The Jaeger-LeCoultre Atmos, an (almost) perpetual motion machine
Here, we are talking about a table clock.
But not just any, we show nothing less than the most mechanical, ingenious table clock, of the twentieth century.
This clock makes the impossible possible. It is a perpetual motion machine. It is the Atmos from Jaeger-LeCoultre.
But what exactly is the Atmos?
Developed in 1928 and perfected in 1930, Jaeger-LeCoultre's Atmos is a table clock that operates by fluctuations in room temperature. Inside the hermetically sealed glass case of the clock is a gas that expands or contracts as the temperature fluctuates. This in turn sets a diaphragm in motion, which tensions the mainspring.
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The history of JLC Atmos
We have already described the history of the clock brand in our article on the Reverso by Jaeger-LeCoultre (which you should definitely read after this article), which is why we will devote ourselves directly to the history of the Atmos here.
In 1928, Jean-Léon Reutter, an engineer from Neuchâtel, developed the concept of a clock that seemed to run without a winding mechanism or battery. This later became known as "Atmos 0". A clock that succeeded in converting the termetic energy emanating from temperature fluctuations into mechanical energy, thus setting the balance wheel in motion. Two years after Reutter presented his prototype, he began selling the first models of it. This Atmos, however, was afflicted with a lot of teething troubles and, despite its revolutionary mechanism, did not sell very well.
Enter Jaques-David LeCoultre. The son of Antoine LeCoultre, who was to co-found the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand in the same decade, became aware of the revolutionary clock by chance. He was of the opinion that the faults were not in the mechanics, but in the lack of clockmaking skills, and were therefore solvable for him. LeCoultre contacted Reutter and had him travel to Le Sentier to jointly develop an improved "New Atmos" under LeCoultre's direction.
After just a few changes, LeCoultre begins to market the "Atmos II". These changes include the airtight sealing of the case and the replacement of the previously used mercury with ethyl chloride. The clockmaker was to be proven right in believing in the potential of the Atmos, as within a very short time the clock becomes an award-winning cult object and an official state gift from the Swiss government.
However, the further development of the Atmos should not stop here. Namely, the clock still had to overcome technical obstacles. Since it can only draw very little energy due to its unconventional energy source, it is impossible to operate additional functions. Another caliber, which produces a little bit more energy, should be the solution. So that at the end of 1990 new Atmos clocks with moon phases could be developed. Since then, Jaeger-leCoultre has not been content to sit on its laurels and continues to develop new complications for the Atmos.
In addition, Jaeger-LeCoultre has since 1970 to let renowned designers reinterpret the Atmos and then publish these creations as special editions. But more about that later.
| Year | Milestone |
| 1928 | Invention of the Atmos concept |
| 1930 | Launch Atmos 0 |
| 1939 | Launch Atmos II from JLC |
| 1950 | Official government gift |
| 1951 | Annual production reaches 10'000 pcs. |
| 1970 | First designer Atmos released |
| 1979 | 500'000pcs were sold |
| 1982 | Caliber 540 with more power |
| 1990 | First Atmos with moon phase |
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The technology of the Atmos
As already mentioned in the intro, the Atmos is (almost) a perpetual motion machine. A short digression for all those who do not know exactly what a perpetual motion machine is:
A perpetual motion machine is a machine that produces more energy than it consumes, or a machine that can keep itself in motion without external influences. The name is Latin and means something like "to keep itself going". It is important to know that a perpetual motion machine cannot exist. On the one hand, the law of conservation of energy states that there can be no machine that produces more energy than it consumes, and on the other hand, the perpetual motion machine experiments always produce friction, which means that friction is constantly lost through the operation of the machine.
Back to the Atmos
How can the Atmos be an (almost) perpetuum mobile? Well, as I said, the clock draws energy from the fluctuation of the room temperature. Already a difference of one degree Celsius makes the Atmos run for 48h. Since there is practically no room in which the temperature does not change by at least one °C per day, this clock runs on its own and forever.
But now to the essentials, how does the mechanism work that allows the Atmos to run at temperature? Compared to a mechanical movement, only two elements have been adjusted.
First, of course, the winding. Where a mechanical clock gains its energy by turning the crown or a flywheel, the Atmos runs even more automatically.
Inside the hermetically sealed case is a gas that reacts very sensitively to room temperature. Namely, it expands or contracts, depending on the fluctuation. A membrane that can move, a bit like a chord. The movements of the diaphragm are transmitted to the mainspring, which thereby winds up.
