A while back I took a look at the Mr Jones Watches Sun and Moon Miyamoto, which was a limited edition watch to honor the creator of the Super Mario games. At that point, we had covered more than a few Mr Jones Watches, but neither Patrick nor myself had been able to check out one in person. Well, a few emails later, a Mr Jones Watches Sun and Moon Miyamoto, now part of the regular collection, was on its way for me to check out. The bottom line: it is fun, well finished, and colorful.
It is also small. 37mm in diameter to be specific, which is just too small for my tastes. Now, I am also at the tail end of my 40s and 6′ tall, so a watch of this size isn’t really made for me, but that isn’t why I wanted to see it; I wanted to see it to look at the build quality so I don’t feel bad about recommending their watches down the line. And now that I have seen it, I don’t feel bad about recommending the brand. If the type of watch that they sell fits your style, I think you would be very happy owning one.
The Sun and Moon features a 24-hour hour “hand,” which is actually a rotating disk with printed graphics. A sun is set in the center of a daylight cityscape, and a moon is set opposite in the center of a nighttime cityscape, with the disk rotating and the sun or moon used to show off the time in the cut away window at the top of the watch. At noon, the sun is straight up (north if you will), and it starts to set with the afternoon hours, heading clockwise toward due east (yes, this sun sets in the east) a traditional 3:00 position.
Since it is a 24-hour dial, this position is actually 6:00, at which point the sun will be half set and the moon half arisen from the due west spot. The moon then clocks in at 7:00, 8:00… until it reaches due north at midnight and then starts heading down to the east again. The bottom half of the dial is blank, something that actually does not seem unbalanced, maybe because of the clean white dial. Hours and seconds are handled with a pair of stubby hands running inside the cut out semi-circle, with a design cue that makes it easy to distinguish between the two.
The case is brushed stainless steel, with a wide bezel beveling down to an almost oval set of lugs. The crown is nicely detailed, with the MJW logo in relief. A matching ‘button’ is set on the opposite side of the case. The watch ships on a leather strap, half grey and half blue (is there another watch in the line with opposite colored parts?), and contrasting pink stitching. The color nicely matches the theme of the watch, even though grey and pink are barely used elsewhere in the watch.
It is a fashion watch, selling from the Mr Jones Watches web site for about $220 USD, so the specs are going to be in line with this segment. The movement is a Swiss Ronda 515-24H single jewel quartz movement, and the case is depth rated to 5 ATM. The flat crystal is not specified, but my guess would be mineral glass. But it is fun. The onlt thing that would be nice would be some lume, or even illumination. Maybe just make the moon with lumed paint, or shoehorn in a tiny light in the bottom half of the dial to illuminate the city scape at the push of a button. Once the lights go down, reading the watch is impossible without an outside light source. But beyond this quibble, the Mr Jones Sun and Moon Miyamoto does a good job in filling a niche. And if you are not a fan of the Mario Bros. games, there are three other variations on the Sun and Moon theme, as well as the Motochrono, all variations on this watch (or this watch is a variation on those…). mrjoneswatches.com
Watch Overview
- Brand & Model: Mr Jones Watches Sun and Moon Miyamoto
- Price: ~$220 USD
- Who we think it might be for: You like smaller watches, and you want something fun and youthful.
- Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: The case is too small for me.
- If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: Some illumination, even if it just in the moon.
- What spoke to me the most about this watch: It is a cute and fun way to design a 24 hour watch.
Tech Specs from Mr Jones Watches
- Movement: Ronda 515-24H
- Functions: Three hander with 24-hour hour hand
- Case: Brushed stainless steel
- Crystal: Not specified
- Water resistance: 5 ATM
- Lug width: Not specified
- Straps: Navy blue and grey with pink stitching
- Diameter: 37 mm
- Case Height: Not specified
