Farer puts a very good moon over the Stratton II

That moon is pretty damn cool. Farer's Stratton II combines a black Eisenkiesel dial with warm gold-colored hands and a luminous moon, and I think the whole thing looks properly thought through. I like a complication that gives me something enjoyable to look at, even when I have absolutely no practical reason to need it.

The stone makes this one especially interesting. Farer says the golden-brown veins come from iron compounds in the Eisenkiesel, so the pattern will differ from watch to watch. I would want to see the actual dial I was buying. The photographs show an appealing amount of texture, but naturally occurring material is not going to produce identical copies of the sample in the advertisement.

A new lunar disc and familiar proportions

The change for the Stratton II is the lunar display made by AJS Production in Switzerland. Farer describes a laser-etched, photorealistic gold moon with luminous material, and the official night photograph is worth looking at alongside the daytime dial. The markers also use luminous material, so the decoration has something to do after the lights go out.

Farer's current product specifications list a 38.5 mm case, 11.5 mm thickness and 43.8 mm lug-to-lug distance. Some launch coverage gives larger measurements. I'm using the manufacturer's figures here and keeping that discrepancy visible rather than pretending the two sets agree. The watch is steel, has sapphire front and back and is rated to 50 meters.

The hand-wound Sellita SW288-1 Ma Elaboré provides approximately 45 hours of reserve. I like being able to see a movement without a rotor over it, and a manual moonphase feels appropriate for this design. The daily winding is also something to be honest about before buying. If I let it stop, the moonphase becomes another indication I need to put right.

The order page needs another look before buying

The official US storefront lists $2,175 as checked October 30, 2026. Farer says the first batch is 100 watches, with more batches planned for 2027, and the page names December 21 for shipping. It also shows both preorder and out-of-stock language, so I can't turn that into a clean promise that an order will be accepted right now.

I haven't worn this watch or checked the stone, hands or movement finishing in person. My 104 out of 120 bezel clicks comes from the design and the published specification. The cushion case and gold-on-black dial get my attention immediately, and the luminous moon gives me a reason to keep looking at it. I would confirm the order status and the actual dial pattern before putting money down.