From their distinctive lower-case identify to their cohesive model aesthetics, echo/neutra has upheld a repute of stylized simplicity since their founding in 2019. With the Averau 39 Moon Part, launched in 2022 as a follow-up to the unique Averau subject watch, the younger Italian model proved that they might introduce problems with out sacrificing the clear design ethos they’ve since change into identified for. A “Large Moon” model with each black and white dial choices would comply with in 2024 and change into arguably the model’s most recognizable watch, on account of its strikingly photo-realistic moon disc.
For the brand new Averau 39 Moon Part Noctilum, nevertheless, echo/neutra has plucked the standard double-moon section indication from the primary Moon Part mannequin and given it a brand new minimalist look. A restricted version challenge joint-helmed by echo/neutra and Ace Jewelers of Amsterdam, the Noctilum emphasizes daring legibility—whereas the subdial on the 6 o’clock place stays, the realistically-textured moons have been changed by contrasting black and luminous white alternate options. Persevering with with the paring-down of design components, the fingers and 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock indices are the identical matte black because the dial, however function luminous white borders, creating an impressively emotive and legible “inverted lume” impact in darkish circumstances.
Additional deviating from the unique, the Noctilum deletes the Arabic hour numerals and the “2649 MSLM” script between 7 and eight o’clock. The pink “AUTOMATIC” lettering to the fitting of the 9 o’clock indice can also be gone, and the seconds hand has been transformed to a luminous white, with two black sections in direction of the top of the hand changing the pink stripes of previous.
My first impression when viewing photographs of the Noctilum subsequent to the unique Moon Part was that these adjustments and omissions have allowed for a way more balanced dial—the swaths of matte black across the centered echo/neutra brand now not really feel intruded upon, giving the small print some room to breathe. Fortunately, although, the pleasant spherical date window carries over as a design anchor between the brand new and previous iterations.
At 39mm in diameter, the Noctilum’s brushed and polished stainless-steel case ought to put on effectively on most wrists. A screw-down crown and caseback permit for a good 100m of water resistance, and the included 20mm black technical nylon strap is straightforward, however thematically acceptable (it’s additionally accessible on a leather-based strap or stainless-steel bracelet, as an possibility). A Sellita SW280-1 computerized motion retains the Noctilum ticking, promising a 41-hour energy reserve. The entire above is capped off by a domed sapphire crystal.
When you’ve gotten this far and are questioning how Ace Jewelers components into the Averau equation, a fast dive into Ace’s historical past as a luxurious retailer reveals a long-term tradition of collaboration with impartial watchmakers. The boutique has teamed up with manufacturers and creators like Christopher Ward, Frederique Fixed, Nomos, and Bamford on restricted version releases previously—it is smart, then, that they’d discover quite a bit to love in echo/neutra’s industrial-modernist taste of Italian design.
General, echo/neutra and Ace Jewelers have produced a brand new Averau 39 that takes the perfect design particulars of the unique and pares them all the way down to their stylistic strengths. The simplified dial, inverted lume, and stable internals make the Noctilum each an efficient successor to earlier Averau fashions, and a daring new commonplace bearer for echo/neutra’s burgeoning model ethos of timeless design and reliability.
The Ace Jewelers x echo/neutra 39 Moon Part Noctilum is restricted to 100 items and accessible now by way of each the Ace Jewelers and echo/neutra web sites. The retail worth is $840.
