A model called Astronomia Tourbillon Bucherer BLUE was launched into space on April 8. It spent 17 days, 1 hour and 37 minutes on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour: enough time to orbit planet Earth 273 times.
The commercial astronaut who could afford to take the watch with him on his cosmic journey worth USD 55 million was Israeli businessman Eytan Stibbe.
Many people wondered what the point was of sending a device on a zero-gravity mission that was invented to counter the effect of gravity on timekeeping accuracy when it was announced that the complication in a watch by Jacob & Co. would reach the exosphere for the first time.
The tourbillon would hardly serve its purpose in space if we rule out all the marketing benefits. However, the complete absence of gravity in space is a common misconception — space is a micro-g environment. Yet there's certainly far more symbolic reasons behind the express choice of the Astronomia Tourbillon Bucherer BLUE as the watch to take into orbit.
Jacob & Co. Astronomia Tourbillon Bucherer BLUE
First and foremost, the Astronomia Tourbillon is an exceptional model. Its dial supports a 3D model of the two main constants in our world — the Earth and Moon — where a diamond with 288 facets by Jacob &Co. represents the Earth's satellite.
The construction has four arms. The other two components suspended on them are the dial itself for the hours and minutes, along with the patented triple-axis tourbillon.
The movement that keeps the watch ticking was developed for Jacob & Co. by a company called Les Ateliers 7H38 which worked on the Astronomia project for around two years.
The movement was also assembled by masters at Les Ateliers 7H38, who’ve been involved in making other significant complications for Jacob & Co. Dynamics play a central role here: the four-arm construction makes one revolution around the dial every ten minutes.
That's the same speed the third axis rotates at in the triple-axis tourbillon. The specs for the other two axes are one minute and 2.5 minutes. The Earth's sphere completes a full revolution around its axis every 30 seconds and rotates around the dial every ten minutes. An amphitheater to host the cosmic time display is created by the white-gold case.
In addition, the Astronomia Tourbillon Bucherer BLUE uses a cosmic blue hue — the signature tone of another partner in the project: the company Bucherer. This was the tone used for the surface of planet Earth outlined by diamonds on the caseback, where the Earth forms part of a cosmic picture with a spacecraft and realistic illustration of the Moon.