Three centuries have already passed since the orrery was invented – practically a mechanical miniature work of the solar system. This was such a great reason to celebrate that Swiss watchmakers Graham couldn’t help themselves in honoring it their own way – this describes the birth of the Geo.Graham Tourbillon Orrery timepiece.
Their main source of inspiration was George Graham, pioneering scientist of the Age of Enlightenment at manufacturer of timepieces, in fact the creator of the first solar system miniature model, back in 1713. The famous invention was initially presented to Charles Boyle, 4th Earl of Orrery and source of nomination for the entire plethora of planetariums and tellurians.
The orrery, with its miniature Sun, Moon, Mars and Earth, and based on centennial calendars, was first set in motion by Christophe Claret Manufacture in Le Locle, Switzerland. There are two additional graduations of 100 years each, which means a total span of over 300 years. The caseback is quite exceptional all by itself, featuring a year counter to help identify correction for the planets – Mars takes 25 years, the Earth takes 1156 years, while the Moon a mere 7 years.
As for the sun, it’s a masterpiece – crafted from 18-carat red gold and embellished with a glittering diamond, it has been carefully engraved by hand and represents the watch’s tourbillon bridge, with 2 heads exquisitely signed Phoenix. The other celestial features however aren’t drastically cheaper – in fact, the Moon is made of rhodium, Mars is represented by a single red ruby, while the Earth is a gorgeous blue sapphire.
Hidden inside a superb, 48 mm case, runs a G1800 caliber – extremely precise mechanical movement manufactured with 35 jewels and two barrels, allowing for a 72-hour power reserve. The production is strictly limited to just 20 pieces, all of them fitted with hand-sewn black crocodile leather straps and pin buckles made of 18-carat pink gold, encased in stunningly elegant wooden boxes.
[Extravaganzi]
