Shooting stars have captivated our thoughts since we first heard about them. Stars are already interesting enough – a celestial form in the dark sky that twinkles and sparkles in the distance. But when a star shoots across the sky? That ups the ante a thousand-fold.
Jaeger-LeCoultre has worked with astronomical functions in their watches before, with moon phase displays or perpetual calendars, even the equation of time and sky charts. Now they give us a more playful and oh-so-endearing shooting star, masterfully represented by the artisans of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Métiers Rares® (Rare Handcrafts™) atelier.
Shooting stars are unpredictable, seemingly magical, and absolutely beautiful. Jaeger-LeCoultre has created a new complication to bring that shooting star to life through a watch. The dial is literally a work of art and skill, a multi-level sapphire crystal dial that allows the shooting star to appear and disappear with a simple movement of the wrist. To see how this multi-level dial is put together, check out this JLC video. The star sightings are random, between 4 to 6 times an hour, so you need to be paying attention so you won’t miss it. But you can also be the master of your shooting star; if you really need to gaze upon the beauty of the star shooting across your dial, a few turns of the crown will bring it to light.
Speaking of the multi-level dial, the top most layer has stars, clouds, and a crescent moon, all to hide the shooting star from view. The middle layer has the cut out of the beloved shooting star, set against a dark blue night sky for the white gold watch model or dark taupe for the pink gold watch model. The innermost layer of the dial has a fixed disc with a silvery or golden metal, adding to the sense of movement.
The shooting star is not all the will catch your eye though. Diamonds are a-plenty in this Rendez-Vous Star. There are diamonds on the top most layer of the dial, and on the bezel, lug surfaces, and the crown too. The diamond count is 189, coming to just under a carat and half.
As mentioned previously, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Rendez-Vous Star comes in either white gold (reference Q36434C1) or pink gold (reference Q36424C1). The watch is powered by the automatic mechanical Jaeger-LeCoultre Calibre 734, and has the hours and minutes functions, and the shooting star complication. An elegant alligator strap with a folding buckle completes the look.
Let’s hope this shooting star lands a permanent place on your wrist.
