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The Midnight Planétarium by Van Cleef & Arpels
French watch makers Van Cleef & Arpels have teamed up with Dutch independent watchmaker Christiaan van der Klaauw to create a striking new timepiece inspired by the five visible planets that surround the sun.
Boasting a 44mm case in pink gold and containing a total of 396 components, the Midnight Planétarium Poetic Complication was developed by Van der Klaauw, while the base movement is the automatic RD821 from Roger Dubuis.
The watch dial features a miniature of the solar system, displaying the position of all of the planets as they orbit the Sun.
All the tiny spheres representing each planet are made of precious materials – the sun in pink gold and the other planets in semi-precious stones and are set against a disc made of aventurine, a quartz crystal with glittering mineral inclusions.
The Midnight Planétarium Poetic Complication by Van Cleef & Arpels is expected to retail for $258,000.
Van Cleef & Arpels was founded by Charles Arpels and Alfred Van Cleef in 1896.