Like Jaeger-LeCoultre doesn’t need an introduction, neither does the Australian design icon, Marc Newson. If you want to know what the two in collaboration can create, look no further than the Atmos Hybris Artistica Tellurium. Powered by the in-house caliber 590, it is one of the most enticing horological marvels I have seen. Trust me when I say this, because I have actually seen some fascinating timepieces in the last decade, and I have spent time writing about watches and clocks.
The new Atmos Hybris Artistica Tellurium is ‘inspired by the beauty and the mystery of the cosmos.’ Not the solar system we are a part of, but the ‘cosmos beyond the Earth’s solar system,’ the company notes. It is the result of over 18-years of partnership between Jaeger-LeCoultre and the design genius, which has been designed to run on the most advanced and complex Atmos movements from the watchmaker that is respected for its expertise in mechanical movements.
Designer: Jaeger-LeCoultre
The clock has been through a great deal of iterations to arrive at the current version, which features a new cabinet for the Atmos Tellurium designed by Newson. The glass features 64 constellations that are visible in the Northern Hemisphere, engraved on it, while 539 cabochon-cut sapphires here represent the principal stars.
A pinnacle of haute horlogerie, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos Tellurium is a limited-edition piece (strictly limited to three units) featuring a meteorite dial with hand-painted, 3-dimensional earth inside the glass globe. The clock is created to precisely track Earth’s rotation alongside the lunar phases as the moon rotates around the Earth. The clock recreates the cycles of the sun, earth, and moon with great precision in 3D.
Measuring 188mm thick, the clock’s miniature earth rotates on its axis (like the real thing) in 24 hours, providing the day and night indication. While the Earth rotates, the Moon is seen orbiting it in a complete moon phase (averaging 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2 seconds). This allows the moon, revolving on its own axis, to display its phases accurately. According to the watchmaker, the moon phase has complete accuracy with a discrepancy of only one day every 5,770 years.
The sun resides in the center of the Atmos Tellurium and the earth, and the moon is designed to orbit around it in one complete year, indicating the seasons (listed on the parameter of the clock) as it turns. In addition to displaying corresponding months and seasons, the clock also displays the zodiacal calendar. The Atmos Tellurium clock is powered by an in-house caliber 590 perpetual movement that operates without human intervention. Yes, as with all Atmos clocks, the Atmos Hybris Artistica Tellurium also winds itself by the expansion and contraction of a gas mixture within an airtight capsule.
