Vacheron Constantin watches

Vacheron Constantin

Latest News

First sunburst green dials in the Overseas collection

Embargo lifted on April 9th 2024, 8:30AM CET

A first in the Overseas collection with the introduction of intense green dials featuring a sunburst satin-finished centre and velvet-finished flange.
A new colour for four pink gold models: chronograph, dual time, date in 41 mm and 35 mm.
Versatile watches delivered with three interchangeable bracelet/straps: a pink gold bracelet with quick-release folding clasp; along with green calfskin and green rubber straps secured by a likewise interchangeable pin buckle.

Intense green has been added to the dials and interchangeable straps of four new Overseas models in pink gold, a first for this collection. In perfect harmony with the spirit of travel, this new hue can now be found on the dials of the 35 mm gemset, 41 mm date, 42.5 mm chronograph and 41 mm dual time models. Water-resistant to 150 metres, each of these new timepieces is equipped with a top-quality self-winding calibre featuring meticulous finishing. The movements feature an oscillating weight engraved with the collection's emblematic compass rose. On these four models, just as on all Overseas watches, the pink gold bracelet with folding clasp is easily adjustable. It can be replaced by a calfskin leather strap or a green rubber strap, each with an interchangeable pin buckle.

New dial color
By endowing the dials of four pink gold models with an intense green colour, the Maison has enhanced the adventurous vocation of the Overseas collection. This new hue breaks with the classic colour codes of Overseas watches: black, silver, pinkish beige and the emblematic blue. Combining the deep brilliance of pink gold with the intensity of green, these new timepieces bring a fresh aesthetic to Vacheron Constantin's sporty-chic watches.
To accentuate the intensity of this new colour, meticulous care has been lavished on the finishing touches. Against a translucent lacquered backdrop playing on depth effects, the centre is graced with sunburst satin-brushing, while the flange is delicately velvet-finished. The legibility of the models is ensured by the contrast between the gold hour-markers and hands highlighted with Super-LumiNova® and the dark dial colour. Featuring a lighter-shaded double minutes track – or a single one on the gemset model – they enable accurate readings of the minutes and seconds. The finishes of the integrated rose gold bracelets with polished and vertical satin-brushed links evoking the shape of a Maltese cross, harmoniously match those of the dials, topped by a circular satin-finished bezel.

Chic yet sport
This new introduction of intense green dials covers different models in the Overseas collection. It includes four references: the 35 mm gemset, the 41 mm self-winding model with date display, the 42.5 mm chronograph and the 41 mm dual time iteration. In keeping with the collection's sporting vocation, these new models with their open sapphire crystal casebacks are water-resistant to 150 metres thanks to a screw-down crown. A soft-iron casing ring provides anti-magnetic protection for the movements. These timepieces feature various calibres with High Watchmaking finishes, all self-winding with an 18K pink gold oscillating weight featuring the collection's emblematic compass rose. Robust, sturdy and beating at a frequency of 4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour), they have a comfortable power reserve.

One watch, three faces
Overseas watches have made versatility one of their most practical and attractive features. Thanks to the interchangeability of its bracelet/straps, each model adopts a different style. The four new models come with an integrated pink gold bracelet featuring a triple-blade quick-release folding clasp. This system makes it possible to achieve an up to 4 mm larger wrist circumference by stretching the last one or even two links connected to the clasp of the rose gold bracelet. The bracelet can be swapped out tool-free for a calfskin or rubber strap. Featuring the same green colour as the dial, these two wristbands feature a pin buckle that is also interchangeable without tools.

From Geometry to Artistry, Vacheron Constantin annual theme
A Vacheron Constantin watch is far more than merely the sum of its parts. Starting from a sketch, a geometrical drawing and its technical extensions, a whole world of shapes, colours and textures is born. The complex structures of mechanical engineering combine with design; meticulous detail gives life to grace; artisanal intelligence sparks emotions. Based on formal, mathematical study, Vacheron Constantin timepieces are thus endowed with a touch of soulfulness and elegance representing the ultimate expression of artistic talent. The classicism of the Traditionnelle collection; the minimalism of the Patrimony watches; the allure of Égérie; and the sporty-chic spirit of Overseas, all vividly illustrate this alchemy within which artistry is inspired by geometrical shapes, expressed through Vacheron Constantin's 2024 theme.

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Questions to Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director

Why did you introduce this intense green colour into the Overseas collection?
The Overseas watches are a collection that lends itself admirably to new colour experiments. This was obvious when the brand introduced a pinkish-beige hue on certain ladies' models, and more recently with a gold-toned dial. From there, it made sense to ask whether the men's timepieces could also adopt colours other than white, black and the emblematic Overseas blue. The first tests largely confirmed what we suspected, particularly with the colour green, a shade already appearing on some of the watches in the Traditionnelle collection. We chose a deep green exuding hints of plants and forests. A sort of call to Nature that makes a perfect fit with the Overseas spirit of travel and exploration.

Steel Overseas watches were not chosen to adopt this new dial colour?
We initially opted for pink gold models. This intense green colour acts as a revealer, enhancing the brilliance of the gold while ensuring exceptional legibility of the watch's functions. The complementary nature of these four references is truly striking when placed side by side and it could well be that this new colour will become as iconic as blue within the collection.

What about the versatility of Overseas watches?
Versatility is a hallmark of the collection and doubtless a much-appreciated quality of Vacheron Constantin's sporty-chic models. These watches must be able to adapt to all circumstances of active life. Within this context, it is a question of ensuring impeccable functionality for models that must also blend elegantly into their environment, however diverse that may be. In this respect, tool-free bracelet/strap interchangeability plays a key role. Whether the wearer opts for an integrated bracelet with a folding clasp enabling length adjustment – also without tools for the first few millimetres – or for a leather or rubber strap, they can choose a style that is casual, classic or sporty. Each combination adds a personalised touch, making it a different model every time. Note that the likewise tool-free interchangeable pin buckle on the collection’s leather and rubber straps means one can now multiply the variations, particularly in terms of colours, by buying the straps alone without the fastening.

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TECHNICAL DATA

Overseas chronograph

Reference
5520V/210R-B966

Calibre
5200
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding
22K gold Overseas oscillating weight
30.6 mm (13¼’’’) diameter, 6.6 mm thick
Approximately 52 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
263 components
54 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Indications
Hours and minutes
Small seconds at 9 o’clock
Date
Column-wheel chronograph (30-minute and 12-hour counters)

Case
18K 5N Pink gold
42.5 mm diameter, 12.67 mm thick
Soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection
Screwed-down crown and quarter-turn screw-lock push-pieces
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistant tested at a pressure of 15 bar (approx. 150 metres)

Dial
Translucent intense green-lacquered, sunburst satin-finished
Green velvet-finished flange and snailed counters
18K 5N pink gold hour-markers and hours, minutes, seconds and counters hands, highlighted with blue Super- 18K 5N pink gold hour-markers and hours, minutes, seconds and counters hands, highlighted with blue Super-LumiNova®

Bracelet
18K 5N pink gold (half Maltese cross-shaped polished and satin-brushed links), secured by a 18K 5N pink gold triple-blade folding clasp with push-pieces and comfort-adjustment system

Additional straps/Buckle
Green calfskin leather with grey stitches
Green rubber
Delivered with a 18K 5N pink gold buckle with interchangeable system, compatible with both additional straps

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TECHNICAL DATA

Overseas dual time

Reference
7920V/210R-B965

Calibre
5110 DT
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding
22K gold Overseas oscillating weight z
30.6 mm (13¼’’’) diameter, 6 mm thick
Approximately 60 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour)
234 components
37 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepieces

Indications
Hours, minutes and central seconds
Second time zone, set by the crown
Day/night (AM/PM) indication at 9 o’clock, synchronised with home time
Date at 6 o’clock, synchronised with local time

Case
18K 5N Pink gold
41 mm diameter, 12 mm thick
Soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection
Screwed-down crown and quarter-turn screw-lock push-piece
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistant tested at a pressure of 15 bar (approx. 150 metres)

Dial
Translucent intense green-lacquered, sunburst satin-finished
Green velvet-finished flange
18K 5N pink gold hour-markers and hours, minutes, seconds and counters hands, highlighted with blue Super-LumiNova®

Bracelet
18K 5N pink gold (half Maltese cross-shaped polished and satin-brushed links), secured by a 18K 5N pink gold triple-blade folding clasp with push-pieces and comfort-adjustment system

Additional straps/Buckle
Green calfskin leather with grey stitches
Green rubber
Delivered with a 18K 5N pink gold buckle with interchangeable system, compatible with both additional straps

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TECHNICAL DATA

Overseas self-winding

Reference
4520V/210R-B967

Caliber
5100
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
22K gold Overseas oscillating weight
30.6 mm (13¼’’’) diameter, 4.7 mm thick
Approximately 60 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour)
172 components
37 jewels
Mechanical, self-winding
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Indications
Hours, minutes and central seconds
Date

