ce Jewelers and Christiaan van der Klaauw jointly present the stAriadne, a limited edition collaboration uniting the Dutch Jeweller and the Dutch watch brand. Using the brand’s Ariadne as a template, the stAriadne features a sleek fog grey dial with black counter rings, and star-shaped hour indexes, housed in a stainless steel case.

“Alon and I have a longstanding connection and have collaborated on various other projects,” says Pim Koeslag, CEO of Christiaan van der Klaauw Astronomical Watches. “When I joined Christiaan van der Klaauw Watches, Team Ace and Alon promptly shared their vision with me - and I was eager to embrace it. Back at our brand, we were captivated by their concept of personalising the iconic Ariadne model, not only giving it a stylish makeover with colours inspired by the Amsterdam cityscape, but also creatively replacing the hour numbers with stars. It’s a fitting homage to the astronomical inspiration that defines our brand.”

The Ace x Christiaan van der Klaauw stAriadne is based on the latest generation of the Ariadne, a self-winding wristwatch with chronograph, full calendar displaying the date, day and month, and moon phase indicator. The stAriadne features a dial in fog grey, with a frosted finish. The radially brushed counter rings – normally silver - are executed in deep black, as are most of the hands, the moon phase display, and the discs for the day and month. Saving the best for last, the most standout feature is probably the star-shaped hour markers which replace the Arabic numerals of the standard production versions.

Even though Christiaan van der Klaauw is influenced by heavenly bodies and astronomical phenomena, the brand has never before used star-shaped hour markers. But the so-called ‘Stelline’ dial is not new to watchmaking. Some of the first examples include watches such as the now highly sought-after Rolex 6062 and 6098 of the 1950’s. A few decades later, the phenomenon made a brief resurgence on early chronographs by the ‘Master of Complications’ Franck Muller. A more recent example of a star dial is the Habring2 Erwin Star by watch blog extraordinaire SJX.

“This collaboration represents the realisation of a childhood dream for me: to co-create a Christiaan van der Klaauw wristwatch,” says Alon Ben Joseph, CEO of Ace Jewelers. “Ever since my first meeting with Mr. Van der Klaauw as a child during the Basel watch fair in the 1980s, the dream of becoming authorised dealers has persisted for more than three decades. The stars finally aligned when my friend Pim Koeslag joined the company. Once we became exclusive retailers of CvdK in Amsterdam, the collaboration began to take shape. We are extremely humbled and proud to have been able to create the beautiful watch that is the stAriadne.”

Christiaan van der Klaauw is a Dutch independent watch brand that specialises in astronomical complications and functions inspired by celestial movements. Notable achievements include crafting the world’s smallest mechanical planetarium and the most accurate 3D moon phase, deviating only one day in 11,000 years.

In 1974, Christiaan van der Klaauw unveiled his first clock with astronomical complications, marking the start of an extraordinary journey. Recognised as one of the world’s top clockmakers, he received an honourable membership in the Swiss Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants in 1989. In 1994, the brand introduced the Satellite du Monde wristwatch, featuring time, day, date, moon phase, day-night indicator, and earth’s noon location. The Planetarium, the world’s smallest mechanical planetarium, arrived in 1999.

Following Mr. Van der Klaauw’s retirement in 2009, the reins of the brand were taken up by the designer duo Daniël Reintjes and Maria Reintjes. They successfully repositioned the brand, opting to concentrate solely on astronomical watches, leading it to unprecedented success. Their strategic move garnered recognition in the world of Haute Horlogerie in 2016. The dynamic couple introduced a new collection, featuring exquisite astronomical complications, such as the Real Moon series boasting the most accurate 3D moon phase in the world.

Notably, Daniël and Maria crafted two exceptional Planetarium masterpieces exclusively for the high jewellery Maison Van Cleef & Arpels. In a crowning achievement in 2021, they received the ultimate accolade in the realm of watchmaking - the prestigious Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) - Calendar and Astronomy Watch Award. In 2022, Pim Koeslag, former technical director of Frederique Constant, became co-owner and master watchmaker. Today, Christiaan van der Klaauw Astronomical Watches is the only atelier globally devoted to crafting exclusive, hand-made astronomical timepieces.

The Dutch Ace Jewelers is owned and run by the Ben Joseph family. It encompasses both a luxurious boutique and an international eBoutique. Situated in Amsterdam’s Museum Quarter in The Netherlands, the Ace & Dik boutique proudly serves as an authorised dealer for a wide array of top-tier fine jewellery and watch brands. These include Tudor, Zenith, Nomos Glashutte, Vulcain, Nivada Grenchen, Bremont, Bron Dutch Jewelry, Royal Asscher, Nanis, and numerous others.

Over the past decade, Ace Jewelers has collaborated with various brands to create limited edition timepieces, all of which have garnered critical acclaim. Since its inception in 1975, Ace Jewelers has also maintained an extensive collection of high-end, certified pre-owned watches. In 2008, Ace Jewelers introduced the eBoutique AceJewelers.com, establishing itself as one of the first omni-channel retailers in the industry.

The Ace x Christiaan van der Klaauw stAriadne is available for pre-order in a one-time limited run of just 50 pieces at a price of EUR 9.450 incl. VAT / EUR 7.810 excl. VAT – which is the same as the regular production versions - from Ace Jewelers boutique in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, as well as online via AceJewelers.com.

Each piece is custom made for the client, who can choose between Dutch and English for the calendar discs, as well as pick a unique number out of 50, hand-engraved by master-engraver Jochen Benzinger on the rotor of the movement. Production starts from Q2 of 2024, with a planned average of five pieces leaving the CvdK manufacture per month.