Van Cleef & Arpels: A planetarium that you can wear

This absolutely beautiful creation, Complication Poétique Midnight Planétarium, of which there are less than 396 left for purchase, the watch was created for Van Cleef & Arpels by Dutch watchmaker Chistiaan van der Klaauw. The watch, despite its lack of numbers and hands, tells time via an intricate microcosm of our solar system, incorporating all the planets visible to the naked eye. These planets rotate around a tiny rose gold sun in real-time.

Earth will make a complete lap of the watch’s face in one year, Mercury in 88 days, Venus in 224 and Saturn will take 29.5 years to make the full circle. A shooting star on the outside rim of the watch indicates the time, and there are 396 working parts.The discs are made of polished aventurine, and each planet is a semiprecious stone. Mercury is serpentine, Saturn is Sugilite, Venus is Chloromelanite, Earth is turquoise, Mars is red jasper and Jupiter is blue agate. A 44mm rotating rose gold outer rim lets the wearer choose a special day on which the Earth will move under the star engraved in the sapphire crystal.

Saturn is the outermost planet on the watch, which is probably sensible seeing as Pluto would take 248 years to make a full rotation. With all that fine craft and beautiful gemstones, it comes to £147,800 ($245,000), which is hardly surprising.

These pieces will be long gone by now as less than 400 were made, but for more information on astronomical watches, visit the website of the designer, Christiaan Van Der Klaauw.

Elizabeth Finney

Find more stunning jewellery on the Van Cleef & Arpels website.