St. Petersburg, Russia

Aleksandr Nesterenko designer and owner of Raketa has reissued the Soviet-designed watch named after Nicolaus Copernicus, the Polish mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than Earth at its center—a controversial (back then) theory named heliocentrism published his book De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres) in 1543, just before his death.

Now known as a major event in the history of science, this conception of the Sun being the center of our system changed our entire conception of astronomy, time and philosophy.

“When Soviet Raketa designers created the Copernicus model, they had the following idea in mind: the big circle (minute hand) symbolizes the Earth, and the intermediary circle (hour hand) symbolizes Jupiter,” states Raketa.

“Why? Because the Earth orbits the sun in 1 year and Jupiter in 12 years: exactly the same ratio as between the minute hand (big circle) that ‘orbits’ the dial in 1 hour and the hour hand (intermediary circle) that “orbits” the dial in 12 hours.”

The Raketa re-released the emblematic Copernicus watch, with a design that was mixing elements of the earliest models, with the background consisting of an off-centered star with its rays radiating from its center, and a display that evokes the position of the planets relative to the sun, with (back then) two circles—one opened, one full—and a central seconds hand.

IN 2021, the brand introduced the new limited edition that, without changing entirely the basic concept of the Copernicus watch, adds several unique features to make it even more celestial.

First, it is housed in a stainless-steel case of 40.5mm with a black PVD coating.

On top is still an ultra-domed sapphire crystal that adds to the thickness of the watch but also makes it very special on the wrist, with a bubble-like effect that goes well within this kosmos-like inspiration.

The Raketa Copernicus Limited Edition is worn on a black leather strap with blue stitchings and a red leather lining.

Project: Raketa Copernicus
Designer: Aleksandr Nesterenko
Manufacture: Raketa