Van Cleef & Arpels launched the “Lady Arpels Planétarium” poetic astrology watch at SIHH 2018, featuring the sun, mercury, Venus, Earth, and the moon on the blue dial, evoking the poetry and mystery of the universe.
The center of the blue aventurine dial showcases the “sun” made of rose gold, with “Mercury” in pink mother-of-pearl, “Venus” in green enamel beads, “Earth” in blue turquoise, and a diamond orbiting the Earth representing the “moon.”
The planetary movements mirror reality—Mercury takes 88 days to orbit the dial, Venus takes 224 days, Earth takes 365 days, and the moon completes a revolution around the Earth every 29.5 days.
A rhodium-plated “meteor” hour hand shows the current time, symbolizing how in the scale of the solar system, human minutes and seconds are like a fleeting “meteor.”
The Lady Arpels Planétarium features a compact 38mm white gold case, a size considered very delicate for such a complex watch (compared to the 44mm Midnight Planétarium). The lugs are designed like traditional bracelet jewelry, connecting the strap with diamonds in an elegant, lightweight way.
The bezel and case sides are set with brilliant-cut diamonds, and the dial consists of seven layers of dark blue aventurine, with the outermost circle serving as the time scale ring. Inside, the “meteor” hour hand ring is followed by four orbital rings for the planets, and the center features the gold “sun.
This timepiece is equipped with a newly designed self-winding movement with a 40-hour power reserve. Through the sapphire crystal case back, you can see a pendulum set with diamonds in the shape of a crescent moon, with a round blue turquoise in the center. The outermost ring is inlaid with corresponding gems representing the planets. The back of the watch includes a date window at 3 o’clock and a month window at 9 o’clock, allowing you to display the planetary trajectory for today or any selected day.
The watch can be paired with a blue alligator leather strap or a diamond-set bracelet.
