The worlds most unusual watches
The worlds most unusual watches
The essence of Astronomical watches lies in their interpretation of celestial timekeeping, a combination of horological history and cutting edge technology.
Astronomy and timepieces have been intertwined throughout history and its a natural relationship given that all time units are caused by astronomical phenomena. Indeed watchmakers look to this astronomical history for inspiration.
Dutch watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw for instance was inspired to create his first astronomical wristwatches by Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695), the well-known astronomer and maker of the first pendulum clock. He also drew inspiration from the planetarium built by Eise Eisinga (1744-1828) for his Planetarium watch.
Other brands such as Ulysse Nardin have been inspired to create astronomical watches named after famous astronomers, three such watches were the “Astrolabium Galileo Galilei“, the “Planetarium Copernicus” and the “Tellurium Johannes Kepler“, called the Trilogy of Time. Astronomical timepieces are not only fascinating technical marvels but also interesting tools for astronomical observations.
“Watches with astronomical indications remain among the rarest and most poetic type of complications.” – Patek Phillipe
The Astronomia Tourbillon from Jacob & Co. was one of the most talked about watches from Baselworld and with good reason; it was one of, if not the most striking watch there as well as being a technical tour de force. American Brand Jacob & Co marked their intent to be considered as serious complication…
The GRAHAM Tourbillon Orrery 1713-2013 Celebrates 300 Years Of The Orrery GRAHAM is possessed of the same driving passion as George Graham, who in the 18th century, devoted his life to the creation of the unattainable. “Honest” George as he was known, transformed his world through his art. He was the inventor of the…
The new Ochs and Junior Moonphase model Selene has the worlds most accurate moonphase to be featured in a wristwatch. It will be off by one day in 3,478 years. Not only that but it is so very simply constructed using just 5 moving parts. Typically a conventional moonphase calculation is off by one…
The latest Schaumburg watch is a moonphase watch which features up to the minute accuracy by way of a moon adjustment button that allows you to minutely adjust the shadow of the earth above the moon. Representing the moon at a size of 13.4mm it is considered to be the worlds largest in an…
Christian van der Klaauw specializes in Astronomical watches and his latest model the Christian van der Klaauw Aquarius Planetarium is the first in a series of twelve unique pieces. In this version the solid gold dial has been decorated by well known master engraver Kees Engelbarts and shows the constellation Aquarius. The Christian van der…
The result of ten years of research and development the IWC Portuguese Siderale Scafusia is an astronomical watch that is a technical tour de force and the most complicated watch created by IWC so far. Its a showcase watch that IWC hopes will attract new customers and also a way of displaying IWC`s technical…
Russian watch and clockmaker Konstantin Chaykin designs and creates complex technical timepieces and movements at his workshop in St Petersburg. This is his latest, the Konstantin Chaykin Lunokhod which was released at Baselworld 2011. Moon walker What strikes you immediately with this intriguing timepiece is the colossal moon that’s prominently centered in the face of…
The Van der Klaauw Planetarium Dutch is considered to be Christiaan van der Klaauw’s most ingenious and fascinating timepiece and features the smallest planetarium in the world. Master watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw specializes in Astronomical watches and this is possibly his most famous one. The miniature Planetarium displays the orbits of Mercury, Venus,…
Master watchmaker Martin Braun concentrates on celestial themed horology. This particular one features the Heliocentric World Positioning Display. Using a blued steel dial, this astronomical watch features a central sun wheel that turns twice a year surrounded by a blue earth which shows the planets elliptical orbit as well as being a month indicator.…
The Sarpaneva Korona K3 has a darkly distinct design. This moonphase watch by Finnish watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva features an enigmatically stylized moon face which has been hand-engraved. The moon phase indicator shows a complete moon phase cycle through its “relieved dial”. The uniformly black appearance perhaps hinting at the long dark winters in Finland.…
This reasonably priced Astronomical watch comes with a 10x magnifying glass so you can truly appreciate the level of detail of the dials complex star chart, representing 1,109 stars. Its equipped with a myriad of celestial functions including Daily Duration of Sunshine, Equinox Indications, Sunrise & Sunset, among other cosmic information. Available with either…
At the center of the Moonstruck is the earth viewed from the top, pivoting around which are the moon and Earth indicators. By using two discs that revolve around this central map of the earth, the Moonstruck reproduces the rotation of the Moon around the Earth, as well as the Sun’s relative position. The…
Arnold & Son are British watchmakers founded in 1764, maker of the first ever pocket chronometer they became the leading supplier to the Royal Navy. Their “Grand Moon Tourbillon” astronomical watch combines the complex beauty of a tourbillon with its celestial design. It uses a retrograde, hand painted moon phase that calculates the phase…
This celestial time instrument comprises an incredible 527 parts and is testament to formidable technical mastery. Its complexity is due to the combination of three major watch complications, a minute repeater, a flying tourbillon and a zodiac calendar with sidereal time. It is the only astronomical watch to indicate celestial time through use of…
This is an interesting combination, a contrast of styles; a moonphase function, something more usually associated with classical complication watches is featured on this divers watch by Linde Werdelin. In a way it brings to mind the Nivrel Shark Sea Dive Watch which also combined a complication – in that that case a Tourbillon,…
This brilliantly sparkling astronomical watch creates a heavenly display through a dial comprised of three disks made from Aventurine, a special type of glass. Each disk rotates concentrically at different speeds and is inset with diamonds. Two diamonds on the middle disk indicate hours while three diamonds signal minutes on the outer disk, the…