ehrens, a watch brand from Hong Kong, displays one singularity: modifying its own movements by building internal mechanical modules offering a display both functional and diverse. Nominated at the GPHG 2020, the Apolar watch illustrates this innovation quest and draws its inspiration from the orbital relationship between Earth and Moon.

For Label Noir’s fifth collaboration with a watch brand, the Apolar Dark Moon marks a new chapter in the customisation expert’s co-branding history.

The Apolar series distinguishes itself by a resolutely atypical design. At the top, the mechanical Earth and Moon are revealed in a spherical design, guaranteeing a visual effect both three-dimensional and functional. At 12:00 on the dial, the globe dressed in black and grey rotates every 24 hours. A daily indicator adorned with a discreet red index through which the day/night function unfolds. And by a circumvolution effect, the Moon, small spherical globe attached to a large “inclined” rotating ring, moves around the Earth in a 28-day cycle.

While seconds are housed at the heart’s dial by a two-pointer hand, hours and minutes radiate from two decentralised metal discs respectively located at 7 and 5 o’clock. A milestone in the watch design world, with an aesthetic entirely modified by the customisation workshop. Case, plate, discs, display, coating, bracelet, nothing has escaped to Emmanuel Curti’s, watchmaker and founder of the Geneva-based company who became a master in the art of sophisticated coatings.

On the plate, seas, cirques, craters, and moon rocks come to life through the exclusive MMC process. Laser made, it creates a unique relief texture, which reproduces the lunar surface from NASA images. While the Apolar Dark Moon plays the textured monochrome card; stars, rays, and typographies, also redesigned, sparkle with blue Luminova in the night mystery.

The stainless-steel satin-finish polished 42mm case gives way to a polished matt titanium case middle, which also benefits from a specific Label Noir signature treatment, the DLC coating. An intense, sensual, and mysterious hue, an allegory of the contrast between the stars; in the same way Earth and the Moon repel each other to better attract.

But as far as the mechanism is concerned, this timepiece, limited to 50 pieces showcased on a black fabric strap with white stitching, displays all the initial characteristics of the Apolar B020. A Swiss-made ETA Cal.2824 automatic movement, a 42-hour power reserve, a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, and water resistance to 50 metres.

And since the brand has set out to develop an unprecedented demonstration of celestial movements, the Apolar model offers a skyline on its own. A domed sapphire crystal, Earth’s curvature, offers a new perspective for watch enthusiasts attracted by beautiful and rare. But before feeling the attraction law and falling for the Apolar Dark Moon, there is every reason to marvel at the box creative ingenuity. A space capsule top, black, massive, eloquent; and finally, from its bezel: to dive between sky and earth.

The Apolar Automatic Limited Edition Label Noir, CHF 4’900, is available online on the Label Noir website, on the Behrens website, as well as retailers.