In 2014, Van Cleef & Arpels set to work on reducing the dimensions of the planetarium, adapting them to the scale of the wrist. This gave rise to the Midnight Planétarium™, which depicts the trajectories of the planets in the Solar System on a timepiece of great complexity.

In 2022, eight years after the revelation of its Planétarium collection, Van Cleef & Arpels revisits what has become an emblematic concept, and presents a new Extraordinary Object™ to enrich its universe of Poetic Astronomy™.

In 2023, the Maison proposes a variation of the automaton in a new combination of materials. The Sun is orned by yellow sapphires, spessartite garnets and diamonds, set on 500 gold stems endowing it with an effect of depth and lightness. Suggesting the expanse of the heavens, black aventurine glass discs are positioned concentrically within the dial, seven of them individually animated by the mechanism. 

The collection expands in 2025 with a new Extraordinary Object, featuring a combination of materials in luminous hues.

Distinguished by their impressive dimensions (50cm high and 66.5cm diameter), the Planétarium automata present the Sun and many of the planets of its system visible from the Earth: Mercury, Venus, the Earth, accompanied by its satellite, the Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Each heavenly body moves at its genuine speed of rotation.

A shooting star sweeps the planets along in a veritable ballet, accompanied by a crystalline melody. Every second planet moves in the opposite direction to their natural orbit, bringing a fairy-tale poetry to the ensemble.

To faithfully reproduce the movement of six planets around the Sun along with their positions at a given time, these tabletop objects employ a mechanical movement of great complexity. With a planétarium module, and on-demand animation developed by Van Cleef & Arpels, they also allow the stars to dance as many times as desired.

Beneath the custom-blown globe of the automata, a poetic scene comes to life. When the animation begins, a shooting star in gold, diamonds and Mystery Set™ rubies emerges from a hatch and flies by to indicate the hours and minutes on a 24-hour dial. On the pieces' base, several dials are aligned one after the other: hours/minutes, day/night, a perpetual calendar indicating the day, month and year, and finally power reserve. The automata's 15-bell chime is also visible through a door.

To evoke the wonder inspired by gazing at the heavens, Van Cleef & Arpels has painstakingly selected and crafted the materials, combining precious and ornamental stones derived from traditional jewelry making. 

For this new Extraordinary Object, the Sun features a core of rose gold motifs and spessartite garnets, yellow sapphires and diamonds set on more than 500 gold stems. It quivers during the automaton animation by means of a trembleur in the mechanism. This jewelry technique enables the motif to vibrate with the slightest movement, accentuating the sparkle of the stones.

Three-dimensional planets are arranged around the Sun. All are adorned with a gold ribbon inspired by 18th century celestial charts, on which their names are engraved. Mythological symbols complete the picture: shells for Venus, arrows for Mars and lightning bolts for Jupiter. Mercury is represented by a chalcedony surrounded by white gold and sapphires in different shades of blue, while Venus is adorned with the soft nuances of rose quartz, combined with rose gold and pink sapphires. Earth is represented by green jasper and enhanced by two tones of sapphires. The familiar glow of the Moon, orbiting the Earth, is evoked by a pearl contrasting with the object’s deep blue background. The orange hues of a moonstone adorn Mars, its warmth accentuated by the combination of rose gold and pink sapphires. Lastly, Jupiter showcases a heart in jasper with a yellow gold and diamond rim, while Saturn’s gives pride of place to jet, its rings blending white gold and sapphires. 

To conjure the depth of the cosmos, fifteen discs of lapis lazuli inlaid with stars in rose and white gold and closed-set diamonds are positioned concentrically within the dial. 

The planets and shooting star move at their own pace in a shimmering setting. The ensemble inspires a dual emotion, suspended between immersion in the universe and the beauty of the craftsmanship.