Staged in a spectacular pavilion ‘floating’ on the waters of the Dubai Fountain, with Burj Khalifa as its backdrop, The Stellar Odyssey leads visitors on a journey through time and space, celebrating the relationship between astronomical phenomena and the measurement of time. Dubai was chosen as the first stop on a tour of major world cities, which will continue throughout 2023 and beyond.

“The Stellar Odyssey is a deeply immersive experience, inviting you to explore the wonders that we can observe in our night sky and their symbiotic relationship with the art of watchmaking,” said Catherine Rénier. “Because the ancient cultures of the Middle East played a seminal role in the origins of time measurement, we are truly honoured to begin the world tour of this exhibition here in Dubai.”

Showcasing a careful curated selection of the Manufacture’s most remarkable historic timepieces as well as its most recent celestially-inspired timepieces, the exhibition features multi-media installations that will take visitors on a virtual journey to the cosmos. It translates the wonders of the celestial world into art installations and multi-sensory experiences, while the Atelier d’Antoine, named after the Maison’s founder, Antoine LeCoultre, shares watchmaking know-how through hands-on educational workshops based on the Stellar Odyssey theme.

In the heart of the main pavilion beneath a geodesic dome, an immersive digital show takes visitors on a virtual journey through space and time, transporting them through infinite space and 13.7 billion years of time to reveal the mysteries of the cosmos in five episodes – from the origins of our known universe to the present day.

Among the highlights of The Stellar Odyssey is also a new art installation, Passengers: Through Time by the French visual artist, Guillaume Marmin, which makes its world debut in Dubai. Specially commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre, its endless reflections and astonishing perspectives invite visitors to reflect on the fundamental question of what time really is.

“Jaeger-LeCoultre’s celestial theme resonates very strongly with me because, working with light and sound, we are at the crossroads of scientific, artistic, philosophical, even mystical questions,” said the artist. “I also have a strong desire to take art out of the galleries and to invest the public space, so it’s a great privilege to invite a wider public to experience my art as part of The Stellar Odyssey.”

To enrich the Stellar Odyssey experience, Jaeger-LeCoultre asked world-renowned mixologist Matthias Giroud to create a special menu of soft cocktails. Regarded as an alchemist-artist in his field, Matthias has combined celestial inspiration with intriguing flavours from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s home in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux. Enjoyed by guests during the opening event, these exceptional mocktails will also be offered to visitors during the 20 days of the exhibition.

Both artists, who flew to Dubai for the opening event, are collaborating with Jaeger-LeCoultre under the aegis of its Made of Makers programme – an ongoing series of collaborations with artists, designers and craftsmen from disciplines outside watchmaking, which explores and extends the dialogue that exists between horology and art.

The Stellar Odyssey exhibition will be open from February 4^th to 23^rd, from 2:00pm to 12:00am on weekdays, and from 2:00pm to 1:00am on weekends, at the Dubai Fountains (Dubai Mall Cinema Parking, lower ground entrance near Bateel) Downtown Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The exhibition is open to the public with free admission, but booking is recommended at https://www.jaeger-lecoultre.com/us-en/news/events/the-stellar-odyssey-exhibition

Exploring the wonders that we can observe in our night sky, The Stellar Odyssey reveals the awe-inspiring phenomena that the watchmakers of Jaeger-LeCoultre express through their celestial complications, displaying mankind’s link to the cosmos directly on the wrist in a literal, philosophical and uniquely captivating way.

Following the inauguration of The Stellar Odyssey at Watches and Wonders in 2022, Dubai has been chosen as the first stop on a tour of major world cities. The exhibition will be staged in a spectacular pavilion ‘floating’ on the waters of the Dubai Fountain, with Burj Khalifa as its backdrop.

“It is an important part of our mission at Jaeger-LeCoultre to share the secrets behind the art and craft of watchmaking with the wider world by bringing our Manufacture from the Vallée de Joux to the public around the globe,” says Catherine Rénier, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “The ancient cultures of the Middle East played a seminal role in the origins of time measurement, and we are therefore delighted that Dubai is where the world tour of The Stellar Odyssey makes its debut. It is a special opportunity to trace the unbroken line through several millennia to the exceptional legacy of innovation that has driven our Maison for 190 years and the work that we do today.”

Showcasing a careful curated selection of the Manufacture’s most remarkable historic timepieces as well as its most recent celestially-inspired timepieces – including the extraordinary Atmos clock and the Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 – the exhibition features multi-media installations that will take visitors on a virtual journey to the cosmos. It translates the wonders of the celestial world into art installations and multi-sensory experiences, while the Atelier d’Antoine, named after the Maison’s founder, Antoine LeCoultre, shares watchmaking know-how through hands-on educational workshops based on the Stellar Odyssey theme.

