Taking Us To The Stars

We talked with Pim Koeslag, CEO of Dutch luxury watchmaker Christiaan Van Der Klaauw, about his career, the Sincere Platinum Jubilee commemorative watch, and how the election of a certain Donald Trump might affect the luxury watch industry.

- SUFFIAN HAKIM

ERUDITE AND COMPOSED, Pim Koeslag is just the kind of man you would expect to lead Christiaan Van Der Klaauw, the independent Dutch luxury watch manufacturer known for incorporating cosmic elements into its designs.

The brand bears the name of its founder, Christiaan van der Klaauw. Born in 1944 in Leiden, Netherlands, he was deeply influenced by the city’s rich history of scientific discovery, particularly the work of his namesake, Christiaan Huygens, a renowned astronomer and physicist.

Van der Klaauw’s passion for horology and astronomy led him to establish his atelier in 1974. It specialises in mechanical watches displaying celestial phenomena like moon phases, planetary orbits, and even zodiac constellations. As these intricate complications are housed in elegant, classically inspired designs, Christiaan Van Der Klaauw watches are not just functional instruments but wearable art as well.

In 2022, Koeslag took over as CEO, the culmination of a lifelong love for the brand. During his recent visit to Singapore, he presented his partners at Sincere Fine Watches with the Christiaan Van Der Klaauw Grand Planetarium Eccentric Sincere Platinum Jubilee. This haute horology masterpiece commemorates Sincere Fine Watches’s 70th anniversary, and the brand’s 50th this year. It was a pleasure to speak with him.

What were your early years in the watch industry like?

I went to a watchmaking school in Amsterdam. After that, I had internships at Quality Watch Service in the Netherlands and then at Patek Philippe the following year. It was at Frederique Constant that I got my first job. It was a mid-range watchmaker with big plans that moved quickly at the time. The company had only 10 people working there, and I was the first watchmaker. After becoming the Head Watchmaker, I moved up to Technical Director. In 2008, I co-founded and became CEO of Ateliers de Monaco.