europa star
REFLECTIONS ON TIME / WATCHMAKING 47
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most accurate. Both sidereal and mean time are indicated, but only the high-magnitude stars appear. Oechslin chose the traditional astrolabe format with the firmament and the sun hand going around clockwise. The sun hand shows the time of day as well as the apparent position of the sun on the ecliptic. The moon hand shows the position and phase of the moon. Finally the dragon hand, which shows the lunar nodes and crosses the ecliptic every 18.6 years, foretells the eclipses of the sun and the moon.
3. VACHERON CONSTANTIN TOUR DE L’ILE In this intricate watch, which ranks among the most complicated wristwatches, the sky above Geneva is shown through an elliptical aperture in the dial. Although it does not show sidereal time, it does show the equation of time—the difference between solar time and mean time. Its other complications include a second timezone, age and phase of the moon, minute-repeater, perpetual calendar, tourbillon, the times of sunrise and sunset and a powerreserve indicator.
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5. VAN CLEEF & ARPELS MIDNIGHT IN PARIS This urbane watch, which has the same name as a fragrance marketed by the brand, displays a glittering firmament in aventurine that takes up the whole face. An elliptical frame reveals the position of the stars above Paris. The star disc goes round in one year so the stars are in their true position only once every 24 hours at midnight.
4. PATEK PHILIPPE REF. 5102PR CELESTIAL 2.
2. CHRISTIAAN VAN DER KLAAUW CK ASTROLABIUM CKAL7766 Van der Klaauw, a member of the AHCI academy of independent watch and clock creators who lives in the Netherlands, makes astronomical indications his speciality. His astrolabe shows the position of the brightest stars, the sun and the moon, and the lunar nodes with a dragon hand. The visible part of the sky is presented on the dial in the manner of an antique astrolabe, behind the hands and the stars.
The indications derived from the Star Calibre and the Sky Moon Tourbillon show the night sky of the northern hemisphere on the face of this elegant self-winding watch. The fine celestial dome turns anti-clockwise. The ellipse representing the horizon frames the visible portion of the sky above Geneva and elsewhere on the same latitude. Although the moon crosses the sky at a different rate than the stars, its position on the dial always accurately reflects its place in the sky. A hidden mechanism makes the moon wax and wane. Two arrows mark the position of Sirius and the moon and can be adjusted separately to set the lunar and stellar indications.
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