Case
18K 5N pink gold
41 mm diameter, 10.69 mm thick
Soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection
Screwed-down crown
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 15 bar (approx. 150 meters)

Dial
Translucent intense green-lacquered, sunburst satin-finished
Green velvet-finished flange
18K 5N pink gold hour-markers and hours, minutes, seconds, highlighted with blue Super-LumiNova®

Bracelet
18K 5N pink gold (half Maltese cross-shaped polished and satin-brushed links), secured by a 18K 5N pink gold triple-blade folding clasp with push-pieces and comfort-adjustment system

Additional straps/Buckle
Green calfskin leather with grey stitches
Green rubber
Delivered with a 18K 5N pink gold buckle with interchangeable system, compatible with both additional straps

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TECHNICAL DATA

Overseas self-winding

Reference
4605V/200R-B969

Calibre
1088/1
Manufacture calibre
Mechanical, self-winding
22K gold Overseas oscillating weight
20.80 mm (9’’’) diameter, 3.83 mm thick
Approximately 40 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
144 components
26 jewels

Indications
Hours, minutes, centre seconds
Date

Case
18K 5N pink gold
35 mm diameter, 9.33 mm thick
Bezel set with 90 round-cut diamonds
Soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection
Screwed-down crown
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 15 bar (approx. 150 metres)

Dial
Translucent intense green-lacquered, sunburst satin-finished base and velvet-finished external minutes track
18K 5N pink gold hour-markers and hours & minutes hands highlighted with blue Super-LumiNova®

Bracelet
18K 5N pink gold (half Maltese cross-shaped polished and satin-brushed links), secured by a 18K 5N pink gold triple-blade folding clasp with push-pieces and comfort-adjustment system

Additional straps/Buckle
Green calfskin leather with grey stitches
Green rubber
Delivered with a 18K 5N pink gold buckle with interchangeable system, compatible with both additional straps

Total diamond-setting
90 diamonds, for a total weight of approx. 0.86 carats (guaranteed minimum carats)

Grand Lady Kalla returns in a highly original chapter : A jewellery watch to be worn in multiple ways

Under embargo until 9 April 2024, 8:30AM CET

A creation reflecting the Maison’s long and rich history of jewellery and pendant watches
A piece that comes to life thanks to the meticulous savoir-faire: a mantle of light, embroidered with 57 facets emerald-cut diamonds on the watch; along with diamonds, Akoya and onyx pearls on the pendant. A high-jewellery and versatile timepiece composed of 268 diamonds, for more than 46 carats.
Creativity as its best: a timepiece composed of a watch and a tassel sautoir that can be worn in four different ways.

The powerful bond between Vacheron Constantin and women has been forged throughout the Maison’s uninterrupted activity since its founding in 1755. Right from its early years – the oldest gemset piece in its private collection dates from 1812 – the Manufacture has cultivated creativity imbued with elegance matching fine craftsmanship in the realm of Haute Joaillerie. The Grand Lady Kalla now adds a dazzling new chapter to this tradition. Based on the design of the iconic Kalla introduced in 1980 – itself heir to the Kallista unveiled in 1979 – the new timepiece offers several ways of wearing it. A luminous treasure born from the virtuoso pairing and setting of more than 46 carats of exclusively emerald-cut diamonds, this model is an outstanding example of Vacheron Constantin's creative freedom and expertise.

A tribute to history
In 1979, Vacheron Constantin made watchmaking history with the Kallista, whose opulence – starring 130 carats of diamonds – was matched only by the innovation of Raymond Morretti's design, a geometric rivière carved out of a solid gold ingot from which the watch's 140 grams were drawn. Issued as a single-piece edition, it was the world’s most expensive watch creation. Its descendants were no less spectacular, as exemplified by the Kalla unveiled in 1980. Also sculpted from a block of 18K yellow gold sparkling with 108 emerald-cut diamonds totalling around 30 carats, the watch became so iconic that it inspired an eponymous collection whose singular creations have earned unanimous acclaim. One notable example is the white gold Lady Kalla with a satin strap, which won the Jewellery Watch award at the first Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2001. Nine years later in 2010, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Lady Kalla, the Lady Kalla Flamme was presented, glowing with the fire of 57-facet diamonds and inaugurating the Flame cut, devised by Vacheron Constantin and duly approved by the GIA (Gemological Institute of America).
In 2024, the Grand Lady Kalla honours the name that inspired it, the Greek word kallista meaning "the most beautiful". From the first sketch in the design studio to the final polishing operation, the new creation embodies a wealth of superlatives. The subtlety of the adjustments is matched by their virtuoso execution. The 57 facets of the emerald-cut diamonds chosen for this new piece underline their crystal-clear clarity. Slightly slimmed down to reflect contemporary tastes, the dial is distinguished by the meticulous work of the master gem-setter who has adorned it with modernised prongs. Reduced to a minimum to provide space for the hands, they are triangular on the bracelet and case middle to highlight the stones; or pyramid-shaped to form the Maison’s iconic Maltese cross sparkling in the light. The sautoir necklace featuring onyx and diamonds, as well as Akoya pearl tassels chosen for their luster and their roundness, creates an appealing dialogue between Art Deco and the 21st century.

A jewel on the wrist. Emerald-cut diamonds, Akoya and onyx pearls
A veritable Haute Joaillerie masterpiece, the Grand Lady Kalla testifies to the determination to pass on excellence that has consistently driven the Maison. The elegance of the emerald cut, which requires a perfectly pure crystalline material, is amplified by the beauty of the pairing. No less than 131 diamonds have been meticulously selected by the Maison’s gemmologists to ensure a harmonious match in terms of colour, clarity and luminosity. The extreme precision of the setting, given the sharp angles of the emerald cut, allows the stones to express their true nature. Their broad flashes of light create a fascinating sparkle bringing special radiance to the design.
The art of the Maison’s jewellers is also expressed on the sautoir necklace, whose mobile ornament paved with 15 diamonds for over 12 carats features a superb centre stone GIA-certified over 2 carats. This transformable jewellery piece can be worn both on the necklace and on the bracelet.

One watch and one tassel sautoir, four original ways to wear them
Comprising a watch and a sautoir necklace, the Grand Lady Kalla is a playful, contemporary invitation to glide stylishly from wrist to neckline and back. The quartet of wearability options afforded by this timepiece chimes with the creativity characterising the history of Vacheron Constantin for more than two and a half centuries. This expertise is vividly illustrated by ladies' pendant watches such as the 1924 model featuring a removable fastening system serving to transform the platinum pendant set with rubies, emeralds, onyx and diamonds into a brooch.
A century later, the Maison has quadrupled this transformability, embedding it firmly in the present era. The Grand Lady Kalla thus instates a jewellery dialogue between a watch entirely set with diamonds and a sautoir necklace combining diamonds and Akoya pearls contrasting with onyx beads. The watch can be removed from the bracelet to be replaced by the jewel element gracing the sautoir necklace. The latter can in turn accommodate the watch, reviving the elegant gestures of the early 20th century, when women glanced at the time using their fingertips, by touching their sautoir. To ensure perfect alignment with contemporary styling, the master artisans of the Manufacture have deployed their mastery in such a way that the Grand Lady Kalla can be very easily transformed in an entirely tool-free way.

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From Geometry to Artistry, Vacheron Constantin annual theme
A Vacheron Constantin watch is far more than merely the sum of its parts. Starting from a sketch, a geometrical drawing and its technical extensions, a whole world of shapes, colours and textures is born. The complex structures of mechanical engineering combine with design; meticulous detail gives life to grace; artisanal intelligence sparks emotions. Based on formal, mathematical study, Vacheron Constantin timepieces are thus endowed with a touch of soulfulness and elegance representing the ultimate expression of artistic talent. The classicism of the Traditionnelle collection; the minimalism of the Patrimony watches; the allure of Égérie; and the sporty-chic spirit of Overseas, all vividly illustrate this alchemy within which artistry is inspired by geometrical shapes, expressed through Vacheron Constantin's 2024 theme.

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Questions to Sandrine Donguy, Product & Innovation Director, Vacheron Constantin

What can one say about the history of Vacheron Constantin jewellery watches?
Over the years, Vacheron Constantin has always devoted great importance to women's expectations by taking into consideration artistic sensibilities, aesthetic and technical trends, as well as social norms and customs. From the first women's pocket watches at the turn of the 18th century to contemporary wristwatches, the Maison’s heritage testifies to its formidable ability to capture the spirit of its times while fulfilling feminine desires.
Vacheron Constantin has a fascinating history of jewellery watches – brimming with creativity, innovation and expertise – dating back to its founding in 1755. The Maison’s private collection includes an 1812 pocket watch featuring a bezel adorned with pearls along with a finely chased and engraved caseback. Art Nouveau represented another very creative period for the Maison, as illustrated by this 1901 pendant brooch watch embellished with diamond-set volutes and a dainty bar. The rectangular platinum and diamond model with angled corners presented in 1911 confirms Vacheron Constantin's perpetual inventiveness.

