This is a project in which prominent watch journalists highlight their "most interesting" and "recommended" models from among the new models released in 2025. Tomoyo Takai, a former editor at Chronos Japan who now works freelance for various watch magazines and online media, has chosen the Van Cleef & Arpels Planetarium Automata.
Photographs & Text by Tomoyo Takai
[Article published on January 28, 2025]
"Automata Planetarium" at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2025
This watch features a large automaton and a manual-winding movement with a perpetual calendar. It measures 66.5cm wide and 50cm high (with the case closed). It has a power reserve of approximately 15 days. It's a unique piece. Priced at market value.
In the spring of 2025, I visited the Watches & Wonders Geneva exhibition. Every time I visit a trade fair, I'm reminded of how this place, with its elaborate displays of new products, always takes me back to my childhood. After days of cramming time with interviews and sauntering through the vast venue, I suddenly stopped and gazed at Van Cleef & Arpels' Automata Planetarium for the longest time.
The sun, six planets, and the moon. This tabletop piece, in which celestial bodies are represented by jewels and move according to their actual orbital periods, exudes a mysterious gravitational pull that captivates the viewer. More than a simple decorative object, it is an intricately constructed "clock" complete with hour and minute displays, a perpetual calendar, and a power reserve indicator. When activated on demand, 15 bells chime as shooting stars orbit the celestial sphere and the planets begin to revolve and rotate. The intricate movements make it seem as if the celestial bodies themselves are moving with a life of their own.
This is the third installment in the series, which began in 2022. The previous two installments used aventurine as the base, evoking the depth of space, but the 2025 version uses lapis lazuli, which has a higher saturation. Vividness is added to the darkness, making the color expression even richer.
Furthermore, stones with high saturation were selected for the colors of each celestial body in this piece so that they would not be lost in the blue of the lapis lazuli, and the shooting star in particular is enhanced by the addition of a red ruby from the Mystery Set™, which enhances the light reflection and color. The wooden cabinet has also been revamped from the previous dark wood, mainly ebony, to marquetry using lighter wood species such as lemon tree, white holly, amaranth, and ziricote. Overall, the piece has evolved from the heavy impression of previous pieces to a more glamorous appearance that is characteristic of the brand.
The size of the work is also impressive, measuring approximately 50cm in height and 66.5cm in diameter. This size not only allows you to fully appreciate the dynamism of the work, but also creates the opportunity for multiple people to gather around the work and share the emotional impact of viewing it. The sight of so many visitors at the venue, gazing at it with shining eyes, regardless of nationality, remains vivid in my memory.
Van Cleef & Arpels breaks the stereotype of astronomical clocks
Looking back, the impact that "Midnight Planetarium," released in 2014, had on the watch industry was enormous. It could be said that it was the first work to truly shatter the stereotype that "astronomical clocks = esoteric, intellectual, masculine things." Up until then, astronomical clocks had emphasized calculation, theory, and accuracy, and their displays were not necessarily intuitive, with many requiring specialized knowledge to appreciate.
The Midnight Planetarium uses astronomically accurate cycles such as 88 days for Mercury, 224 days for Venus, and 365 days for Earth, but without flaunting them, it has sublimated them into a poetic and intuitive display. The celestial bodies move as a story rather than information, and its innovation lies in the fact that it neutralizes the dichotomy between "accuracy and poetry" and instead achieves both.
For me, the 2014 Midnight Planetarium is an unforgettable watch that drew me into the profound world of mechanical watches. My encounter with the Automata Planetarium this time has once again brought back that excitement. Because it is a unique piece, it may be difficult to encounter it again, but the impression I felt then remains vivid to this day.
Author Profile
Tomoyo Takai
Former editor of Chronos Japan. Currently working as a freelance editor and writer, primarily for watch magazines. Books he has planned and edited include "The History of Time in Japan" (Shogakukan, 2021) and Inoue Takeshi's "The Machine that Creates the Starry Sky: A 100-Year History of Planetariums" (KADOKAWA, 2023). Certified Level 2 Watch Repair Technician. Participant in the first Advanced CWC program.
