JACOB & CO x Hermle Astronomia Tellurium: A Cosmic Clock on a Grand Scale

A Measured Take

• The JACOB & CO x Hermle Astronomia Tellurium stands 35 cm high and 29 cm wide, with a rhodium-plated brass and crystal case.
• Four rotating arms orbit a central axis, each displaying the time, Earth, a celestial sphere, and the gravitational tourbillon respectively.
• An 8-day striking movement powers the piece and produces four chimes.
• The clock recreates the relative positions of the sun, moon, and zodiac constellations, supported by an annual sidereal calendar.
• A Jacob-cut, 288-facet citrine representing the sun occupies the centre of the orbital arm system.

JACOB & CO and the Grammar of Grand Complications

JACOB & CO, the New York-founded luxury house known for pushing mechanical watchmaking into sculptural territory, has built its reputation on movements that perform as much as they tell the time. The Astronomia line sits at the top of that hierarchy: a family of pieces defined by a rotating, multi-arm architecture that carries independent mechanical modules around a central axis. Applying that architecture to a table clock format, in partnership with Hermle Uhrenmanufaktur, opens a different scale of ambition entirely.

Hermle Uhrenmanufaktur is a German movement manufacturer with deep expertise in striking and chiming clock mechanisms. Bringing the two houses together places JACOB & CO’s visual and complication language inside a movement tradition built for precision timekeeping over extended power reserves. The collaboration is a logical extension of the Astronomia concept: the table clock format removes the constraints of a wrist-worn case and allows the orbital arms to operate at a size where every element becomes fully legible.

For collectors in the Gulf region, where grand statement pieces are displayed as interior focal points as much as they are treasured for their mechanical content, a table clock of this specification occupies a distinct category. It functions equally as horological instrument and as an object to be lived with in a significant interior space. Presentations of this kind attract strong interest across Dubai, Riyadh, and Doha, where appetite for extraordinary mechanical objects extends well beyond the wristwatch. The official JACOB & CO website carries further details on the Astronomia family and current availability through the brand’s boutique network.

The Orbital Architecture

The defining structural feature of the Astronomia Tellurium is its four-arm rotating system. Each arm carries a distinct function: one displays the time, a second carries a representation of Earth, a third mounts a celestial sphere, and the fourth houses the gravitational tourbillon. All four orbit the central axis simultaneously, creating a continuously changing three-dimensional display that mirrors, in mechanical terms, the motion of celestial bodies around the sun. The physical scale of the piece, 35 cm in height and 29 cm in width, gives each arm enough clearance to move without the spatial compression that limits a wristwatch version of the same complication.

The case material reinforces the visual register: rhodium-plated brass provides the structural frame, while the crystal panels allow unobstructed views of the mechanism from multiple angles. In practice, the result is closer to a kinetic sculpture than a conventional mantel clock. The gravitational tourbillon, positioned on its own dedicated arm, rotates continuously as part of the orbital cycle rather than remaining fixed in a dial aperture, which means its regulating function is visible from the exterior at almost any position in the arm’s rotation.

The Jacob-Cut Citrine and the Celestial Calendar

At the mechanical and visual centre of the piece sits a Jacob-cut citrine representing the sun. The Jacob cut is JACOB & CO’s proprietary faceting approach, here applied to produce 288 individual facets on a single gemstone. Positioned at the hub of the rotating arm system, the stone catches and refracts light as the arms orbit around it, reinforcing the solar metaphor at the heart of the design. Citrine’s warm yellow tone is a deliberate choice: it reads as luminous against the rhodium and crystal of the surrounding case without requiring the deeper colour saturation of more intense yellow stones.

Beyond the visual centrepiece, the clock carries a serious calendrical function. The mechanism recreates the relative positions of the sun, moon, and zodiac constellations, providing a real-time celestial map updated by the movement itself. An annual sidereal calendar adds a further layer of precision, tracking Earth’s position relative to fixed stars rather than the solar year alone. The 8-day power reserve, driven by a striking movement that produces four chimes, means the clock sustains this full display without daily winding, a practical consideration for a piece intended to run continuously in a collector’s residence or a showroom environment. Pieces of this complexity are regularly celebrated at major horological events such as Watches and Wonders, where the market for grand complications continues to expand.

Why It Matters

The JACOB & CO x Hermle Astronomia Tellurium represents a meeting point between German clock-movement expertise and the kind of theatrically ambitious mechanical design that JACOB & CO has made its signature. For GCC collectors who seek objects that command a room while delivering genuine horological substance, a piece that combines a sidereal calendar, gravitational tourbillon, celestial sphere, and a 288-facet gemstone sun within a single rotating frame is a compelling proposition. It sets a clear marker for what the Astronomia concept can achieve when freed from the dimensions of a wristwatch case.

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