The Whole Solar System in Your Wristwatch

It is said that the Lord Krishna opened his mouth and revealed the entire universe inside. Want to wear the entire solar system on your wrist, orbiting in real time? Try the Midnight Planetarium, which may well be the most beautiful watch ever made.

Leading watchmakers went head to head at a private trade fair in Geneva, showing off their latest designs and being incredibly punctual. All manner of elegant and unusual timepieces debut at this convention, putting your plastic Swatches and iPhone clocks to shame. At the 2014 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, Van Cleff & Arpels unveiled a watch like no other, a watch so original, finely crafted and whimsical that its US$245,000 price tag almost seems reasonable: the exquisitely named Complication Poetique Midnight Planetarium.

So what's the deal with this thing? How do you even read the time? The watchface contains tiny globes representing the planets visible from earth, from Mr. Sun to Saturn. Made of precious and semi-precious gemstones like red jasper, blue agate, turquoise, serpentine and more, our celestial neighbours are encased on their orbit inside an 18 carat rose gold mount, with a black alligator strap to hold your personal planetarium in place. They rotate on a glittering starscape, accurately mimicking the movement of the planets IRL — yes, that means the Mercury gem will rotate fully in three months, and Saturn? Twenty-nine and a half years.

Such a meticulous and gradual rate of motion is truly a feat of fine engineering. The process of painstakingly assembling the 396 components must have required nothing less than a Pacific Ocean of Red Bull. As for clocking regular Earth hours, a tiny shooting star along the outer rim of the watchface indicates the hour. There's also a cute bonus in the form of a whimsical 'Lucky Star' which you can set to appear over the Earth on an appointed day, casting luck on all your doings.

The Midnight Planetarium is one of a series of Complication Poetique watches which explore time in its poetic as well as literal dimensions. They're all worth checking out here.  As for our little stargazer, watch the video below for more angles on this artistic marvel.