Furthermore, the Atmos must get by with as little energy as possible. To achieve this goal, the balance must turn as easily as possible. It hangs on a wire made of a steel alloy, which is literally hair thin. This wire would of course break if the rotation speed was too high, which is why the caliber manages with only 2 vibrations per minute. For comparison, a normal wristwatch has 28'800 vibrations per minute and the El Primero from Zenith has even 36'000 vibrations per minute.
To put in perspective how little energy the Atmos really needs: If you want to produce the same consumption as a single 15Watt light bulb with Atmos table clocks, you would need 60 million Atmos clocks.
Building a clock of this complexity and finesse takes time. A single "normal" Atmos takes eight to ten months. And that's not even counting the 5 weeks it takes to set up the clock. All Atmos models are made and assembled entirely by hand in the Manufacture in Le Sentier.
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Models and special editions
Collection Atmos Classic
REF. Q5102201
The Classic
Without big complications and ad-ons, the Classic Collection shows only the hours and the minutes. Therefore, it is already available for €11'900. It is available in rhodium-plated brass and gold-plated brass.
Collection Atmos Classic Moonphase
REF. Q5112202
Simple Moon Phase
It looks very similar to the Classic model, the same colors and materials are also available. The difference, who would have thought, the Classic Moonphase is equipped with moon phase calendar and a month display. Price wise we start here at € 13'700.
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Collection Atmos Transparente
REF. Q5135204
For the tech savvy
The transparent is kept simple with displays for hours and minutes. The dial is made of glass and it has a transparent frame so that you can admire every detail of the clock without exception. Here the price starts at € 15'500.
Collection Atmos Infinite
REF. Q540531J
The youngest among the Atmos models received a new round base and the cube-shaped case was replaced by a cylinder, for the perfect all-round look. A particularly futuristic loock is achieved by the black lacquered dial. The Infinite was launched in 2022 and features the, for JLC typical decorations, as well as Geneva stripes. In terms of price, we are already making a jump here to € 21,500.
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Atmos Hybris Mechanica
REF: Q5765300
Let's continue with the probably most complicated Atmos (as of Nov. 23).
The Hybris Mechanica Calibre 590 shows, in addition to the hour and minute display, a day and night display, the month, moon phases, ornamental circle signs, as well as the position of the sun, moon and earth.
The latter is displayed in 3D above the dial. The research to develop this Atmos took 4years. A caliber had to be developed that reproduces the cycles of the Earth, Sun and Moon. The moon orbits the earth in a spherical shape within a synodic month, while simultaneously passing through the lunar phases. One lap of the moon has been determined to be exactly 29days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2 seconds. This is the annual average, as this value varies due to the elliptical shape of the moon's orbit. The mechanism is so close to reality that a deviation of one day occurs only every 5'770 years.
We dare not even estimate the price of these Atmos, there are only 10 pices.
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Designer Collaborations
As already mentioned, Jaeger-LeCoultre has often collaborated with famous designers and let them interpret the design of the Atmos themselves. The most famous of them we now present to you. It is almost impossible to estimate the value of these clocks, as they are all strictly limited special editions.
Atmos du Millenaire Atlantis – 1999
An Atmos to ring in the new millennium. The design is based on a unique model designed by the designer agency Kohler and Rekow from Paris in 1988. The 1999 model has, in addition to the time display, a month display in French, moon phase display and a millennial calendar. The calendar is spiral around the dial.
Atmos Marqueterie «Le Baiser» – 2012
The clock itself is not even "so special" here it is an Atmos 3 with independent minute hand. The special thing here is the casing of the case. More than 1,200 tiny pieces of wood form a box that encloses the clock. Through a different marquetry processing of the individual parts, the wooden packaging shows an image of the world-famous painting "the kiss" by Gustav Klimt.
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Atmos «Cherry Blossom» Regulator – 2022
"A unique work of art and the largest piece of grand feu enamel created by Jaeger-LeCoultre."
- Lionel Favre, Design Director.
As with the Atmos Marqueterie, the clock is not the most impressive part here, which is not easy with such an ingenious clock. The big attraction is the panels on both sides of the Atmos, as well as the bezels, around the dials. Jaeger-leCoultre has proven once and for all with this movement that they have mastered the fine art of enameling like no one else.
