When it comes to planetarium wristwatches, Christiaan van der Klaauw (CvdK) has little competition, since it owns much of the intellectual property behind the complication. But that hasn’t stopped the brand from competing with itself, and the result the Grand Planetarium Eccentric Meteorite, the most complete model of the solar system ever put in a wristwatch. It’s a maximalist approach to the planetarium concept that’s almost overwhelming in look and feel, thanks to the rich texture of its solid 44 mm meteorite case and busy dial.

Building on the Grand Planetarium Eccentric from 2024, the Eccentric Meteorite manages to squeeze in the astroid belt, which is itself embellished with chunks of meteorite that originated on Mars. Intended to be a limited edition of three pieces, it’s possible that just two will be made given the limited quantity of meteorite on hand.

The sun at the center of the dial functions as a running indicator, rotating once per minute.

Initial thoughts

The planetarium is among the most romantic of all complications due to its inherent uselessness; unlike a minute repeater or perpetual calendar, there’s not much action that can be taken with the information provided. But mankind has sought to understand its place in the universe for millennia, and the planetarium offers an intuitive way to visualise our real-time location relative to the sun and the other planets in our solar system.

There’s also a strange appeal to the glacially slow speed of some of the orbits. One could wear the Eccentric Meteorite for 20 years and Neptune, at the outer edge of the dial, will have barely moved. This cosmic time scale puts our short human lives in perspective and gives us a different way to think about the passage of time.

Naturally, the Raison d’être of the Eccentric Meteorite is its dial, which is dominated by an aventurine glass planetarium featuring all eight planets orbiting the central hand stack in realistic eccentric circular orbits. While also displaying the time, and, in a way, the date, the meteorite edition features hand-painted planets and real Martian space rocks to represent the astroid belt between Jupiter and Saturn.

The biggest difference between Eccentric Meteorite and its immediate predecessor is its impressive 44 mm meteorite case. In watchmaking, the use of meteorite is almost always restricted to the dial, which makes the opportunity to touch and feel the material a rare treat. Though not a watch intended for daily wear, it’s surprisingly comfortable on the wrist and reasonably slim at just over 14 mm. Overall I’d say the sizing feels just right for the design and concept of the watch.

The planetarium module is powered by the CKM-01, a premium automatic movement produced in Sirnach by Andreas Strehler. Though we’ve seen this same 3 Hz platform used before by other independent watchmakers, it’s nonetheless a competent and well-made movement with a 60-hour power reserve. In the past, CvdK has always relied on third-party movement to power its complications, regularly using workhorse calibres like the ETA 2824-2. In this context, the presence of a movement sourced from Mr Strehler is an appealing upgrade that adds to the Eccentric Meteorite’s bone fides.

Unfortunately the new case and the addition of the astroid belt increase the price dramatically. At approximately US$725,000, the meteorite edition is about three times the cost of its 18k rose gold counterpart. It seems hard to justify this premium on rational grounds, but given the strictly limited supply the market will probably accept it.

The complete solar system for the wrist

An early member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), Christiaan van der Klaauw presented his first wristwatches in the mid 1990s. But it was the 1999 introduction of the Planetarium 2000, the smallest mechanical planetarium ever created, that established the brand’s current reputation. Early models tracked the real-time positions of the six planets closest to the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn.

The Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium 2000. Image – Sotheby’s

This mechanism was later adapted by Van Cleef & Arpels (VC&A) for the Midnight Planetarium introduced in 2014, which features an enlarged version of the concentric six-planet planetarium mechanism that covers the entire dial, relegating the time display to a tiny shooting star that orbits once per day. Built atop a Roger Dubuis RD821 base calibre signed by VC&A, the module itself was developed by CvdK.

The Van Cleef & Arpels Midnight Planetarium.

Though exceptionally beautiful and ingenious, these models displayed just six planets. The orbits of Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, which was listed as an official planet until its demotion in 2006, were excluded. The rationale was obvious since these planets take so long to orbit the sun. For example, the orbit of Uranus takes 84 years, while Neptune takes almost twice as long at nearly 165 years; practically speaking, they hardly move at all.

But this left room for further development, which resulted in the Grand Planetarium Eccentric released last year. Not only did this model display the real-time orbits of all eight current planets, it went further to display their eccentric orbits, another first. This doesn’t show the planets’ exact elliptical orbits; rather, it presents each planet on a circular orbit, realistically offset relative to the sun. There’s even a

The Eccentric Meteorite takes the concept even further by adding Earth’s moon and showing the position of the asteroid belt, indicated with real fragments of Martian nakhlite meteorite, correctly located relative to the planetary orbits, though obviously not to scale.

