire glass exhibition caseback around which Neil Armstrong’s famous “One small step” quote is engraved. The Moon Walker is paired with a black fluororubber strap with a hidden clasp for comfort.

Much of the allure of traditional watchmaking lies in the beauty of micromechanics and the result of attention to detail. The CIGA design Moon Walker has both in spades, and for the moon or space-lover – or anyone looking for a genuine conversation piece – look no further. The Moon Walker is priced at $1,699, and you can learn more about it and CIGA design at https://cigadesign.com/.