The Astronomia Sky is a £538,000 watch made by luxury watch brand Jacob & Co.
“The Astronomia is a very, very delicate piece. Every component needs to be perfectly balanced so we need to use very special materials – like titanium – that are very delicate. The idea is really to come with a watch that is three dimensional and the watch has to be spectacular.”
This three dimensional triple axis tourbillon watch with a celestial dial beneath an oval sky with rotating stars sells for around $600,000. Only 18 have been made with the specs described as 18ct gold with a sidereal display and an oval sky indicator of the celestial panorama. Gravitational triple axis tourbillon, day / night indicator, hours and minutes subdial and orbital second hand, “Jacob Cut” red moon orange sapphire with 288 facets.
Description
Covering the internal surface of the Astronomia’s case, the celestial dial accomplishes a full rotation in one sidereal year – which is the actual time it takes the earth to make one full rotation around the sun in relation to the fixed stars. The blued grade 5 titanium dial features 18K gold stars as well as applied and hand-engraved and zodiac signs.
Above this celestial dial is the Oval Sky Indicator, which shows the portion of the stars visible from the Northern Hemisphere. This indicator makes one full rotation in one sidereal day. A sidereal day is how long it takes for the earth to rotate once on its axis: 23.5640916 hours.
In the center of the satellite axis, a lacquered hand-engraved titanium globe rotates on itself inside a tinted halfdomed sapphire, symbolizing night and day.
Rotating around the watch are the four satellite arms, which rotate around the dial every 20 minutes, so when you look at the watch, it will never appear exactly the same. On one of the satellites is the triple axis gravitational tourbillon, which rotates on one axis in 60 seconds, on the second axis every five minutes and around the dial every 20 minutes. On another satellite is the time (hours and minutes) subdial. Thanks to a clever differential gear system, the time display is always in the correct position while it rotates around the dial, in other words, the 12 is always up.
On the third satellite is the Orbital Second Hand, an open-worked titanium wheel that rotates in 60 seconds with a second hand, and it also rotates around the dial every 20 minutes. On the fourth and final satellite is the patented “Jacob Cut” red moon, a spherical orange sapphire with 288 facets. This sapphire, the first of its kind in the modern jewelry industry, rotates on its axis every 60 seconds and turns around the dial every 20 minutes.
Jacob & Co. found a simple solution to the setting of this complicated timepiece. The Astronomia Sky has two bows and two wheels on the back of the watch, making setting easy. One bow is for setting the time and the day/ night indicator (both based on 24-hour solar time), while the other bow is for winding the mechanical movement. One of the wheels is to set the sidereal time, and the other wheel is used to set the oval sky indicator.