What about the Art Deco period?
This was an era marked by an abundance of creativity to which Vacheron Constantin contributed.
In the 1920s, the Maison embraced the aesthetic codes of Art Deco, also known as the 1925 Style, since the term Art Deco was coined at a late date after the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts held in Paris.
The hunter-type cases on enamelled chains prevalent at the turn of the century gave way to geometrical shapes and patterns. Watch silhouettes broke free from previous conventions, giving way to the pure, rigorous lines of cases that were in turn oval or rectangular, square or sculpted in asymmetrical shapes, generally set with stones in two-tone variations. This was a time of effervescent creativity, a trend strikingly illustrated by the 1923 Vacheron Constantin timepiece with its white gold case and hexagonal dial set with diamonds and sapphires. These jewelled watches are also matched by more discreet models, which met the needs of women who wanted to be able to tell the time in all circumstances, whether on a day-to-day basis or for social occasions. Vacheron Constantin continued to produce a number of pocket watches, as illustrated by its 1929 "surprise" watch in white gold set with 18 cabochon-cut rubies.

Precious stones thus became essential?
Absolutely. They were no longer used only to emphasise the curve of a bezel, or an engraved or enamelled motif; instead from that point on forming an integral part of the decoration. Cases thus became as discreet as possible to provide a backdrop for the majestically set gems that were thus able display their brilliance to the full. The Kalla line clearly belongs to this celebration of diamonds.

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TECHNICAL DATA

Grand Lady Kalla

Reference
1208J/118G-H094

Calibre
1212
Quartz 11.3 mm (4’’’7/8) diameter, 2.5 mm thick
32.7 Hz
85 components
6 jewels

Indications
Hours, minutes

Watch case
18K white gold
19.4 mm x 30.1 mm, 8.3 mm thick
Fully set with 12 emerald-cut diamonds, for ~6.90 carats, claw-set
Interchangeable system

Watch dial
Fully paved with 14 emerald-cut diamonds, for ~1.54 carats, claw-set
18K white gold hours and minutes hands

Bracelet
Fully paved with 105 emerald-cut diamonds for ~24.00 carats , claw-set

Jewel element
18K white gold
16.8 mm x 30.1 mm, 8.3 mm thick
Set with 14 emerald-cut diamonds for ~10.82 carats and one GIA-certified emerald-cut center diamond, of more than 2 carats, claw-set
Interchangeable system

Sautoir
White silk necklace
112 Akoya beads
50 onyx beads
1 onyx
16 brilliant-cut diamonds, for ~0.33 carat bead-set
85 cm long

Sautoir clasp
18K white gold
88 brilliant-cut diamonds, for ~0.67 carat, bead-set
1 onyx

Tassel
18K white gold
51 mm long
18 brilliant-cut diamonds for ~0.31 carat, bead-set
87 Akoya beads
1 onyx bead
1 onyx
Interchangeable system

Total of diamonds
268 diamonds for a total of ~46.65 carats (minimum guaranteed), including a GIA-certified center emerald-cut diamond of more than 2 carats

Available only in Vacheron Constantin Boutiques.

Patrimony Manual-Winding - Patrimony moon phase retrograde date: Two decades of minimalist modernity

Embargo lift on 9 April 2024, 8:30AM CET

A celebration of watchmaking minimalism with three new models featuring a new sunburst antique silver-toned dial, new fresh strap colours, a customisable caseback and a diameter trimmed to 39 mm for the manual-winding models.
The quintessence of classic watchmaking: a legacy from the 1950s and the watches produced by Vacheron Constantin at that time.
Created in 2004, Patrimony celebrates 20 years of elegance and style.

The perfect balance between rounded curves and taut lines: inspired by the minimalist watches of the 1950s, the Patrimony collection has been celebrating purity of style and the quest for essentials for 20 years. New diameter, new dial and strap colours, customisation: the collection continues to be firmly rooted in the modernity of its era with three new models.
Two manual-winding models in white gold or pink gold feature a new 39 mm diameter, an antique silver-toned dial, a closed caseback providing scope for personalised engraving and two new strap colours, azure blue or olive-green.
A new white gold model with moon phases and retrograde date in white gold features an old-silver-toned silver-toned dial and an olive-green alligator strap.

An affirmation of uncompromising minimalism
At first glance, nothing has changed: the design is understated, undeniably elegant, timeless yet incredibly contemporary. Nonetheless, the Patrimony manual-winding timepiece as it has existed since 2004 has definitely evolved – starting with the size of the two new manual-winding models that are ideal for any wrist. Already appreciated for its 40 mm size, the case sculpted in pink or white gold now features a classic 39 mm diameter. This aesthetic is echoed on the collection’s signature convex dial, whose sunburst-finished surface is attired in a new old-silver-toned colour. This shade providing a hint of retro styling contrasts with the pink gold of the Patrimony collection’s characteristic slim hands, hour-markers and circular ‘pearl’ minutes track composed by 48 polished 18K gold pearls. In addition to these stylistic evolutions, the alligator leather straps are available in original new azure blue or olive-green colours, adding a fresh touch to the naturally understated nature of the Patrimony. As a final aesthetic detail, the closed caseback enables the owner of the watch to personalise it with a text or design of their choice, delicately engraved in gold.

While understatement may be the order of the day, precision is clearly every bit as important. At the heart of the case beats manual-winding Calibre 1440. Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin, this movement is just 2.6 mm thick and endowed with a 42-hour power reserve.
Heir to the Maison’s great stylistic and technical tradition, the new Patrimony moon phase retrograde date watch also favours timeless understatement, with a 42.5 mm white gold case featuring a new dial colour. The sunburst old-silver-toned shade creates a subtle contrast with the pink gold of the hands and hour-markers, giving a two-tone twist to this model driven by in-house self-winding Calibre 2460 R31L powering two complications. The first is a moon-phase indication in an aperture at 6 o'clock, graduated to correspond precisely to the moon's cycle of 29 days, 12 hours and 45 minutes. This precision moon phase requires just one correction every 122 years. The second consists of a retrograde date display in the upper part of the dial, a Vacheron Constantin technical and style signature. Through the sapphire crystal caseback, this in-house calibre displays the emblem of the Maison: a Maltese cross whose shape has inspired that of the openworked 18K gold oscillating weight.
The elegant, pared-down and visually harmonious new Patrimony moon phase retrograde date watch also adopts a new dynamic, enlivening the wrist with an original touch of colour thanks to the new olive-green alligator leather strap.

From the 1950s to the present day: the legacy of modernity
The Patrimony collection is one that has been passed down from generation to generation, unaffected by fashions and trends. Timeless by nature, it is naturally attuned to each successive age because it has succeeded in capturing the undeniable spirit of modernity pervading the 1950s. This was an era marked by creative effervescence, renewal and optimism, a decade in which fashion underwent a major revolution, when design ingeniously played on curves and straight lines, while architecture expressed itself mainly through pure shapes. Vacheron Constantin accompanied the energy of this period with creations distinguished by their understated roundness and striking slenderness.
Among the most noteworthy timepieces of the decade were three ultra-thin models equipped with the legendary Calibre 1003, regarded at the time as the thinnest in the world at just 1.64 mm thick and presented in 1955 to mark the company's bicentenary. Two years later, Vacheron Constantin unveiled Reference 6179, which has since inspired the Patrimony collection. Round and devoid of anything superfluous, it embodies the quintessence of watchmaking classicism with its round case surrounded by a slender bezel, a slightly convex dial punctuated by slender hour-markers and a ‘pearl’ minutes track. Perfectly mastered design reinterpreted within the Patrimony collection, whose minimalist allure is one of Vacheron Constantin's finest signatures.

Twenty years of elegance
Understatement is a demanding stylistic exercise that Vacheron Constantin has mastered to perfection. Since the very first model unveiled in 2004 – a manual-winding Patrimony faithful in every respect to the inspirational 1957 reference – the collection has welcomed numerous watchmaking complications without ever abandoning its identity codes. Perpetual calendar, retrograde displays, minute repeater, ultra-thin calibre and major horological complications have marked the last 20 years without ever detracting from the Patrimony's formal sobriety.

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Interview with Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director, Vacheron Constantin

The minimalist elegance of Patrimony watches is intrinsically linked to the slimness of their cases. What legitimacy does Vacheron Constantin have in this field?
The quest for slenderness has been a key field of expression for Vacheron Constantin for several generations. Our archives contain early 19th century correspondence that clearly refers to "thin watches". Over the course of the last century, our Maison has distinguished itself on numerous occasions in this respect and this quest for slenderness has become a Vacheron Constantin signature. Among the most telling examples is a 1931 pocket watch with a manual-winding movement measuring just 0.94 mm thick. The Patrimony collection itself is directly inspired by the ultra-thin and particularly elegant watches of the 1950s. Developed to equip a 1955 watch marking the company's 200th anniversary, Calibre 1003 was in the same vein. Like all the watches in the Patrimony collection, these examples are part of the same approach that involved achieving extreme understatement rooting the watch firmly in a spirit of timeless modernity.

