The World of Christiaan van der Klaauw

ASTRONOMY, TIME IN ITS PUREST FORM

is the source of inspiration for the most famous watchmaker in the Netherlands. Christiaan van der Klaauw, an honorary member of the prestigious AH CI, founded the company – Christiaan van der Klaauw Astronomical Watches – in 1974. Christiaan van der Klaauw Astronomical Watches is the only atelier in the world that is completely devoted to the design and the production of exclusive, hand-made astronomical watches.

40 YEARS OF ASTRONOMICAL COMPLICATIONS

In 2014, we celebrate the fact that Christiaan van der Klaauw presented his first astronomical clock 40 years ago; 20 years ago he produced his first wristwatch with astronomical complications. It is a celebration in its purest form, with a balanced collection of unique astronomical watches. Christiaan van der Klaauw (1944) was born in Leiden, the city where the Netherlands’ greatest scientist of all times, namesake and inspiration Christiaan Huygens started his studies in 1645. Van der Klaauw attended the School for Instrument Makers (LiS) in Leiden, the curriculum established in 1901 at the initiative of Prof. Dr. Heike Kamerlingh Onnes.

INTRUMENTS

When Kamerlingh Onnes was appointed professor in experimental physics in 1882 it was common practice for the physicists to make their own instruments. The scientist considered this nonsensical and initiated the founding of the LiS. This trade school describes instrument makers as ‘handymen, puzzle solvers and inventors who use their technical knowledge and creativity to make just about anything conceivable’. This certainly applied and applies to Van der Klaauw who, in the course of his training, acquired practical experience at the Leidse Sterrewacht, the world’s oldest university-affiliated observatory, which was established in 1633. In this magical world of stars and planets Christiaan van der Klaauw’s love of astronomy burgeoned.

CELESTIAL BODIES

Good instrument makers are able to make what their eyes can see and are certainly capable of making timepieces. The idea of combining the mathematically predictable movements of celestial bodies with a clock was an idea that was certainly not unique to Van der Klaauw. Astronomical clocks had been made thousands of years earlier and the Netherlands had the Friesian Eise Eisinga (1744-1828), a virtuoso who had built a highly accurate planetarium in a house in Franeker. After Christiaan van der Klaauw had completed a clock maker’s course as well he moved from Leiden to Joure in 1967, where he started working for a producer of Friesian grandfather clocks.

INDEPENDENT WATCHMAKER

In 1974 Van der Klaauw started his own business and presented his first clock, with astronomical complications. It was the start of an exceptional story that made him one of the best clockmakers in the world, saw him receive (in 1989) an honourable membership of the Swiss Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI), whose members include watchmaking greats such as Vincent Calabrese, George Daniels, François-Paul Journe and Franck Muller. In 1992, he won the award for the most innovative movement design for his Pendule Variable in Basel, Switserland. Two years later he started with his first wrist watch, the CVDK Satellite du Monde – with astronomical complications, of course. The watch showed the time, day and date, as well as the moon phase, day and night indicator and the place on earth where it is exactly noon at the time you are looking at your watch. It remains an amazing and elegant watch even today. In 1999 he presented the masterpiece CVDK Planetarium, equipped with the smallest mechanical planetarium in the world. Making wrist watches was the start of a new phase in the life of the Netherlands’ most important watch maker.

NEW ERA

In 2009, a new era began for Christiaan van der Klaauw. He was succeeded by the Dutch designer Daniël Reintjes. Daniël Reintjes had known Christiaan for many years, ever since he had asked him to produce watches for his own designer label ‘Dark Rush’. He got on extremely well with the watchmaker he respected so highly, brought Maurice Doppert and Maria van Laar into the project as fellow shareholders and started repositioning the brand. The new directors decided to focus exclusively on astronomical watches; the phrase ‘astronomical watches’ was added to the brand name and models with new, beautiful astronomical complications were added. This new direction wat immediately rewarded by winning the Watch of the Year Award in 2011 and 2012.

COLLABORATION WITH VAN CLEEF & ARPELS

A unique event transpired at the SIHH in Geneva in January 2014. The legendary Van Cleef & Arpels presented its most complicated watch ever. The complication – a Planetarium module created exclusively for Van Cleef & Arpels – was developed by Christiaan van der Klaauw Astronomical watches.
This complex masterpiece was developed in three years. It has a self-winding mechanical movement containing 396 seperate parts. The Planetarium with the name Midnight Planetarium Poetic Complication™ fits perfectly in the worldwide trend and increasing demand for
astronomical watches as witnessed by watch brands.

THE CHRISTIAAN VAN DER KLAAUW SIGNATURE

The main characteristic of the CVDK watches is the astronomical complication. Every watch has one or more complications that originate from astronomy. All watches feature the same, round case design. Each of our watches is instantly recognisable, with the hour indexes above an imaginary horizon, the astronomical complication normally situated at the 6 o‘clock postition, a radiantly decorated dial and a transparant caseback with a beautiful CVDK rotor.
And finaly a stylised picture of the sun with 12 claws (Klaauw = claw) at 12 o‘clock, the sun’s zenith. All these beautiful timepieces are made with great attention for detail and only the finest and best materials are used for our collection. We produce in such small quantities per year that each watch can be seen as a limited edition. All watches are therefore numbered.

TWO ICONIC CHRISTIAAN VAN DER KLAAUW TIMEPIECES

The CVDK Planetarium

This masterpiece is equipped with the smallest mechanical Planetarium in the world. It displays real time the solar orbits of Mercury (87.97 days), Venus (224.70 days), Earth (365.24 days), Mars (686.98 days), Jupiter (11.86 years) and Saturn (29.46 years). It has been said that this last planet – Saturn – is the slowest moving component ever made in a mechanical watch.

The CVDK Real Moon Joure

This masterpiece has a unique three dimensional rotating miniature Moon showing the actual moon phase. It is the most accurate 3D moon phase in the world ever incorporated in a mechanical watch with a deviation of only one day in 11,000 years.

IN THE WORLD

In 2014 we are celebrating our 40-year anniversary. Until today, Christiaan van der Klaauw Astronomical Watches is the only atelier in the world that is completely devoted to the design and the production of exclusive, hand-made astronomical watches.