A marvel of perpetual motion
With a unique mechanism invented in 1928 by Swiss engineer Jean-Léon Reutter and refined for series production by the watchmakers of LeCoultre & Cie (later Jaeger-LeCoultre), Atmos operates independently of human intervention, requiring no winding or external energy input. Known as the ‘clock that runs on air’, it is powered by a movement that effectively achieves perpetual motion by drawing its energy from barely perceptible variations in ambient temperature.
This thermal energy is transformed into mechanical energy, which drives the movement of the balance wheel. The secret lies in a hermetically sealed, gas-filled capsule, which is connected to the clock’s drive spring by a membrane. The slightest temperature variation changes the gas volume, causing the membrane to expand and contract –
‘breathing’ like the bellows of an accordion. This action winds the spring, providing the minuscule energy needed for the balance wheel’s once-a-minute, back-and-forth oscillation. A temperature fluctuation of a single degree Celsius is enough to provide the clock with an operating autonomy of about two days.
The technical requirements of the mechanism determine the distinctive architecture of the Atmos mechanism, which has anchored the clock’s strong aesthetic identity since the beginning. This strong identity also makes the Atmos an ideal canvas for artistic creativity and since the 1970s, Jaeger-LeCoultre has invited a series of leading designers, as well as masters of traditional artistic crafts, to reinterpret the clock in their own style.
Purity
Light and precision
A distinct visual identity: Marc Newson conceives the Atmos Designer Calibre 568 as an expression of clarity and precision. Stripped to its essentials, the design emphasises lightness, transparency, and legibility, allowing the movement to appear freely suspended within its hand-crafted Baccarat crystal case. In his 2026 interpretation, the designer preserves the clock’s particular purity while also adding new functions and a distinct visual identity. The monochromatic palette draws attention to the intricate mechanics behind the sunrise and sunset indications and the Equation of Time, making the complexity of the movement immediately visible.
The selection of the design’s material naturally led to crystal. Its inherent aesthetic qualities and unique finish prompted Marc Newson to choose it for his project. The French company Baccarat, a celebrated traditional crystal manufacturer founded in 1764, is one of the very few with the necessary technical expertise to create the cabinet as envisioned: a square with rounded corner – evocative of a slowly melting ice cube – with absolute transparency and apparent fragility belying the structural strength required to support the weight of the mechanism.
A technically complex feat: Requiring almost four years of research and development, the mouth-blown cabinet is a single, solid piece of crystal – except for a removable sheet of glass that allows access to the mechanism if necessary – its thickness reduced to just 13 mm in some places. After blowing, the red-hot crystal is carefully contoured into the envisioned shape using a two-sided mould to better control the cooling process and preserve the desired tolerances.
A floating architecture: Central to the clock’s architecture, the crystal must be extremely strong and stable to support the movement while giving the illusion that it floats in space within case. Visible only from the back of the clock, the four attachment points for the movement – rather than three as on traditional Atmos clocks – create symmetry and draw attention to the beautifully finished components.
Calibre 568’s dial is optimised for easy legibility with the time effortlessly read thanks to the simplicity of the Arabic numerals, printed in white on a black-tinted sapphire crystal disc and encircled by a minute track. The months are marked, in French, on an inner circle.
The displays for the new complications maintain the simplicity – but appearances obscure the complex technical reality of this objet d’art. Appearing as a concentric ring between the months and hours, the times of sunrise and sunset are marked on a sapphire crystal disc, each indicated by a small arrow on the edge of the disc. The equation of time – the difference between the current mean time and solar time – is depicted as an ellipse surrounding the hand arbour, which moves to display the correct +/- minutes on the scale behind it. This collection will feature three distinct Atmos clocks, each meticulously designed to represent a different latitude: 30°, 40°, and 50°.
An exclusive production: Each timepiece in this exclusive limited production of just 50 pieces worldwide per year will not only showcase the intricate
‘Equation Of Time’ but will also elegantly display the precise sunset and sunrise times specific to its designated latitude. While the moon phases are displayed on a smoothly finished disc at 6 o’clock, the calculations for the equation of time, sunset, and sunrise on these limited production pieces are precisely tailored to their respective geographical latitudes. Jaeger- LeCoultre’s watchmakers have been able to achieve a remarkable degree of precision in the display, to only one day of discrepancy in every 4,087 years. If the Atmos is left unattended and running continuously, its displays will remain correct for this entire period – the only exception being bi-annual adjustments for Daylight Savings Time in countries that use the protocol.
For a new moment in time, Marc Newson’s vision combined with the Ateliers of La Grande Maison, has yielded a timeless
objet d’art, an infinite clock that seems to defy the physics of time altogether. With its translucent beauty and seemingly delicate simplicity, the Atmos 568 by Marc Newson offers an enduring showcase for time to flow in perpetuity.
Marc Newson stands among the most influential designers of his generation. He shapes objects where technology meets sculpture – where precision finds movement, and function becomes form. His work is characterised by fluid lines, material sophistication and an obsessive attention to detail. Marc Newson gained recognition for his avant-garde designs that combined radical simplicity with advanced engineering. This singular vision has led to collaborations with some of the world’s most prestigious brands, across aviation, automotive, technology and luxury. It finds a natural echo in Jaeger-LeCoultre, where innovation and craftsmanship are inseparable. In revisiting icons such as Atmos and Memovox, Newson did not overwrite, he revealed. He introduced a contemporary design language while preserving their mechanical soul, extending their presence forward, between memory and invention.
“Working with Jaeger-LeCoultre remains a dream,” says the designer.
“My admiration is longstanding, dating back to my youth in Australia. Jaeger-LeCoultre’s masterful, exemplary coherence of design heritage - together with a relentless commitment to innovation - unquestionably inspired my life-long passion for timepieces. Several decades later, it’s a pleasure to acknowledge our numerous collaborations. My work on the Atmos since 2008 - designing beautifully reimagined iterations - occupies a particularly special, symbolic space in our ongoing partnership.”Born in 1928, Atmos is a clock like no other. An invention that appears to defy the laws of physics, running for centuries without the need for any conventional energy source or rewinding. Instead, its mechanism is powered by normal, everyday fluctuations in air temperature; a variation of just one degree Celsius is sufficient to guarantee two days of running time. Since the 1930s, Jaeger-LeCoultre has harnessed the Manufacture’s watchmaking skills to continually make technical improvements, and its creative talents to enhance what has become a prized
objet d’art. While the glass cube based on the Art Deco design of Atmos II has become an instantly recognisable classic, Jaeger-LeCoultre has also collaborated with renowned designers and master artisans to create special editions of Atmos.
The Watchmaker of Watchmakers™
Since 1833, driven by an unquenchable thirst for innovation and creativity, and inspired by the peaceful natural surroundings of its home in the Vallée de Joux, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been distinguished by its mastery of complications and the precision of its mechanisms. Known as the Watchmaker of Watchmakers™, the Manufacture has expressed its relentlessly inventive spirit through the creation of more than 1,400 different calibres and the award of more than 430 patents. Harnessing over 190 years of accumulated expertise, La Grande Maison’s watchmakers design, produce, finish and ornament the most advanced and precise mechanisms, blending passion with centuries- old savoir-faire, linking the past to the future, timeless but always up with the times. With 180 skills brought together under one roof, the Manufacture creates fine timepieces that combine technical ingenuity with aesthetic beauty and a distinctively understated sophistication.