The Swiss Musical Starship
This is the heirloom music box that transports a listener beyond Earth’s bounds with three melodies from space icons Star Wars and Star Trek. Crafted in Sainte-Croix, Switzerland by renowned horologists Reuge, it plays 35-second excerpts from the Star Wars theme, the Imperial March, and the Star Trek theme in layers of rich sound that implies galaxy-spanning sentient design.
Taking the form of a minimalist-designed starship, the music box’s body is made of black-lacquered walnut with a brass vibration plate that provides optimal resonance, while its twin outriggers are made from anodized aluminum. A nickel-plated brass cylinder treated with resin for sonic clarity rotates via a precise Cartel 4.144 movement, its wire pins are plucked by a 72-note tempered-steel comb in perfect time. Each tooth in the comb is tuned to a specific frequency; lower notes are weighted for optimal sonority and dampened by synthetic “feathers” for mellifluous tone.