Why is it so difficult to develop a watch as minimalist as the Patrimony?
It is certainly true that the design of the Patrimony is so simple – at least apparently so – that modifying it without altering its character is a tricky exercise. The Patrimony rapidly established itself as the quintessential classic watch, appreciated by men and women alike. Since its launch in 2004, we have opted to develop it in a very subtle way. This has been reflected first and foremost in the choice of mechanisms, such as the Patrimony retrograde day-date in 2006; the Patrimony perpetual calendar ultra-thin in 2011; an ultra-thin minute repeater in 2013; and the Patrimony moon phase retrograde date in 2017. Aesthetic evolution also involves discreet adjustments in terms of diameter, for example. This is what we are offering this year with a reduction in the diameter of the manual-winding Patrimony, a new dial colour, new strap colours and a place reserved for personalisation. One of the strengths of the Patrimony is that it is both timeless and firmly rooted in its era.

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TECHNICAL DATA

Patrimony moon phase retrograde date

Reference
4010U/000G-H070

Calibre
2460 R31L
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding
27.2 mm (11 1/2''') diameter, 5.4 mm thick
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
275 components
27 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva-certified timepiece

Indications
Hours, minutes, retrograde date
Precision moon phase, age of the moon

Case
18K white gold
42.5 mm diameter, 9.7 mm thick
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 meters)

Dial
Old-silver-toned, sunburst finishing
Convex external zone, 18K 5N pink gold pearls applied circular minutes track
18K 5N pink gold applied hour-markers and hours & minutes hands

Strap
Olive-green Mississippiensis alligator leather with calf inner shell, tone-on-tone stitching, square scales

Buckle
18K white gold pin buckle
Polished half Maltese cross-shaped

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TECHNICAL DATA

Patrimony Manual-Winding

References
1410U/000G-H017
1410U/000R-H018

Calibre
1440
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, manual-winding
22.1 mm (9 1/2''') diameter, 2.6 mm thick    Approximately 42 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour)
116 components
19 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva-certified timepiece

Indications
Hours, minutes

Case
18K white gold / 18K 5N pink gold
39 mm diameter, 7.7 mm thick
Closed caseback
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 meters)

Dial
Old-silver-toned, sunburst finishing
Convex external zone, 18K 5N pink gold pearls applied circular minute track
18K 5N pink gold applied hour-markers and hours & minutes hands

Strap
Olive-green/Azure blue Mississippiensis alligator leather with calf inner shell, tone-on-tone stitching, square scales

Buckle
18K white gold / 18K 5N pink gold pin buckle
Polished half Maltese cross-shaped

Traditionnelle tourbillon chronograph - Collection Excellence Platine: The Collector’s piece

A collector’s timepiece with a platinum case, crown, dial, buckle and strap stitching.
A prestigious in-house movement, manual-winding Calibre 3200 with tourbillon and monopusher chronograph.
A 50-piece limited edition.

The Traditionnelle tourbillon chronograph 50-piece limited edition has joined the Collection Excellence Platine. Combining two noble complications with the latest technological advances, this model pays tribute to the grand watchmaking traditions with an aesthetic that is as functional as it is original in terms of its display. Attired in platinum throughout its 42.5 mm-diameter case, crown, dial, clasp and strap stitching, this watch is powered by Calibre 3200. Developed to mark the brand's 260th anniversary, this movement incorporates a monopusher chronograph with a tourbillon regulator. These two complications have been technically optimised for reliability, precision and user friendliness. The perfectly legible dial features a large tourbillon aperture at 12 o'clock, while the 45-minute chronograph counter is positioned at 3 o'clock and the power-reserve indicator at 6 o'clock. The movement's mechanical characteristics can be admired through the sapphire caseback, including its column-wheel adorned with a Maltese cross, its lateral friction clutch, its two hammers for zero-resetting the chronograph hands, as well as the peripheral tourbillon drive. The meticulous finishing endows this Traditionnelle tourbillon chronograph with a special radiance stemming from a blend of mechanical complexity and aesthetic elegance.

A collector’s timepiece
Vacheron Constantin has assembled some of its most exclusive models within the Collection Excellence Platine. Issued in limited editions, they are crafted in this noble and precious metal notably distinguished by its ability to maintain an enduring sheen. The collection is now joined by the Traditionnelle tourbillon chronograph, a model first unveiled in 2020. Equipped with an in-house movement combining the two prestigious tourbillon and chronograph complications, it integrates grand watchmaking traditions with a functional and elegant aesthetic that is classic yet unexpected, thanks to the original layout of its functions. It retains the distinctive features of the Traditionnelle collection – Dauphine-type hands, railway-type minutes track and stepped case with fluted caseback – while differing in that all the main elements of the watch, apart from the movement and strap, are in 950 platinum. The case, crown, finely grained dial and clasp are all made of 950 platinum, while the stitching on the dark blue alligator strap is crafted from braided silk and platinum thread.
On the dial side, the tourbillon with its Maltese cross-shaped carriage is positioned at 12 o'clock, contrasting with the usual lower-dial position for this type of regulator. Another original attribute is the 45-minute chronograph counter appearing at 3 o'clock, while the 65-hour power reserve is displayed at 6 o'clock. Enhanced by a keen sense of proportions, this aesthetic reflects the work of the Maison’s designers, while at the same time optimising functionality and time reading.

Calibre 3200, an exceptional in-house movement
The caseback reveals the beauty of Calibre 3200 developed for the Maison’s 260th anniversary in 2015. At just 6.7 mm thick, this 292-part in-house manual-winding movement is remarkably slim for such a complex timepiece. It follows in the noble footsteps of the chronographs that forged Vacheron Constantin's reputation in the 1930s and 1940s. Its tourbillon regulator and monopusher chronograph function incorporated into the movement – as opposed to a modular construction – stem from extensive research aimed at optimising its functionality.
The first step was to determine the tempo at which this calibre was to beat. Operating at the fairly sedate pace of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), the regulator honours the mechanical ballet of the tourbillon bearing the small seconds indication. The next challenge was to provide as much space as possible for the regulator, while maintaining the central position of the time-only hours and minutes hands. The watchmakers developed a new peripheral drive system for the tourbillon carriage. This thinner construction enables the mainplate to be openworked so as to provide a spectacular view of the tourbillon. The extremely legible minutes track on the periphery bears fifth-of-a-second graduations corresponding to the level of accuracy enabled by the regulator. To calculate the speed in km/h over the first elapsed minute of the chronograph function, the minutes track is rimmed by a Base 1000 tachymeter scale on the flange.

The chronograph – a function embodying considerable mechanical complexity in its integrated version – has also benefited from new developments. On this model equipped with a column wheel to control the functions, Vacheron Constantin has developed a friction-drive lateral clutch system. Thanks to this system that avoids any stuttering, the seconds hand engages smoothly when the chronograph is started. The chronograph is also equipped with a dynamic "all-or-nothing" activation system that prevents the seconds hand from starting when too little pressure is applied to the pusher. This rigorous approach required cutting-edge machining techniques. The gears of Calibre 3200 have an extremely precise profile, guaranteeing a play of no more than 0.03 mm between the teeth. The precision of the timing sequences is further enhanced by the use of two hammers instead of a single one to reset the chronograph hands, whose functions are controlled by a single pusher housed in the crown.

A rare and precious 50-piece limited edition
These sophisticated technical aspects set the crowning touch to a model whose 50-piece Collection Excellence Platine limited edition makes it a rare and precious timepiece. Like the case, Calibre 3200 has been the object of meticulous finishing where every detail counts. The plate is circular-grained and all the components are polished and chamfered, including the screws, with straight-grained flanks. The gear teeth are also polished to prevent micro-particles from increasing the friction coefficient. The bridges are adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif and hand-bevelled, including the re-entrant angles. The upper bridge of the tourbillon carriage is mirror-polished, while its bar is delicately rounded off by hand in a process requiring 11 hours of painstaking work. While these finishing operations powerfully contribute to the visual appeal of the calibre, they also serve to reinforce the corrosion-resistance of its components in order to guarantee long-lasting, reliable operation.
The movement is housed in a 42.5 mm case measuring just 11.7 mm thick and paired with a dark blue alligator leather strap. The chronograph functions are displayed by a blued steel seconds hand and a minutes hand in 18K gold – like the power-reserve pointer. The hours and minutes hands are in 18K white gold, sweeping over a minutes track punctuated by applied hour-markers in the same metal.