As for the planets themselves, they are hand-painted using a brush comprised of a single squirrel hair. This is a different technique than earlier planetarium watches that used anodised metal, in the case of CvdK’s own pieces, and semi-precious stones in the case of the Midnight Planetarium.

Considering their minute size, the painted planets are rendered extremely well. Though Earth is the star of the show, metaphorically speaking, Saturn is especially well painted and even features the planet’s signature rings.

All of this is set against a backdrop of sparkling aventurine glass, with the exception of the astroid belt which is mounted on a ring made of meteorite. Aventurine glass is a common material for astronomic watches, used by both CvdK and VC&A in the past due to its stellar appearance that mimics the night sky.

Of course, the Eccentric Meteorite is still a watch, and manages to present both the time as well as a general idea of the date. The hour and minutes are displayed in the conventional way and read against Roman numerals engraved on the underside of the sapphire crystal. To cap things off, the sun at the center of the dial, shaped like the brand’s logo, rotates once per minute in lieu of a central seconds hand.

Reading the date is a little more ambiguous, requiring the user to judge the position of Earth against the scale at the outer edge of the dial. To make things slightly easier, at least for date setting, a red arrow opposite Earth lines up with painted indexes that mark the beginning of each sign of the zodiac, on approximately the 21st day of each month. All told, this strikes me as a reasonably effective solution for a very challenging problem and the lack of resolution detracts very little from the overall functionality.

A timeless case

The case of the Eccentric Meteorite is quite literally out of this world, crafted from a solid block of meteorite. It total, the case weighs 47 g, and the brand has so far made two pieces (of a planned series of three) from a 1.09 kg meteorite acquired for this purpose. In terms of composition, the meteorite is approximately 92% iron, 7.6% nickel, and a touch of cobalt.

Meteorite is not uncommon in watchmaking, and has been regularly used for dials by big brands like Rolex and Jaeger-LeCoultre. California-based independent J.N. Shapiro even did a small series of watches with meteorite guilloché dials. It’s less commonly used for watch cases, though it’s not unheard of.

The 44 mm meteorite case is finely shaped and extremely satisfying to the touch. Like most other meteorite used in watchmaking, the material has been etched with acid to emphasise what is known as its Widmanstätten pattern. This pattern reveals the material’s crystalline structure, which formed over millennia as it slowly cooled on its transit through space.

Upgraded internals

As a business, CvdK has always focused its efforts on its astronomic modules and left the base movement to supplier. The original Planetarium 2000 was built on a Glashütte Original cal. 39 base movement, and the humble ETA 2824-2 has appeared regularly over the years.

Commensurate with its ambition and price point, the Eccentric Meteorite does one better and uses a base movement produced by UhrTeil AG, the movement supplier operated by Andreas Strehler. As a result, the automatic CKM-01 has a lot in common with the movement in the Strehler Sirna.

On a technical level, the 3 Hz beat rate is a step down from the more rugged base movements used in the past, but the CKM-01 is an upgrade in every other way. For example, the 60-hour power reserve will result in less-frequent time and date setting, and the level of craft on display is finally a match for the ingenuity of the planetarium module.

The spokes of the gold winding mass reveal sharp inner angles at their tips.

The movement is striking in appearance, which is dominated by a solid gold rotor in the shape of the brand’s logo (or half of it, at least). Underneath the rotor, the movement bridges have been embossed with a pattern of stars, while each of the major jewels is embellished with its own five-pointed star. It’s more finishing than we’re used to seeing from CvdK, and it feels sufficient for the aims of the watch.

Closing thoughts

The Grand Planetarium Eccentric Meteorite is a watch that only Christiaan van der Klaauw could make. It takes the brand’s signature complication and elevates it, on both technical and artistic grounds. The maximalist look may be too much for some, but in every other way its a fitting capstone at the top of the brand’s collection.

Key facts and price

Christiaan van der Klaauw Grand Planetarium Eccentric Meteorite

Diameter: 44 mm
Height: 14.3 mm
Material: Meteorite
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m

Movement: CKM-01
Functions: Hours, minutes, date, month, and eight-planet eccentric planetarium
Frequency: 21,600 beats per hour (3 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 60 hours

Strap: Leather with platinum folding clasp

Limited edition: Yes, 3 pieces maximum but only 2 have been made
Availability: Direct from Christiaan van der Klaauw
Price: 930,000 Singapore dollars including taxes (equivalent to US$724,669)

For more, visit Klaauw.com.