Six Watches Inspired by Space and Astronomy
- February 11, 2021
Space watches like the Omega Speedmaster Professional made watchmaking history. The mystery and beauty of the Universe is still a good inspiration for watchmakers today
LOUIS MOINET Mars
This unique creation by Louis Moinet enshrines an extraordinary spaceborne adventure. The collection (comprising 12 pieces in rose gold and 60 in steel) features a genuine Mars meteorite fragment in a capsule at the three o’clock position, amid a dial that faithfully reproduces the surface of Mars, complete with its legendary volcanoes.
Collectors who are also astronomy buffs will have no difficulty in recognising Olympus Mons in the centre, Ascraeus Mons between 1 and 2 o’clock, Pavonis Mons between 4 and 5 o’clock, and Arsia Mons between 5 and 6 o’clock. To create this Martian landscape, the brass dial has undergone expert craftsmanship, with each crater reproduced individually. The Mars piece features three different sets of openwork giving the timepiece a uniquely three-dimensional aspect.
GREUBEL FORSEY GMT Sport
The completely new and original titanium case, firmly positions this new GMT in a ‘sports’ league of its own. A totally new case form, perfectly round from above, while revealing the accentuated arched and ovoid shape from other angles. The sweeping satinfinished bezel follows this unique case shape. The curved profile of the 45 mm diameter case and ovoid sapphire crystal provide the perfect showcase for an entirely new movement architecture with an arched bridge and inclined gear train.
The terrestrial rotating globe – seen from above the North Pole – performs each complete anticlockwise turn on its axis in 24 hours. It’s surrounded by a sapphire crystal ring with 24-hour divisions; where the wearer can read local time for all longitudes, including the day/night indicator. On the caseback side outer and central rings complete the sapphire cities disc to give UTC Universal and Summer Time for 24 cities.
ROLEX Cellini Moonphase
The first watch in the Cellini collection to include an astronomical function, the Cellini Moonphase indicates the time in the traditional way and features an exclusive display of the lunar cycle. The Cellini Moonphase has a 39 mm case in 18 ct Everose gold, and a white lacquer dial with a blue enamelled disc at 6 o’clock showing the full moon and the new moon, the former depicted by a meteorite applique and the latter by a silver ring. The moonphase is read via the indicator set at 12 o’clock on the subdial, as the full moon and new moon rotate through the lunar cycle.
The Cellini Moonphase also displays the date around the circumference of the dial, via a centre hand with a crescent moon at its tip. This model is driven by a self-winding mechanical movement entirely manufactured by Rolex, whose patented moonphase module is astronomically accurate for 122 years. This distinctive Rolex timepiece is fitted on a brown alligator leather strap, the only strap in the Cellini collection to be offered with an elegant concealed folding Crownclasp, also in 18 ct Everose gold.
Discover the magical world of Rolex watches at the Mamic 1970 boutique in the centre of Zagreb in the 7 Frane Petrica Street.
HERMÈS Arceau L’heure de la lune
The new Arceau L’heure de la lune watch offers a unique vision of Earth’s satellite with the simultaneous display of moon phases in both northern and southern hemispheres. Two mobile counters gravitate on a lunar, Martian or Black Sahara meteorite dial, revealing mother-of-pearl moons in step with an exclusive module, coupled with a Manufacture Hermès movement.
Framed by a white gold or platinum case, the mechanics adopt a light, barely-there role. Meteorite inlaid with mother-of-pearl form a cosmos in which satellite dials fl oat above hemispherical moons.
These mischievous displays have swapped cardinal points, with the south above and the north below. A topsy-turvy direction inviting observers to lose their bearings, with their head in the stars. Within this space-time, metal, stars and rock seamlessly merge the watch exterior with the movement to form an unprecedented technical and aesthetic display of simple and graphic readability.
The double moon here eclipses a traditional aperture-type display, instead covering the entire surface of the dial. This Haute Horlogerie timepiece is issued in limited editions, and fitted with a matt alligator strap in black or green.
GIRARD-PERREGAUX Bridges Cosmos
Within the galaxy of Girard-Perregaux, Cosmos vibrates on a separate wavelength. With tourbillon, sky chart and world time complications, composed of mechanical particles and poetic paradoxes, this watch reveals the hidden portions of the night sky and glows with a black light. Off set hours and minutes appear at 12 o’clock, while a tourbillon spins beneath a large black titanium bridge at 6 o’clock. At 3 o’clock, a terrestrial globe serves as a day/night indicator, while a sky chart takes its place at 9 o’clock.
The entire scene is staged against a tinted sapphire crystal glass. Invisible in broad daylight, and dotted with luminescent hydroceramic particles, it offers a time lapse view of the sky by night. The Cosmos case with its 47 mm diameter is a world in itself. Carved from beadblasted titanium, it delimits its universe.
Its sapphire crystal is a glassbox, a curved chimney type glass acting like an astronomical telescope. Beneath this non deforming lens beats a brand new movement that has emerged from the interstellar void to put Cosmos into orbit: manual winding Calibre GP09320.
OMEGA Speedmaster Apollo 11
The Speedmaster Professional made watchmaking history on the 21st of July 1969. Buzz Aldrin was wearing an Omega Speedmaster when he climbed down from the Eagle to reach the lunar surface. At that second, his timepiece became the first watch worn on the moon. Today its pioneering spirit still remains through the use of a new material known as 18K Moonshine gold. This exclusive patent-pending alloy is a paler hue than traditional yellow gold and offers high resistance to fading over time.
Speedmaster Moonwatch Apollo 11 has a 42 mm case in stainless steel and a polished bezel made from 18K Moonshine gold. The bezel ring itself is polished black ceramic with a radiant Omega Ceragold tachymeter scale. On the 9 o’clock subdial of this new Limited Edition, Omega has laser-engraved the image of Buzz on an 18K Moonshine Gold plate. Featured on the caseback is an image of an astronaut’s footprint, which has been laser-engraved onto a black-coated plate with a moon-surface texture.
Photos Omega, Girard-Perregaux, Rolex, Greubel Forsey, Louis Moinet and Hermès
