Category Astronomical 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