Email is a decoration of surfaces that JLC also uses to decorate the back of their new colored Reverso, for example. First, the black background is dry enameled. In this process, the enameller sifts the enamel mass in powder form onto the surface. This must be repeated until it has the correct depth and blackness. After each repetition, the plate must be fired in the oven, cooled and ironed. Only then does the application of the paint begin. Here, one of the most difficult things to apply are the ornate miniature decorations.
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Marc Newson
Marc Newson can easily be called the most influential designer of today. When it comes to designing clocks, fans of Gerald Genta also have a say, but decide for yourself:
Which designer was more important?
The designer of, among others, the Nautilus by Patek Philippe and the Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet.
Or
The designer of the Apple watch and no less than 3 Atmos models?
Atmos Marc Newson 561 – 2008
Marc Newson's first design for Jaeger-LeCoultre was simple. The case consists of a custom-made case made of mouth-blown Baccarat crystal, which protects the precious mechanism. The dial houses a month display and a moon phase display. On the back of the clock there is Newson's signature and individual numbering. Indeed, only 88 pieces were produced.
Atmos Marc Newson 566 – 2010
The second design by Marc Newson, for JLC differs from the first primarily in that the case is mouth-blown from a blue Baccarat crystal. However, there is also a led crystal version. The dial is filled with an actual display of the Northern Hemisphere night sky, along with the cardinal directions and zodiac signs. The 566 is limited to 28 blue and 28 crystal models.
Atmos Marc Newson 568 – 2016
The latest Marc Newson and JLC design is all about simplicity. The complications are the same as on the 561, but they have been designed and adapted to be almost unnoticeable without actively looking at them. The month display is now parallel with the time display and, uncharacteristically for the Atmos, the entire moon cycle is shown here.
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Value development
We've already covered the performance of Jaeger-LeCoultre clocks in our article: "Rolex vs. JLC", but I'd still like to talk specifically about the performance of the Atmos series here.
The Atmos Classic collection is like most Jaeger-LeCoultre clocks. They have an average loss in value of 20% after new purchase, at which value they then more or less stagnate. The new Atmos Infinite will most likely fare similarly, but not enough data has been collected to determine that.
The limited editions, including the designer pieces clearly increase in value. It's almost impossible to get your hands on such a model, as the collectors who have managed to get their hands on them aren't interested in selling them.
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Maintenance and care
From everything we've been able to learn about the Atmos so far, it's no surprise that the maintenance and care of such a timepiece is elementary.
Set up
It should be clear that you have to place it on a horizontal, flat surface. However, once the clock has been placed, it must not be moved. Also, the maintenance cleaning must be done without moving the clock.
To set the time, simply turn the minute hand clockwise with your finger. Attention: the hour hand must not be moved! And none of the hands may be moved counterclockwise. Before setting the time, make sure that the balance wheel is properly blocked.
As mentioned in the description of the technique, the balance is attached to a very thin wire. Therefore, it is crucial that it is fixed before doing anything with the clock. Also, when changing the time at home or setting the time.
To lock the balance properly, you have to move the lever from left to right at the right moment. The only moment when you cannot damage the clock is exactly when the balance is finished swinging in one direction and before it swings back again. Remember, the Atmos only makes two half oscillations per minute, so you have plenty of time to wait for that exact moment.
Transportation
To transport the clock, only the original packaging of Jaeger-LeCoultre is good and safe enough. If you no longer have your original packaging, you can even report this to JLC and receive a transport packaging.
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All-round revision
There is no exact time when a revision is recommended. Therefore, one should definitely undertake one if the Atmos shows significant inaccuracies.
During the revision, similar to the service of a Rolex, the entire clock is disassembled, the case is cleaned, the movement is cleaned, oiled, and wear parts are replaced.
The price of the service depends on the model and effort, but after the revision you have again a warranty on the clock of 36 months.
If you bring your Atmos to the service, you have to do without it for about five to ten weeks.
Conclusion
This is not a clock. Rather, the Atmos from Jaeger-LeCoultre is a work of art that can display the time. Personally, I haven't seen a clock that looks so simple and is so complex in a long time.
What do you think of the Atmos? Do you have a favorite model?
Source Coverimage: press.Jaeger-LeCoultre.com
About the author
Benno Büchler
In pursuit of more charmingly atypical watches, the teenage interest developed into a real passion. I strive to find the perfect combination of deviant and ravishing for the wrist.