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Questions to Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director

What are the references behind Vacheron Constantin’s Calibre 3200?
When Vacheron Constantin explains that Calibre 3200 features a classic construction, this refers to timepieces from the 1930s and 1940s. At the time, Vacheron Constantin already enjoyed a robust reputation in chronometry (precision timekeeping) which it had established through its pocket-watch models. However, with its Calibres 4072 and 4178 introduced during these two decades, the Manufacture set real milestones in the realm of manual-winding chronographs. Watches equipped with these calibres quickly earned a first-rate reputation, not only for their reliability and accuracy but also for the aesthetic appeal of their movements. These timepieces continue to top collectors' lists of sought-after timepieces. Regarded as models of their kind, these two references remained in production until the 1970s. Another of Vacheron Constantin's emblematic 'classic' chronographs is the ‘Cornes de Vache’ (cow horn) model, introduced in 1955. A highly technical watch equipped with Calibre 492, this Reference 6087 was the Manufacture's first water-resistant, antimagnetic chronograph. Even today, this watch still turns heads in its original version because of its slightly offbeat design and its rarity.

Can you give some historical background on the chronographs developed by Vacheron Constantin?
Considering that deadbeat seconds mechanisms represent the early stages of the chronograph, since they require a form of energy storage, the first timepiece in Vacheron Constantin's heritage to feature such a device – with the addition of a quarter repeater – dates back to 1819. Then came an 1874 hunter-type watch, the oldest chronograph with a minutes counter in the Maison’s collections, as well as a split-seconds chronograph sent to Buenos Aires in 1889 for a horse-racing enthusiast. In 1917, the U.S. Corps of Engineers ordered several thousand pocket chronographs without minutes counters, housed in oxidised silver cases and perfectly legible thanks to an innovative radium luminescence. By this time, Vacheron Constantin had already begun converting its models into wristwatches. The oldest wrist chronograph in its collections – a gold monopusher model with a minutes counter – dates back to 1917.

What does the Collection Excellence Platine represent for Vacheron Constantin?
When Vacheron Constantin launched this collection in 2006, the intention was to release new benchmark models from the Maison. Over time, however, it became clear that this approach was overly restrictive. The Collection Excellence Platine could very well broaden its horizons and welcome not necessarily new models, but rather timepieces worthy of particular interest. In other words, emblematic timepieces in all registers, from three-hand timepieces to the most complicated horological creations. The only common denominator was the use of an exceptional, noble and rare metal for exceptional watches. The timepieces in this collection are produced in limited series featuring platinum on the case, winding crown, finely grained sand-blasted dial with secret "Pt950" signature between 4 and 5 o'clock, as well as the Maltese cross-shaped clasp. Even the strap stitching is made of braided silk and platinum thread. Destined for connoisseurs and collections, this extremely rare offering has become a true signature of the Maison.

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TECHNICAL DATA

Traditionnelle tourbillon chronograph

Collection Excellence Platine

Reference
5100T/000P-H041

Calibre
3200
Developed and crafted by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, manual-winding
Approximately 65 hours of power reserve 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations/hour)
292 components
Hallmark of Geneva-certified timepiece

Indications
Hours, minutes
Small seconds on tourbillon carriage
Monopusher chronograph (45-minute counter at 3 o’clock)
Power reserve at 6 o’clock
Tachymeter scale

Case
950 platinum
42.5 mm diameter, 11.7 mm thick
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 meters)
“Pt950” hallmark between 4 and 5 o’clock
18K white gold applied hour-markers, hours and minutes hands

Strap
Dark blue Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator inner shell, hand-stitched with platinum 950 and silk, saddle-finish, large square scales

Clasp
950 platinum folding clasp
Polished half Maltese cross-shaped

Limited edition of 50 individually numbered pieces
Available exclusively from Vacheron Constantin boutiques.

Overseas tourbillon: An all-titanium technical watch

Embargo lift on 9 April 2024, 8:30AM CET

A new version of the Overseas tourbillon model, entirely made of titanium with the collection's emblematic blue dial.
A self-winding tourbillon model powered by ultra-thin Manufacture Calibre 2160.
Three interchangeable bracelet/straps delivered with the watch: titanium, calfskin leather, rubber.

Vacheron Constantin is expanding its range of titanium watches with an Overseas tourbillon model. Entirely made of titanium, from case to bracelet and from crown to bezel, this model graced with the collection's emblematic blue dial is powered by ultra-thin self-winding Calibre 2160. Equipped with a tourbillon regulator visible at 6 o'clock through a dial opening, the movement features an 22K gold peripheral oscillating weight winding the calibre and ensuring a comfortable over three-day power reserve. With its extremely meticulous finishing of both the titanium case and the movement, this Overseas tourbillon is perfectly aligned with the spirit of this travel-dedicated collection. It comes with an integrated titanium bracelet (equipped with a titanium Grade 5 triple-blade folding clasp) that can be swapped out tool-free for two additional blue calfskin and rubber straps (delivered with a self-interchangeable titanium Grade 5 folding clasp).

Overseas and titanium: a perfect match
Titanium is a light yet robust metal whose hypoallergenic properties make it the ideal material for sports and technical watches. Born in 1996 and revisited eight years later, Vacheron Constantin's Overseas collection embodies the same taste for discovery and pioneering spirit that has driven the brand to conquer new markets since the early 19th century. By incorporating titanium watches, the collection adopts a character entirely in tune with the sporty, technical and adventurous watch codes that have distinguished it since its launch. Presented by the Maison in 2022, the first timepiece with an all-titanium exterior was an Overseas tourbillon skeleton model which now appears in this new version, but with a solid dial graced with the blue shade emblematic of Overseas watches.
Given the rigidity of titanium, any metal finishing work on these timepieces requires rigorous discipline, care and attention to detail, bearing in mind that only grade 2 and grade 5 titanium are suitable for this type of operation. Special care has been lavished on the Overseas tourbillon to create a delicate vertical satin-brushed finish on the bracelet with its polished link angles as well as on the caseback, while the bezel features a circular satin-brushed finish on a sandblasted ring. Creating a striking contrast with the Maltese cross-like profile of the bezel, the matt effect adds to the model’s visual appeal. With its translucent blue-lacquered dial featuring a sunburst satin-brushed flange highlighting the double minutes track, this Overseas tourbillon is adorned with shimmering titanium and ready to face the contingencies of everyday life.

A finely crafted ultra-thin calibre
This resolutely adventurous watch is equally technical with its tourbillon majestically enthroned at 6 o'clock. Its mechanical ballet punctuated by the steady rotation of the regulator highlights the importance of horological complications in the world of Vacheron Constantin. Designed to compensate for the effects of the earth's gravity on the movement's isochronism, the tourbillon is a guarantee of precision and takes on its full meaning in a watch dedicated to travel. With that in mind, it also had to be perfectly ergonomically curved. At just over 10 mm thick, this Overseas tourbillon model fits snugly and lightly on the wrist, without sacrificing the robustness of titanium.

The elegance of this Overseas tourbillon is enhanced by ultra-thin self-winding Calibre 2160 that is a mere 5.65 mm thick. With its 22K gold peripheral oscillating weight arming the barrel for a comfortable 80-hour power reserve, the movement testifies to Vacheron Constantin's technical mastery in the construction of ultra-thin complication movements.
This architecture without a central rotor also offers the advantage of providing a clear view of the entire movement and its meticulous finishing. With its circular-grained mainplate and hand-bevelled bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif, its carefully hand-polished tourbillon bar, its finely grained wheels, not forgetting its chamfered and polished screws, the 188-parat Calibre 2160 offers a concrete vision of technical and precious High Watchmaking. Operating at a frequency of 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour), it displays the hours and minutes as well as the small seconds on the Maltese cross-shaped tourbillon carriages by means of a blued fastening screw.

A versatile watch with interchangeable bracelet/straps
This model comes with an integrated titanium bracelet featuring a triple-blade folding clasp equipped with a comfort-adjustment system. The links securing the folding clasp can be stretched to provide up to 4 mm more room around the wrist. In order to adapt the style of the watch to its surroundings, the integrated titanium bracelet can be swapped out tool-free for two additional calfskin leather or blue rubber straps. These are equipped with a self-interchangeable titanium Grade 5 folding clasp, also interchangeable without any need for tools.

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Interview with Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director

When did Vacheron Constantin introduce titanium to its collections?
Titanium – which is 30% more resistant than steel and only half its weight – is a metal whose properties are perfectly suited to Vacheron Constantin's sports watch collection. The first proposal was for the Quai de l'Île collection in 2008, followed by Overseas timepieces in 2009. In those cases, it was used for the bezels of two self-winding models, one of which was equipped with a chronograph. The following year, the same bezel was adopted for a dual time model. The collaboration with photographer and mountaineer Cory Richards, a member of the 'One of not Many' talent circle, opened up new horizons. The two Overseas Everest limited series dedicated to him – a dual time and a chronograph – were designed to cope with the hostile environments of Cory Richards' expeditions and exploration missions. The two 2021 models are distinguished by their titanium case, bezel, pushers and pusher rings. The aim was first and foremost to accentuate the sporty, hard-wearing aspect of these Overseas watches, with very convincing results.

