CHRISTIAN VAN DER KLAAUW, THE DUTCH BRAND SHOWING PLANETARIUMS
August 25th, 2025
CHRISTIAN VAN DER
KLAAUW, THE DUTCH
BRAND SHOWING
PLANETARIUMS
There are complications in watchmaking, and then there are complications that make you stop, breathe, and remember why this art form is transcendent. Christian van der Klaauw, the Dutch atelier whose DNA is laced with astronomy, is firmly in the latter camp. Since the 1970s, they’ve chased the cosmos, distilling the vast mechanics of our solar system into the smallest mechanical planetarium ever placed on a wrist. You glance down and see Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn orbiting the Sun, with an accuracy that will outlive you, your children, and theirs. The orbits remain correct for centuries, and in some models, the moonphase deviates by only a single day every 11,000 years.
Pim Koeslag, then master watchmaker at Van der Klaauw, stepped in to acquire the company in 2009 determined to preserve its astronomical legacy. His vision kept Christian van der Klaauw’s spirit alive while steering it toward a new era of independent watchmaking.
