Van Cleef & Arpels

Introduced at the SIHH in 2014, the Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight planetarium is one of the most fascinating pieces created since the beginning of the 21st century.

The watch is part of the Poetic Complication series which was originally launched in 2006. The series includes other special pieces such as the Pont des Amoureux or the Midnight Zodiac Lumineux to name a few, and is one of the finest creations of the iconic Maison de Haute Joaillerie. It is an alliance between watchmaking, artistic and jewellery skills developed at the highest level.

The Midnight planetarium pays homage to the 18th century tradition of planetariums which represented the rotation of the planets around the sun. Already at that time, these were animated by highly complex horological movements. To create this mechanism realized by Stern Manufacture, Van Cleef & Arpels collaborated with Christiaan Van der Klaauw, the contemporary master in this field.

The dial is made of concentric rings of sparkly aventurine glass that evoke the night sky, while a rose-gold sun radiates from the center of the dial. Interestingly, only six planets are represented. This choice is motivated by the fact that these are the only ones that can be admired through the naked eye. They are made of hard stones: serpentine for Mercury, chloromelanite for Venus, turquoise for Earth, red jasper for Mars, blue agate for Jupiter, and sugilite for Saturn. Each planet rotates the Sun in real time. Mercury will take 88 days to complete an orbit, Earth 365 days, and Saturn will take 29 years. The time is indicated by the pink gold shooting star, which displays the hour and minutes. Furthermore, the rotating bezel enables the owner to set their day of luck through the small red arrow. On that day, Earth will place itself under the engraved star as a sign of luck. At the back of the 46 mm pink gold case, the watch displays a full calendar that is adjusted through the two pushers of the case band. Lastly, the sapphire display back reveals the automatic movement made of 396 pieces, including the decorated rotor.

The Midnight Planetarium represents an incredible opportunity for a collector looking to add a different and captivating piece to his collection. We are pleased to present number one in the limited edition series, as engraved on the caseback.