Revealing the Mysteries of Astronomical Timekeeping in Eight Chapters

Within the main exhibition pavilion, The Stellar Odyssey explores the creative and cultural universe of astronomically-inspired watchmaking in eight chapters. Visitors begin by discovering the very origins of time, the impact of celestial phenomena on the way we measure it, and the origins of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s expertise in developing astronomical complications. Each of the five following chapters leads visitors through a different cosmic phenomenon, displaying rare historic watches as well as timepieces from the most recent collections to illustrate how the Manufacture has continually reinterpreted the movements of the stars and planets in the form of intricate complications that represent, measure and even predict celestial events directly on the wrist.

Enriching the Stellar Experience

In the heart of the main pavilion beneath a geodesic dome, an immersive digital show takes visitors on a virtual journey through space and time, transporting them through infinite space and 13.7 billion years of time to reveal the mysteries of the cosmos in five episodes – from the origins of our known universe to the present day.

“Through a variety of immersive experiences, The Stellar Odyssey presents different interpretations of the cosmos and its relation to timekeeping, inviting visitors to understand it more deeply,” says Catherine Rénier. “As well as transmitting the savoir-faire of watchmaking through the Atelier d’Antoine workshops, these experiences include two special collaborations under our Made of Makers programme.”

Established for the purpose of enriching the dialogue that has long existed between horology, artisanship and art, Made of Makers is a programme of collaborations with artists and artisans from various disciplines outside watchmaking. It focuses on world-class creators who share Jaeger-LeCoultre’s values of creativity, expertise and precision and whose work explores new forms of expression through different and often unexpected materials and media. For The Stellar Odyssey, Jaeger-LeCoultre has commissioned projects by French multi-media artist Guillaume Marmin and world-renowned mixologist Matthias Giroud.

For his installation, Passengers: Through Time, Guillaume Marmin employs light, sound and movement in complex relationships that redefine traditional ideas of sculpture, space and time. As visitors walk through the work, infinite reflections and dizzying perspectives take them on a stellar excursion in which they are the protagonists, inviting reflection on the fundamental question of what time really is. For the Stellar Atelier, Matthias Giroud has created a menu of highly original soft cocktails inspired by the cosmos, taking his inspiration from the colours, temperatures and forms of the stars and planets, and blending familiar ingredients with intriguing scents and flavours from the Vallée de Joux.

In the Atelier d’Antoine, visitors can complete their journey of astral discovery by joining a hands-on Discovery Workshop that focuses on the wonder of astronomical complications and the celestial origins of time-keeping – a rare opportunity to gain deep insight and practical experience of this magical world.

The Stellar Odyssey will be presented from Saturday 4^th to Thursday 23^rd February 2023 at the Dubai Fountain, Downtown Dubai, open daily from 2:00pm to 12.00 am. Tickets may be booked  online at https://online-booking.jaeger-lecoultre.com/domaine/theme12

The Stellar Odyssey highlights the fundamental link between astronomical phenomena, and the history of time-measurement and watchmaking, and celebrates Jaeger-LeCoultre’s uniquely broad expertise in translating celestial phenomena into intricate timepieces. Throughout 2022, Jaeger-LeCoultre takes The Stellar Odyssey Around the World with a touring exhibition and a series of themed events that will embrace inspirational collaborations with a world-renowned mixologist Matthias Giroud and a visual artist, alongside a presentation of its latest celestially-themed timepieces. Throughout the year, as part of its commitment to transmitting watchmaking knowledge to a wider public, Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Atelier d’Antoine will host a programme of hands-on Discovery Workshops focusing on the celestial theme.

“This year, the Stellar Odyssey will continue the Manufacture’s journey around the world, sharing not only our creations that are inspired by the celestial theme, but also translating the wonders of the celestial world into art installations and immersive experiences.”

Catherine Rénier, Jaeger-LeCoultre CEO 

Awarded a Nobel Prize for Physics in 2019 for his game-changing work in astronomy, Didier Queloz is a Professor of Natural Philosophy at Cambridge University (UK) and Professor of Physics at ETH-Zürich (Switzerland). One of the originators of the “exoplanet revolution” in astrophysics, in 1995, he and his PhD supervisor announced the first discovery of a giant planet orbiting another star, outside the solar system – a seminal discovery that spawned a revolution in astronomy and kick-started the field of exoplanet research. He has developed astronomical equipment, new observational approaches and detection algorithms that have led to the discovery of hundreds of previously unknown planets.

Jaeger-LeCoultre’s Stellar Odyssey of 2022 is an invitation to watch lovers and the general public alike, to discover how the mysteries of the cosmos are translated into micro-mechanical wonders for the wrist.