Those were however limited editions and not yet watches in regular production?
These two models with their powerful design and steel case were produced in two 150-piece limited series. A prototype of the dual time version accompanied Cory Richards on one of his Everest expeditions in 2019. Vacheron Constantin's designers took things a step further in 2022 by offering an all-titanium Overseas in the company's catalogue. This was a tourbillon skeleton timepiece: a first in the collection that foreshadowed this year's model, also made in titanium but with a solid dial that is openworked on the tourbillon only. Inside the case beats the same ultra-thin Calibre 2160 in a non-skeleton version. The two watches represent a very interesting alternative to the steel watches in the collection. They offer the properties of sporty timepieces through their lightness and robustness while remaining on a par with the technical timepieces for which Vacheron Constantin is renowned. What's more, customers can now choose between a skeleton version and one with a blue dial.

Given that titanium is often a material of choice for sports watches, why choose a tourbillon movement rather than a chronograph, for example, for these first all-titanium models?!With the two Overseas Everest limited editions, the Maison has already offered models of this kind, which were very enthusiastically received. It was therefore time to explore other avenues and the choice fell on the ultra-thin self-winding tourbillon Calibre 2160. However, to ensure it stood out from the crowd, it was designed in a skeletonised version, a first in the Overseas collection that required a great deal of ingenuity to remove 20% of the calibre's material. The result is a watch that is robust and very light thanks to the titanium, highly architectural thanks to its skeleton movement, yet extremely technical thanks to the presence of a tourbillon regulator, a guarantee of precision. In short, all the ingredients of a chic Overseas sports watch. In that respect, this year’s model is an extension of its predecessor, picking up its codes yet with a different aesthetic featuring the collection's emblematic blue dial and with titanium as the common denominator.

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TECHNICAL DATA

Overseas tourbillon

Reference
6000V/210T-H032

Calibre
2160
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding, peripheral rotor
31 mm (13½’’’) diameter, 5.65 mm thick
Approximately 80 hours of power reserve
2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations/hour)
188 components
30 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Indications
Hours, minutes, small seconds on tourbillon carriage (coloured screw)
Tourbillon

Case
Titanium Grade 5
42.5 mm diameter, 10.39 mm thick
Soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistant tested at a pressure of 5 bar (approx. 50 metres)

Dial
Translucent blue-lacquered, sunburst satin-finished base with velvet-finished flange
18K white gold hour-markers and hours & minutes hands highlighted with blue Super-LumiNova®

Bracelet
Titanium Grade 5 (half Maltese cross-shaped polished and satin-brushed links)
Secured by a titanium Grade 5 triple-blade folding clasp with push-pieces and comfort-adjustment system

Additional straps/clasp
Blue calfskin leather strap with grey stitching
Blue rubber
Self-interchangeable titanium Grade 5 folding clasp

Available only through the Vacheron Constantin Boutiques.

A creative collaboration with Yiqing Yin - Égérie : The Pleats of Time: a concept watch and Égérie moon phase

Two timepieces born of the creative collaboration between Vacheron Constantin and its “One of Not Many” talent Yiqing Yin: one is a concept watch combining Haute Horlogerie, Haute Couture and Haute Parfumerie; the other an exclusive 100-piece limited edition bearing Yiqing Yin’s name engraved on the caseback.

Égérie – The Pleats of Time, a concept watch:

A diamond-set pink gold case, a lilac mother-of-pearl dial adorned with a ‘pleats’ pattern and an original Haute Couture strap woven with exquisite embroidery and mother-of-pearl shards: a horological experience that, above and beyond the watch, makes time stand still.
An innovative concept watch: Yiqing Yin called on master perfumer Dominique Ropion to create a dedicated fragrance, encapsulated in the strap and randomly released in step with wrist movements.

Égérie moon phase

A dial aesthetic reflects Yiqing Yin’s creative universe.
Three interchangeable straps in colour shades developed by the Haute Couture designer.

Égérie – The Pleats of Time, a concept watch

At the crossroads of Haute Horlogerie, Haute Couture and Haute Parfumerie

A “One of Not Many” creation
This is a singular creation, as much for its looks as for the creative process leading to its birth. The Égérie concept watch stems from an artistic collaboration between Vacheron Constantin and Yiqing Yin, a "One of Not Many" talent.
United in their quest for refinement and a shared vision of excellence, the Manufacture and the Haute Couture designer have come up with the Égérie The Pleats of time, a concept watch. This creation orchestrates a dialogue between three worlds: Haute Horlogerie, Haute Couture and Haute Parfumerie. The roundness of the 37 mm pink gold case embellished with diamonds, the ‘pleats’ pattern adorning the powdered lilac dial, as well as the asymmetrical geometry so cherished by the Maison whose name appears at 8 o'clock in a diagonal with the moon phase and crown at 2 o'clock… All combine to create a refined and original feminine silhouette into which Yiqing Yin has instilled an aesthetic appeal that awakens the senses. The Maison and the Haute Couture designer also called on French master perfumer Dominique Ropion to craft an original fragrance that is encapsulated in the watch strap.

Above and beyond the object, a sensory experience
Under Yiqing Yin’s impetus, the Égérie collection reveals a new facet of its personality through a markedly different aesthetic, infused with the designer’s inimitably ethereal universe.
The dial is freed from hour-markers, extending an invitation to experience time in an intuitive and emotional way. Crafted in mother-of-pearl, it is draped in a ‘pleats’ pattern that unfolds in two stages across its entire surface: in the centre, encircled by fine gold ‘pearls’, as well as around the edge, extending the folds and hollows. Yiqing Yin chose a soft lilac colour, "a feminine, evanescent shade like a delicate embodiment of a daydream". This hue also adorns the moon phase sculpted in mother-of-pearl. A row of diamonds enhances the complication, swept over by extremely slender hours, minutes and seconds hands.

Yiqing Yin has designed an exclusive strap adorned with exquisite artistic embroidery, in which mother-of-pearl shards are inlaid between silk threads. According to the designer, "this work recounts the sinuous course of water in a natural landscape, unfurling its scalloped volutes, somewhere between the fragility of shed snakeskin and the elegance of abstract lace. The irregularities adorning the strap bear the imprint of the human hand, creating a visual dialogue with the pure geometry of the dial.” Invisible yet essential to the personality of this timepiece, a fragrance imagined by master perfumer Dominique Ropion is encapsulated in the strap.

A scent of innovation
The dedicated fragrance specially created for this concept watch stems from numerous exchanges between the master perfumer and the Haute Couture designer. "Dominique is an alchemist of emotions. Our initial idea was to create a watch offering a singular and sensorial perception of time”, says Yiqing Yin. Then came a wealth of creative and brainstorming sessions to combine emotions and formulas until the scent that would embody the Égérie - The Pleats of Time watch came to life.
As Dominique Ropion explains when evoking the core aims of the process, it was about "creating a fragrance that would be universal, like time itself. A mineral scent with pastel, wintry, powdery and iridescent notes, playing with the sun and wisps of smoke.”
To ensure this fragrance would echo Yiqing Yin's approach, a meticulous combination of ingredients was created: a mineral and marine accord of ozonic notes and galbanum; notes of lavender and orange blossom; winter freshness based on a honeysuckle and immortelle accord; iridescent highlights with tuberose and ylang-ylang; sunshine in a bottle conveyed by orange and lemon; wisps of time passing through incense (olibanum, myrrh, opoponax) and oud.

Once the fragrance had been defined, the idea was to encapsulate it in the heart of the strap and "accept the passage of time in order to breathe and be receptive to wonder", as Yiqing Yin points out. This led to a comprehensive innovative process in which the droplets of fragrance concentrate were encapsulated. Each component of the strap (lining, loop, embroidery, etc.) was then steeped in these encapsulations. The perfume contained in the nanocapsules is released randomly, as the strap rubs against the skin and in step with wrist movements.

A dress to prolong the experience
To accompany the Égérie concept watch, Yiqing Yin created a Haute Couture dress epitomising its spirit and which she describes in these terms: “The light fabrics swirl around the body, creating a pleated, swirling showcase of supernatural hues, evoking the moiré dial diffractions. This undulating silhouette, in harmony with the body, offers a suppleness suspended in time, culminating in the wearer’s movement and the caress of the elements. The evolving volume of the skirt unfolds in sunburst pleats, composed of cascades of iridescent satin that continue their journey in silk chiffon, creating superimposed transparency effects and ever-changing silky reflections that capture the splendour of each given moment. Inspired by the vitality of the elements, this creation celebrates movement’s inherent beauty, where infinity is gracefully reflected in fluidity.”
Exploring the latest fabric technologies, the designer combines manual bath-dyeing with eco-sensitive nanodyeing, steeping fibres and fabrics in mineral powders to create gradient-type haloes. This bespoke gown with its singular allure thus weaves symbolic and visual ties between Haute Couture, Haute Parfumerie and Haute Horlogerie.

