At Horology By The Sea, we are thrilled to present an extraordinary example of the Planetarium Millennium by the revered Dutch Independent Watchmaker, Christiaan van der Klaauw. Found in the upper subdial is the Complication de Résistance... van der Klauuw's incredible heliocentric Planetarium module which brings our solar system to life. Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn orbit the Sun in real time- their movements meticulously calculated to mirror their cosmic counterparts. Each planet travels at its own natural pace... Mercury orbits around the sun in a speedy 87.97 days, Earth every 365.24, while Saturn is clearly in no rush, encircling the subdial once every 29.46 years.
The reverse side serves as a charming time capsule for the earlier days of the CvdK brand. One will immediately notice the use of a Glashütte Original automatic winding caliber, complete with their familiar mirrored G rotor. It is understood that at the time of creating this watch, Mr. van der Klaauw was not quite ready to introduce his own base movement to the project for it couldn't yet achieve adequate power to fuel the Planetarium module. Thus a relationship with Glashütte Original was created whereby they would provide him their Caliber 39 which was well suited for the task.
The 18 Karat Rose Gold case measures 40mm x 13.2mm x 50mm lug-to-lug. Complete with Box/Watchwinder (missing power plug) and Papers dated October 16th, 2002. Furnished on a custom made strap by Aaron Bespoke and an original CvdK rose gold pin buckle. This watch underwent a Complete Overhaul at the CvdK atelier in the Netherlands August 2019.
