If you need to know which constellations are above you in the sky at any given moment, Vacheron Constantin has you covered.
The Swiss watchmaker is rolling out the “Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication — La Première,” which it called the “most complicated wristwatch ever made.”
According to the watchmaker’s website, the 45-mm-diameter and 14.99-mm-high watch comprises 1,521 components. The website says that the watch has 41 complications — a horology term referring to any function of a watch that goes beyond the display of time.
It took eight years of development and 13 patent applications to get the watch out, Vacheron Constantin said.
The timepiece looks ultra sleek and modern, with black dials accented with metallic gray and white tones. The watch is double-sided, with its top face featuring four subdials and its inner face showing the position of the stars.
Apart from telling its wearer the time, the watch also shows the sun’s position, height, trajectory, and angle relative to the Earth. It also lets the wearer know which constellations are overhead and how long it will take for a star to be visible.
The watch was revealed at the Watches and Wonders trade fair in Geneva on Tuesday, CNN reported.
Representatives for Vacheron Constantin did not respond to queries from Business Insider regarding the retail price of the watch, when it would be available for sale, and how many pieces of this model would be released.
The new watch follows the watchmaker’s history of making ultra-complicated watches. In 2024, it released the “Les Cabinotiers – The Berkley Grand Complication,” a pocketwatch with 63 complications and 2,877 components.
Paul Altieri, founder and CEO of watch reseller Bob’s Watches, told BI fitting 41 complications into a wristwatch while keeping it wearable was “mind-blowing” and “a total flex of horological muscle.”
“It’s less of a watch and more of a statement — the ultimate blend of art, engineering, and ego,” Altieri said.
But a watch with this many complications is “extremely delicate,” Altieri said. Any servicing required would likely take months, and can probably be done only by Vacheron’s top-level master watchmakers in Geneva, he added.
“Collectors and horological folks will worship it, but it’s definitely not meant for mass appeal. It’s meant as a show-stopper. A jaw-dropper,” Altieri said.
