Midnight Planetarium by Van Cleef & Arpels

The watch replicates the orbit of six planets -- Earth, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn -- around the sun, with each planet's movement remaining true to its genuine orbit.




Jeweler and watchmaker Van Cleef & Arpels has decided to shoot for the stars with its latest design, the astrological watch Midnight Planetarium.

Debuted at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in January, the watch replicates the orbit of six planets -- Earth, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn -- around the sun. The position of each of the planets at any given time is accurately represented on the watch face thanks to a complex mechanical system comprising 396 separate parts.




The movement of each planet is true to its genuine orbit -- for example, it will take Saturn over 29 years to make a full circle of the watch dial. Mercury has the shortest orbit, circling the timepiece in just 88 days.

A pink gold shooting star moving along the outer edge of the dial is used to tell the time, whilst wearers can also set their own ‘lucky day' by positioning a red triangle along the watch face's calendar. On that particular day, the Earth will skip to sit directly below a star engraved on a sapphire crystal -- a sign of good luck.

The planets have been created from a selection of hard stones: turquoise for the Earth, serpentine for Mercury, chloromelanite for Venus, red jasper for Mars, blue agate for Jupiter and sugilite for Saturn.

The Midnight Planetarium is part of Van Cleef & Arpels' Poetic Astronomy watch collection, which the brand has been developing since 2008 through its Poetic Compilations and Extraordinary Dials ranges. Other in-demand designs within the collections include the Lady Arpels Jour Nuit and Midnight in Paris models.

Watch a video demonstration of the complication below:

 




(Source: AFP Relaxnews; Photos and video: Van Cleef & Arpels)