Koen Simon is a 26-year-old watch collector from The Netherlands. A daily reader of Quill & Pad, he’s a fan of high-end watchmaking. He lately despatched me this story so as to add to our “Why I Purchased It” sequence about his one-of-two Orion timepiece by Christiaan van der Klaauw.
Koen writes:
My watch amassing journey began in 2008 and thus far has led me to focus totally on classic IWC and classic Vacheron Constantin. Nonetheless, generally a watch crosses your path that you simply instantly fall in love with. And when that watch doesn’t match your common style, it turns into all of the extra thrilling. As we speak I’ll elaborate on why I purchased a two-tone Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion, one in all solely two examples made.
Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion two-tone (picture courtesy Koen Simon)
A fascination for area
I’ve been fascinated by area ever since I used to be a toddler. One in every of my favourite youngsters’s books my father would learn to me once I was about 4 or 5 was about a bit bear who was afraid of the darkish and couldn’t go to sleep. To consolation him, father bear introduced a bit lantern. He continued to deliver bigger and bigger lanterns till he lastly confirmed the little bear the moon as a lantern they usually each fell asleep beneath the celebs.
Once I was in highschool, I’d often cycle to extra remoted, neighboring villages late at evening to go stargazing. I stay near the De Hoge Veluwe nationwide park, which is understood for having little or no mild air pollution. A pleasant reminiscence is packing my backpack with a picnic blanket, snacks, and drinks and heading over there. I nonetheless often go stargazing.
How I met my Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion
Once I was a teen, I usually visited our native high-end jeweler, Van Hell. Mr. Van Hell all the time allowed me to come back in and have a look at his particular watches, even giving me catalogues. One of many manufacturers he carried was Christiaan van der Klaauw, all of whose watches have an astronomical complication of some kind. Given my fascination for the celebs, I instantly appreciated these watches.
A few years in the past, I swung by the shop once more, and he confirmed me one thing actually wonderful: the Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion in two-tone execution. This specific watch was a Van Hell customized order. I completely love the two-tone parts; these give a whole lot of life to the watch and signify a throwback to earlier bespoke distinctive items. The truth that solely two have been ever made may be very interesting to me.
The primary second I laid my eyes on this watch I fell in love with it. And after a short while I used to be within the monetary place to accumulate this beautiful timepiece. I like having a watch that hyperlinks to my childhood fascination. To have the ability to take that sentiment with me in every single place I am going is significant to me.
Christiaan van der Klaauw
Christiaan van der Klaauw is a Dutch unbiased watchmaker with a really particular historical past.
Mr. van der Klaauw was initially a clockmaker who made particular conventional Frisian-style clocks: the so-called “Friese stoelklok.” These clocks home astronomical problems and are richly adorned.
A Friese stoelklok (Frisian-style clock) by Christiaan van der Klaauw from 1976
It’s fascinating to hint the technical growth of the corporate by the growth of van der Klaauw’s clocks, the earliest of which solely provided a moon section. Comparatively rapidly thereafter the so-called Actual Moon was launched in his clocks, a three-dimensional globe representing the earth’s greatest satellite tv for pc.
Christiaan van der Klaauw’s Planeto Astrolabium of 1989
Van der Klaauw began his clockmaking firm in 1974. In 1989 – 14 years after founding it – he made the masterpiece that granted him entry to the A.H.C.I. (Academy of Unbiased Artistic Horologists) as a member. This desk clock, the Planeto Astrolabium, included a three-dimensional planetarium, an astrolabe, and a planisphere for each the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. It took him two years to finish, and it stays essentially the most sophisticated clock ever made in The Netherlands.
Seven years later, in 1996, van der Klaauw started setting up wristwatches, making him one of many early unbiased watchmakers. From the start he targeted on astronomical watches, constructing on his clockmaking expertise.
The miniature planetarium of Christiaan van der Klaauw
One such actually monumental piece, now thought-about his signature complication, is the planetarium: this can be a phenomenal timepiece in that van der Klaauw managed to miniaturize a complete planetarium to a diameter of simply 12 mm. He launched this in 1999.
Van der Klaauw retired in 2009, passing his baton alongside to Daniël and Maria Reintjes, who at the moment are in control of the world’s solely watch model fully devoted to astronomical watches.
Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga
The Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga Restricted Version, which accommodates this miniaturized planetarium complication, was awarded the prize within the Calendar and Astronomy class of the 2021 Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève. That watch to me is among the most essential wristwatches ever made in The Netherlands. It’s the most good abstract of the model’s core capabilities, reflecting its unique inspiration.
Eise Eisinga’s planetarium on the ceiling of his home in Franeker in The Netherlands
The dial of the van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga Restricted Version simulates the look of the ceiling planks of the Eise Eisinga planetarium. Eisinga was a Dutch astronomer who constructed a planetarium on the ceiling of his lounge. Accomplished between 1774 and 1781, that is the oldest still-functional planetarium on the planet. And it was the direct inspiration for Christiaan van der Klaauw to make clocks and later watches.
Christiaan van der Klaauw Planetarium Eise Eisinga in stainless-steel
Each his clocks and his wristwatches mirrored Christaan van der Klaauw’s need to push technical boundaries and specific his private fascination for the Eisinga planetarium.
On high of that, there are occasional collaborations with one of the best craftspeople on the planet. To me that makes Christiaan van der Klaauw among the many finest unbiased watchmaking manufacturers on the planet.
My Orion and what it means to me
My Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion contains a planisphere that makes one full rotation in 23 hours and 56 minutes, displaying the right place of the Northern Hemisphere’s stars and constellations, and is executed in two-tone metals comprising stainless-steel and pink gold.
Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion in one-of-two two-tone execution (picture courtesy Koen Simon)
The bezel, crown, and lug screws are executed in 18-karat pink gold. This makes it virtually distinctive because it was by no means within the catalogue due to being a customized order of simply two examples for Van Hell jewelers.
Again of the Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion two-tone (picture courtesy Koen Simon)
In a method, this watch to me embodies two particular private relationships: one with Christiaan van der Klaauw by our shared fascination with area and planetariums. And one with Mr. Van Hell, who performed a key function in creating my information and style in amassing watches.
Look intently on the planisphere: Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion in two-tone (picture courtesy Koen Simon)
I completely like to put on this watch, which symbolizes private relationships in a world of impersonal on-line retail and model boutiques. It encourages me me to mirror on what the universe has deliberate for me.
For extra info on the usual fashions, please go to www.klaauw.com/eng/cvdk-orion.
Fast Info Christiaan van der Klaauw Orion two-tone
Case: 40 x 15 mm, pink gold and stainless-steel
Motion: computerized Caliber CVDK1072 (primarily based on Soprod A-10 with in-house planisphere module) and customized rotor, 42-hour energy reserve, 4 Hz/28,800 vph frequency
Features: hours, minutes, seconds; rotating celestial map (planisphere) with present Zodiac signal indicator
Limitation: 2 items (bought out)
Worth: €18,950 (all stainless-steel mannequin) / €38,450 (all pink gold mannequin), each nonetheless accessible
Comment: three-year guarantee
* This text was first printed 05 January 2022 at Why I Purchased It: Collector Koen Simon And His Two-Tone Christiaan Van Der Klaauw Orion
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