This week marked 50 years since Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to enter space and orbit the earth. To celebrate the anniversary of the first human in space a cool watch has turned up by designer Bernhard Lederer. The watch is a very limited edition piece and the design is inspired by the Vostok space capsule that Gagarin rode into the history books.
The first watch will be auctioned off this week at Sotheby’s in New York and has a 60-second timer that orbits around the face of the watch counterclockwise to match the orbit of the historic space flight. The orbiting tourbillion is inspired by the statue commemorating the flight at the landing site of the capsule in Engels, Russia.
The watch has an integrated magnifying glass so the wearer can see all the details of the gears and dials. The watch has a movement powered by manual winding with an 80-hour power reserve. The case is made from platinum 950, has a sapphire crystal display, and text highlights from Gagarin’s flight engraved on it. Only 50 of these watches have been made in platinum.