At the risk of sounding as if I’ve been living under a small rock in the niche world of watchmaking, I always was under the impression that highly conceptual watches—those which change the way in which we read time—were always accompanied by super intricate calibers and retail for more than my little brain could comprehend. My enthusiast’s eyes, and yours perhaps as well, were used to only seeing images of these complex haute-horlogerie watches—because I would never be able to get myself close enough to experience the real deal in the precious metal, except perhaps from the other side of an exhibition case—as if they were only myths. I further thought, and maybe you did as well, that these watches were miles outside my intellectual reach because of their complex engineering and métiers d’arts-like design and decoration, truly making them akin to mirages or unicorns we have only heard of but have never seen and probably never will. But of course, as it is often the case, I was wrong. Oh so wrong.

Today in 2026 and since 2007 actually, we can have inexpensive otherworldly horological experiences thanks to Mr Jones Watches. Founded in 2007 by Crispin Jones, a multi-disciplinary artist who first created one-off pieces for art exhibitions and who now has been designing hundreds of unique watches in the past 17 years, the brand is known for its outside-the-box and avant-garde designs which it sells, for the most part, for small amounts of your hard-earned cash. Looking at its current catalog, it's easy to see that Crispin Jones’ dedication to creating singular works of arts also translates to Mr Jones’ catalogs, as no two watches are the same or even remotely similar. This—its uniqueness, affordability, and playfulness—is what prompted me to want to check one out. Unbeknownst to me, I made an interesting choice: the Sun & Moon is not only a type of timekeeping device I have never seen, but it also has roots dating back to 17th/18th century pocket watches. We’re in for a treat today. 

Specifications 

The Mr Jones Sun & Moon is further intriguing because it is quite solid, built for the everyday, and light as a feather on the wrist. Its dimensions and physical presence actually contradict its specifications because the case is visually more imposing than its measurements might suggest—37mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, and 10.9mm thick—and it is made of 316L stainless steel. There is something again that my brain cannot compute but this is all good news because the Sun & Moon is indeed light (53g on the provided 18mm leather strap) which aids in making it an interesting watch to wear and not, as I’m quite damn ashamed to admit, a fashion accessory as I thought Mr Jones Watches were before that I saw them in the metal. (Live and learn, right?) Inside the comfortable case we find a Ronda 515-24H caliber, which is the same we saw in the Forstner A-12 which is a quartz-powered GMT movement with a stated accuracy of -10/+20 seconds per day and a battery life of 45 months or 3.75 years, to be exact. 

All of this sounds quite good already but there is more to it. The Sun & Moon is equipped with a flat piece of sapphire crystal which further denotes that it was designed and engineered for actual, yet not too rough, daily life. The brand doesn’t specify it but it seems that the crystal comes with anti-reflective coating as the view of the dial is crystal-clear at any angle and in any lighting conditions. The case is further equipped with a small 4.8mm push/pull crown semi-recessed within the case, which is just perfect because we don’t need to be tickering with this type of movement on a daily basis. (And the crown is equipped with more-than-decent knurling to make its operation a satisfying horological moment.) With this and a screw-down case-back the Sun & Moon comes a more-than-decent 50 meters of water resistance which is standard for everyday timekeeping devices and which pairs well with the sapphire crystal and lightweight steel package. And you can have all of this for the meager sum of £ 225/$305 USD. 

Design

Earlier I shared the initial impression I had of Mr Jones Watches—that they were fashion watches—because of the way they looked which I computed together with their price tags. A rookie mistake I admitted to but which I am now happy to revisit because I do have one of their watches in-hand and I can get up close and personal with it. And in reality, I shouldn’t have judged the brand before taking a real look at the designs and specifications of their watches even online because anyone who pays a bit of attention would quickly see that there is something visually unique about them: not only the way in which the dial was designed but also the case. The Sun & Moon has one which we find on other Mr Jones models, and besides being fully brushed, its main visual features are its faceted and curved lugs which make me think—for one reason or another—of the sportive legs of a Praying Mantis, and its near perfect symmetrical profile which the brand achieved by adding a small cap with its logo on the left side of the case. 

The main interest of the Sun & Moon and of any Mr Jones Watches is of course the dial, even though the case is again rather interesting. This model takes its name from 17th and 18th centuries pocket watches which showed the time through a combination of a hand and crescent-shaped disc which showed the hours in a 12-hour segment. The first and last blue hash-marks on the left and right sides of the aperture indicate six, either AM or PM depending on where the disc is, and the other ones count the 11 hours in-between them. Moreover, if you see the sun it means you’re in the 6am-6pm (daytime) part of the day and if you see the moon, in the 6pm-6am (nighttime) part of the day. For each 12-hour segment, when the sun is aligned to what we generally see as being the 12 o’clock marker, it means it is 12pm; conversely, if the moon is at the same position, this means it is 12am. In the photo below, the time reads 12:25pm since the small hand showing the minutes is at the 5 o’clock position and the sun at twelve. 

This is therefore not the first time that time could be read in this way but its first occurrence on a wristworn timepiece at this small price tag. This goes to show that brands can indeed offer us a different way to read the time without charging insane prices for their creations, and that reading the time doesn’t always have to be to the precise minute but close enough to it to make the Sun & Moon a watch we can actually wear everyday. Besides its fascinating dial and crescent-shaped aperture, I do appreciate the intricacies of the disc itself which displays microscopic scenes of animals roaming the earth or flying above it, as if we were looking at a two-dimensional diorama. Combining this level of visual detail to this singular way of reading the time puts me back in my place as I know I shouldn’t have been so hasty in formulating an opinion about Mr Jones Watches. But that is also the point of running an independent magazine as I allow myself to have new horological experiences and to finish each day feeling a little more savvy.

The Heart of the Matter

Very often we see articles and videos celebrating complex, luxurious, and mostly un-attainable haute-horlogerie pieces which most of us will never be able to even see in the metal or which, to be frank, do not impress me or make any sense to me. Akin to wearing a face mask entirely covered with jewels, driving a Ferrari SF90 XX, or wearing a Hermès Kelly Rose Gold handbag, these items’ exclusivity and abyssal price tags go beyond their intended uses and purposes and become status symbols and not objects we can actually wear. This is why, once I had gone beyond my own intellectual limitations and pushed the boundaries of my curiosity, I was able to get Mr Jones Waches: they are attainable versions of singular, complex, and avant-garde timekeeping devices which are therefore fun because they are different and sensical because they are attainable. The Sun & Moon is an exceptional timepiece in the sense that put a different kind of horological experience at our reach and this does matter a lot nowadays more than ever. 

Conclusion 

Mr Jones Watches’ catalog is bursting to the seams with singular and affordable watches, most of which are equipped with good quartz calibers as the Sun & Moon is, though a few of them are equipped with mechanical movements. Globally speaking, their watches retail between £ 225/£ 275 ($305/$373 USD) and mechanical ones at £ 750/$1,019 USD and as we know, each model is unique even though some of them borrow the same case profile. Because why reinvent a base wheel which works really well? This makes it possible for Mr Jones to not only make Crispin Jones’ ideas available to a broad audience, but also for the brand to collaborate with other designs which add unique ideas to an already tall pile of singular concepts. I’m glad I was wrong about the brand. 

Thanks for reading.