Frederique ConstantMoneta Moonphase Watch, 37mm

Pure class overcomes a couple minor annoyances

I love my new watch! This piece is a first for me in the blue and dress categories, and is about 5x the price of my previous most expensive watch. I purchased it to celebrate a big career jump and to show appreciation to myself for all the work I've put in. The pictures don't do justice to the beautiful coin-edge interior bezel under the crystal - a brilliant, elegant, and unique design - or the subtle lustre of the deep blue face. The piece is remarkably light and thin, making it cuff-friendly for dress shirts. The moonphase complication adds refinement and intrigue without breaking the symmetry or appearing too utilitarian like a day/date might on a dress watch. The use of quartz over an automatic movement will be a turn-off for snobs but works perfectly for someone like me who doesn't wear dress watches often enough for an automatic's limited power reserve. The modest 37mm size and lack of a seconds hand keep the elevated design understated rather than screaming for attention. I have two minor complaints that put this watch at a 4.5 out of 5 in my book. One is the strap, which looks nice but squeaks out of the box and feels a bit cheap. That's easily and inexpensively upgraded. The other is that setting the moonphase indicator requires winding the time forward up to a full month, which is quite tedious. However, that speaks to the relative simplicity (and therefore hopefully the robustness) of the mechhanism and should only be necessary when changing time zones or the battery. What was actually more frustrating than the winding itself was the lack of a physical instruction manual in the box, which instead had a QR code leading to the website where the instructions were nontrivial to find and not clear enough for someone worried about improperly setting a nice new watch. None of these drawbacks are dealbreakers, and the strengths of the watch outweigh them to the point that I won't even remove a full star. I will be actively looking for more occasions to wear this watch. It truly hits a sweet spot between elevated design, pracitcality, and attaiable price. Pure class.