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Interview
Yiqing Yin, Haute Couture designer and Vacheron Constantin "One of Not Many" talent
Sandrine Donguy, Product Marketing & Innovation Director, Vacheron Constantin
Dominique Ropion, Master Perfumer, IFF

Sandrine Donguy, this is the first time you've presented a creative collaboration with a "One of Not Many" talent. How did things work out?
The collaboration with Yiqing Yin was a very enriching experience that came about quite naturally – not only because the collection has been inspired by the world of Haute Couture since its creation in 2020, but also because Yiqing Yin has brilliantly personified it right from the outset. When we expressed the ambition to create an object that would be outstanding both in terms of the expertise involved in its design and its symbolic significance, Yiqing Yin immediately embraced the project. Every single detail – from the double-pleated dial in lilac mother-of-pearl to the fragrance notes and the braided lacework of mother-of-pearl shards on the strap – was jointly imagined. Yiqing Yin has preserved the personality of the Égérie collection while infusing it with a resolutely Haute Couture allure that echoes her own creations. The end result is a balance between three worlds, bound together by shared values and a shared quest for beauty, dreams and refinement.

Yiqing Yin, what did you want to express through this collaboration?
My goal was to infuse my intuitive creativity into the rigorously disciplined world of Haute Horlogerie, giving birth to a watch capable of releasing time and transforming it into an object of emotion. As a Haute Couture designer, I was confronted with the unprecedented technical constraints of watchmaking, seeking to find a point of convergence with my artistic process rooted in a perpetually moving visual narrative in dialogue with flexible shapes. I wanted to pare down the dial, transcending measured, linear time to offer a sensory, quasi-lunar experience, guided by the poetry of the moon phase and the more intuitive state of consciousness it induces. The dial simplification reveals essentials, a vibration embodied by the ‘pleats’ pattern featured on both the watch and the dress, becoming a space for breathing, suppleness as well as tremendous potential in reserve. It symbolises the freedom and expressiveness of an initially flat surface, while representing the emotional and sensory dynamics of time. In a state of creative somnambulism, the pleat becomes infinity, a weightless state with no spatiotemporal limits, expressing the generous power of time that I sought to convey.

Dominique, what was your approach to creating this fragrance and what did you try to express through the various ingredients composing it?
I had a lot of discussions with Yiqing Yin; we shared our thoughts on how to translate time into fragrance. Yiqing was referring to the cycle of the tides, the pleats characterising her work, the sun that lights and warms us with its beneficial rays and imparts a cadence to our days, along with amethyst and its colour of time. The ingredients I've selected represent a translation of these ideas into scents. Transcribing time into fragrance notes is a challenge that I found as exciting as it was complex. I’ve been working with Yiqing since 2010 and I'm familiar with her obsession with detail, which is similar to mine. Together we smelled dozens of raw materials and tests in order to capture time in a scent. Time plays a fundamental role in perfumery: it gives rhythm to the seasons that guide the flowers and natural ingredients we use; the incense that has been burnt since ancient times and is still part of the perfumer's palette; the time it takes to diffuse a fragrance; the hours marked off by the evolution of the top, heart and base notes...

Sandrine, how is innovation part of Vacheron Constantin's heritage?
Innovation has always been core to the creativity cultivated by Vacheron Constantin, which has distinguished itself throughout its entire history with technical developments aimed at pushing the limits of precision, while guaranteeing an elegant aesthetic that is often original and always singular. If it were not for innovation, we would have been unable to pursue our activities without interruption since 1755, as confirmed by our richly documented archives. In the course of its long history, many of Vacheron Constantin's watchmaking innovations have been patented. In this sense, the collaboration with Yiqing Yin encompassing numerous innovative aspects is entirely in keeping with the enduring spirit of the Maison.

Yiqing Yin, has innovation been one of your priorities?
Experimentation has always been a constant in my creative approach, a guiding principle. In my work, I try to provoke encounters between different worlds, to create clashes between different spheres of expression. I like to work with people from universes I don't master and I view design – particularly in Haute Couture – as a laboratory for challenging established techniques. I see knowledge and expertise as tools that can be misused. Each of us has his own technical and emotional language. I'm convinced that the key to creativity lies in taking risks and being willing to step out of one’s comfort zone to ensure perpetual reinvention. We have to be prepared to lose ourselves for a while in order to discover what we don’t yet know.

Dominique, what link do you see between perfumery and watchmaking, between a fragrance and the concept of time?
What perfumery and time have in common is that they are fleeting and invisible, while standing out like landmarks in history. A fragrance that one smells again – even after many years – has this singular ability to transcend time and bring back long- buried memories. I'm delighted to be able to play with the precious tool represented by fragrance and to embed special memories in time.

Sandrine, as the concept watch has been created under the collaboration with the same designer as for the limited edition piece, did she also take part in selecting the scent?
Yes, completely. Vacheron Constantin entered the artistic world of Yiqing Yin, who is part of the “One of Not Many” talents since 2020. This year, we decided to unite our two worlds with a third one: Haute Parfumerie. In 2021, Yiqing Yin created her Minima Naturalia olfactory dress concept for the French Pavilion's permanent exhibition at the Dubai World Expo. At this occasion, she worked with the master perfumer Dominique Ropion to create a dedicated scent. This gave us the idea of extending her innovative olfactory creation from a dress to a watch strap entering our Haute Horlogerie universe. The fragrance for this concept watch was specially created through collaboration between Dominique Ropion and Yiqing Yin.

Sandrine, which new technique has been used to insert nano capsules of perfume into the watch strap? Was there any particular challenge to achieve this?
To infuse nano capsules of perfume into the watch strap, we partnered with a French company specializing in nanoencapsulation. This innovative process involved encapsulating fragrance concentrate droplets into the heart of the strap's components, except for mother-of-pearl shards and “accept the passage of time in order to breathe and be receptive to wonder”, as Yiqing Yin points out. The scent is released randomly as the strap rubs against the skin and moves with wrist gestures, thanks to nanotechnology. The challenge was infusing nano capsules into delicate surfaces such as the Yiqing Yin embroidery.

Sandrine, how long does the scent last?
The longevity of the scent depends on how the capsules are treated within the strap. Regular twisting releases the fragrance with each movement, while leaving the bracelet untouched may prolong the scent's presence.
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Égérie moon phase

A creative collaboration with Yiqing Yin
Inspired by the refinement of Haute Couture and Vacheron Constantin's aesthetic heritage, the Égérie collection welcomes a moon phase watch issued in a 100-piece limited series developed with designer Yiqing Yin. Paired with a choice of three interchangeable straps, this edition with its 37 mm pink gold case and gemset bezel adopts subtle lilac hues while retaining the collection’s aesthetic codes: the mother-of-pearl dial is alternately smooth or decorated with a “pleats” motif, while the moon phase appears as part of a subtle diagonal line formed by the Vacheron Constantin logo and the crown.

An original creative collaboration
Since its 2020 debut, the Égérie collection has established its style credentials in the world of Haute Horlogerie dedicated to women. Picking up its aesthetic codes and instilling a new creative dimension were at the heart of the project developed with Yiqing Yin in giving life to the new Égérie moon phase that reflects her creative universe.
Recognisable by the ethereal allure of her creations and the blurred lines of her silhouettes structured by dainty pleated and draped effects, the designer's signature is reflected in the work on the dial whose centre is adorned with a pleated mother-of-pearl motif. Yiqing Yin's stylistic territory is also echoed by the choice of mother-of-pearl colour, which recalls her creation’s silvery mauve fabrics, overlaid with soft lilac or moiré Parma violet colours. According to Yiqing Yin, who has also chosen pastel shades for the three interchangeable straps, "these feminine, evanescent shades are the delicate embodiment of daydreams.”

An exclusive 100-piece limited edition
Softness, daydreams, elegance: these words apply equally well to Yiqing Yin's creations as to the new Égérie moon phase watch. Softness is reflected in the lilac-coloured mother-of-pearl dial, which is either smooth or decorated with a pleated motif, echoing the first Égérie models. Mother-of-pearl, a particularly fragile material, has been meticulously crafted to create the pleated pattern surrounded by individually hand-applied fine gold ‘pearls’. The interpretation of the moon phase, also adorned with lilac mother-of-pearl and festooned with diamonds, is undeniably dreamlike. Elegance pervades the entire timepiece, expressed in the contours of the 37 mm diamond-set pink gold case, in the slender hands reminiscent of dressmakers’ nimble fingers, as well as in the Égérie collection’s characteristic asymmetry: a crown set at 2 o'clock aligned with the moon phase and the Vacheron Constantin inscription at 8 o'clock.
Clearly visible through the transparent caseback, in-house Calibre 1088 L ensures accurate timekeeping, while its hand-crafted Côtes de Genève motif is swept over by the delicately openworked 22-carat gold oscillating weight inspired by the shape of the Maltese cross.
This Haute Horlogerie signature is echoed by that of Yiqing Yin, whose name is engraved in full on the back, along with the number of this highly exclusive 100-piece limited edition.

