Best Affordable Moonphase Watches: A Buyer's Guide

An affordable moonphase watch shows the current phase of the moon in a small window on the dial, next to the time. You don't need a five-figure budget for one: a well-made moonphase watch can cost a few hundred dollars. What matters is how the moon display is driven, how readable the dial is, and whether the case size suits your wrist.

What a moonphase complication does

A lunar cycle lasts about 29.5 days. A moonphase watch shows a moon disc that moves behind an aperture, so you see it grow from new moon to full moon and back. On most watches the disc carries two moons and turns once every two lunar cycles. It is one of the oldest and most decorative complications in watchmaking, and the reason many people buy a moonphase is simple: it brings a bit of the sky to the dial.

What to check before you buy

1. The movement

Affordable moonphase watches are usually quartz. That is a strength: the moon display stays in sync for longer, and the watch is ready to wear every day. Our Venice Moonphase watches use a Japanese Miyota quartz movement.

2. Readability

Look at how the moon window sits with the other displays. A clean dial with a clear moon aperture is easier to read and ages better than a busy one.

3. Case size and thickness

Moonphase watches are often dress watches, so a moderate size works well. The Venice Moonphase is 40 mm wide and 9 mm thick, which slides under a shirt cuff. Not sure what suits you? Read How to Measure Your Wrist for a Watch.

4. Crystal and finishing

Check the crystal (sapphire resists scratches best), the water resistance (50 m is fine for daily wear, not for swimming) and the strap or bracelet.

How to set the moonphase

Find the date of the last full moon (a lunar calendar online gives it), then advance the moon disc until the full moon sits in the centre of the window, and continue one step per day since that date. Each model has its own adjuster, so check the manual for your watch on our watch manuals page.

Our moonphase watches

• Venice Moonphase: 40 mm, 9 mm thick, Japanese Miyota quartz, sapphire crystal, 50 m water resistance, on leather, mesh or bracelet.
• Fase Lunare: 40 mm, 9 mm thick, Japanese Miyota quartz, luminous hands, on a NATO strap.
• Rainbow Moonphase: the Venice case with a rainbow dial.

Frequently asked questions