Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium

written by YWH team 31 March 2018

The Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium is a miraculous timepiece carrying the world’s smallest mechanical planetarium. And this planetarium meticulously follows the orbit of the planets in our solar system around the sun, which makes it a heliocentric planetarium. So, you will see the depiction of Mercury making a full turn around the center, the sun, every 87.97 days. It also means that it takes 29.46 years to see Saturn making a full turn. Yes, years.

The first thing we think of is: you should keep the watch wounded at any cost in order to prevent calibration. The second thing is that with the naked eye it’s hardly impossible to follow the orbit of most planets. As said, Mercury orbits the sun every 87.97 days. Venus does it in 224.70 days, and the Earth needs 365.24 days for a full rotation. Then Mars takes 686.98 days, and the far-away planets are Jupiter needing 11.86 years and Saturn 29.46 years to do a 360 around the sun.

Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium while dial — White dial, black dial, aventurine glass dial and black aventurine glass dial

Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium black dial — White dial, black dial, aventurine glass dial and black aventurine glass dial

How does a planetarium work on a watch?

It’s actually quite simple to describe, not to build. In short, the heart, which is the sun, is static. Then each planet has its own rhodium plated ring and gear driven by the movement in such a way that the turning speed is equal to the real planet. These rings are installed layered and of course independently, with a small ball depicting the planet.

For some more contrast the sun and the earth are colored. It is fascinating to know that all the planets on your watch are moving constantly without actually seeing it. And it’s good to know that it has a sufficient power reserve.

Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium in white gold — White gold, rose gold and platinum case, stainless steel not depicted

Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium in rose gold — White gold, rose gold and platinum case, stainless steel not depicted

The Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium has a power reserve of 96 hours

Inside the planetarium runs the automatic Christiaan van der Klaauw caliber CVDK7386, which is a Soprod base movement with an in-house module. At the top of the dial, the date and month are visible on a sub dial, the planetarium sits at the 6 o’clock position. The rotor of the movement is engraved with planets, stars and the ‘Sun with 12 Claws’, the logo of Christiaan van der Klaauw. The double barrel set-up of the movement provides a power reserve is 96 hours.

The watch is available in steel, rose gold, white gold or platinum, with a white or black dial, or an aventurine glass dial in blue hues or black for a cool starry effect. The steel and gold versions are also available with diamonds on the bezel, which raises the price about 20k. And if you want a dial from aventurine glass it adds about 4.5k. All configurable on the website of the Dutch brand.