Jacob & Co. Astronomia Everest Black Gold

There's no arguing that the Astronomia Tourbillon revolutionized watchmaking when it was introduced in 2014. But it's not exactly considered an outdoorsman's watch.

That didn't stop renowned Swedish explorer and adventure activist Johan Ernst Nilson from taking an Astronomia Tourbillon with him on his recent expedition to the Himalayas.

"I wore the regular Astronomia Tourbillon on my last climb to the Himalayas, where I went up to 6,200 meters (almost 20,000 feet), in -30 C degree, extreme conditions," Nilson says. "I used the Astronomia on the climb in order to test it. You would think that such a complicated watch would be delicate and fragile, but it isn't, and it performed perfectly in all conditions. I used it climbing up ice walls, with my ice ax, banging it against rock and ice and it held up extremely well."

Nilson has climbed the Seven Summits (and many other peaks), visited 172 countries and some of the most remote places on Earth, and he is in the Guinness Book of World Records for his Three Poles Challenge Expedition. His travels and experiences have allowed him to see climate change and its consequences first hand, and now Nilson is an activist for change, leading people on expeditions and giving talks and making films about the environment.