A watch offering pleasurable variety
The Égérie moon phase watch owes its versatility to an ingenious system of interchangeable straps, present since the launch of the collection. In the blink of an eye, these enable the wearer to play on textures or create contrasts: lilac alligator leather for an elegant tone-on-tone effect, night blue satin-effect calfskin or powder pink grained calfskin leather.

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Interview with Sandrine Donguy, Vacheron Constantin’s Product Marketing and Innovation Director

The Égérie collection was born in 2020. Why did you wait to create a collection dedicated to women?
Women have always been integral to our history. Fine examples can be found at the turn of the 18th century, with pocket watches equipped with complications such as chiming mechanisms and featuring richly enamelled, engraved or gemset decorations. In the late 19th century, Vacheron Constantin unveiled its first wristwatches for women. Later, throughout the 20th century, the Maison demonstrated incredible inventiveness on behalf of its female clientele and Égérie is a continuation of this approach. Not to mention the influence of special or offset displays, one of Vacheron Constantin’s daring specialities that are still an integral part of the collection today.

How did this first creative timepiece collaboration with a talent from the “One of Not Many” campaign come about?
It is doubtless the very fact that Yiqing Yin is unfamiliar with the technical constraints of watchmaking that made this collaboration so rewarding. Without quite starting from scratch, she succeeded in transcribing her refined world into the watch. Through her creations, Yiqing Ying explores the dynamic capacities of pleats, imagining structures and volumes in motion, sculpting voids as well as seeking balances and breakpoints between floating and sculpted areas. A close look at the dial of the Égérie moon phase watch reveals a number of aesthetic parallels – not least the choice of mother-of-pearl colour with its complex shimmering reflections, reminiscent of the pastel tones found in Yiqing Yin's creations.

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From Geometry to Artistry, the Maison’s annual theme
A Vacheron Constantin watch is far more than merely the sum of its parts. Starting from a sketch, a geometrical drawing and its technical extensions, a whole world of shapes, colours and textures is born. The complex structures of mechanical engineering combine with design; meticulous detail gives life to grace; artisanal intelligence sparks emotions. Based on formal, mathematical study, Vacheron Constantin timepieces are thus endowed with a touch of soulfulness and elegance representing the ultimate expression of artistic talent. The classicism of the Traditionnelle collection; the minimalism of the Patrimony watches; the allure of Égérie; and the sporty-chic spirit of Overseas: all vividly illustrate this alchemy within which art is inspired by geometric shapes, expressed through Vacheron Constantin’s 2024 theme.

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About Yiqing Yin
A graduate of ENSAD (École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs de Paris), Yiqing Yin was awarded the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris in 2009. In 2011, she won the ANDAM Prize for First Collections at the ANDAM Fashion Award Paris and held her first catwalk show during the Paris Fashion Week. Yiqing Yin worked with prestigious brands such as Maison Léonard, Cartier, Guerlain, Hermès, Swarovski and Lancôme.
A resolutely all-round artist, she also explores other artistic worlds. She combined materials and light to create a dress, in collaboration with sculptor Bastien Carré. She worked in the world of dance, designing the stage outfits of étoile ballet dancers Dorothée Gilbert and Mathieu Ganio for their performance in Tristan and Isolde directed by Giorgio Mancini.
Yiqing Yin has been a regular guest at art exhibitions around the world, including A World of Feathers at the Museum of Ethnography in Stockholm, or the Animalia Fashion exhibition in Florence, among others.
She has also contributed to the creation of costumes for a number of films, including Leos Carax's Annette in 2020, for which she designed the dress worn by Marion Cotillard.
Since 2023, Yiqing Yin has been involved in the creation of a futuristic work, exploring the anthropology and archaeology of the future, part of the French Ministry of Culture's Mondes Nouveaux programme, due to open at the end of 2024.

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About Dominique Ropion
His fellow perfumers consider Dominique to be an immense talent, indeed the greatest master perfumer currently exercising this art. The word ‘smell’ lies at the heart of Dominique's inner ‘reactor’, his passion, his very essence. Dominique's ambition is to rival animals’ sense of smell while bringing an artistic vision to bear. This is Dominique's first invitation to a taste of freedom, an invitation to unite mind and body, another of Dominique's great and generous gifts. Dominique sees the composition of perfumes as a mystical and mathematical act, expressing the creative power of a number and its combinations: “You take two raw materials and put them together, discover how they interact, memorise them, before picking three, then four, like Johann Sebastian Bach's cello suites. Perfumers keep count when they work: they count evaporation in minutes and hours, observe how a fragrance behaves and track its imprint over time.”
Dominique Ropion has created some of the world’s most successful fragrances. He is a master perfumer at IFF, the New York-based global leader in the fragrance, bioscience, health, food and beverage industries. IFF's perfume artists have been practising for six decades and form a creative team that is as visionary as it is eclectic. In IFF's NYC headquarters, as well as in Paris, Grasse, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and elsewhere, its perfume artists create olfactory works ranging from international successes to more exclusively distributed products.

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TECHNICAL DATA

The Pleats of Time, a concept watch

Calibre
1088 L
Manufacture calibre
Mechanical, self-winding
30 mm (9''') diameter, 5.03 mm thick
Approx. 40 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
164 components
26 jewels

Indications
Hours, minutes, centre seconds
Moon phases

Case
18K 5N pink gold
37 mm diameter, 10.08 mm thick
Bezel set with 58 round-cut diamonds
Crown set with a moonstone
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback

Dial
Lilac mother-of-pearl, ‘pleats’ pattern
18K 5N pink gold ring set with 34 round-cut diamonds
Polished minutes track with 18K gold ‘pearls’
18K 5N pink gold moons behind mother-of-pearl clouds

Bracelet/clasp
Calfskin leather strap adorned with artistic embroidery worked from silk threads, inlaid with mother-of-pearl fragments and encapsulated perfume.

Total gemsetting
92 diamonds, totalling approx. 1.10 carats (guaranteed minimum carats)

One-of-a-kind creation, not for sale

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TECHNICAL DATA

Égérie moon phase

Reference
8005F/000R-H030

Calibre
1088 L
Manufacture calibre
Mechanical, self-winding
30 mm (9’’’) diameter, 5.03 mm thick
Approx. 40 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
164 components
26 jewels

Indications
Hours, minutes, centre seconds
Moon phases

Case
18K 5N pink gold
37 mm diameter, 10.08 mm thick
Bezel set with 58 round-cut diamonds
Crown set with a moonstone
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 metres)

Dial
Lilac mother-of-pearl, “pleats” pattern
18K 5N pink gold ring set with 34 round-cut diamonds
Circular track with applied 18K gold ‘pearls’
18K 5N pink gold moons behind mother-of-pearl clouds
18K 5N pink gold applied Arabic numerals

Straps/Buckles
Delivered with three self-interchangeable straps: Lilac Mississippiensis alligator leather, powder pink grained calfskin leather, and night blue satin-effect calfskin leather
Each strap is equipped with an 18K 5N pink gold pin buckle

Total diamond-setting
92 diamonds, totalling approx. 1.10 carats (guaranteed minimum carats)

Limited Edition of 100 individually numbered and engraved timepieces (X/100).

Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication : The world’s most complicated watch

Embargo lift on 9 April 2024, 8:30AM CET

Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication : The world’s most complicated watch

The first Chinese perpetual calendar

A masterpiece of innovation with 63 complications

A world first in the form of a Chinese perpetual calendar programmed until 2200.
A world record, with a total of 63 horological complications integrated into a timepiece that required 11 years of research and development.
A human adventure shared by three watchmakers and the commissioner, the same people behind the Reference 57260 watch presented in 2015.

Vacheron Constantin presents the world's most complicated watch. Comprising 63 horological complications and 2,877 components, it surpasses the record already held by the Maison with Reference 57260. This world-first timepiece is distinguished by the fact that it features a genuine Chinese perpetual calendar. Given the particularities of this lunisolar calendar characterised by a complex and irregular cycle, the mechanical programming of in-house Calibre 3752 through to 2200 is a feat of horological genius. Stemming from 11 years of development, including a year entirely devoted to its assembly, Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication is a milestone in contemporary watchmaking history. Similar in design to the Reference 57260 presented in 2015, Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication was born from the will of the same commissioner who has chosen to give it his name.

I. VACHERON CONSTANTIN AT THE PINNACLE OF THE ART OF WATCHMAKING

Creating the most complicated watch ever made is an art that Vacheron Constantin has cultivated since its origins in 1755. More than two and a half centuries of history have forged the character of a Maison whose underlying motivation is to constantly push the limits of feasibility. Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication is yet another demonstration of this approach. This timepiece with its 63 complications represents a technical feat that is further enhanced by its restrained, elegant aesthetic and impeccable level of finishing. It took the three watchmakers 11 years of development and a wealth of ingenuity to bring this horological marvel to fruition. The movement assembly alone was spread over 12 months, notably including a trial assembly – before the decorative finishing of the components – to ensure it ran smoothly.

· An unprecedented total of 63 horological complications

Double-sided Calibre 3752 comprises 2,877 components, 245 jewels, 31 hands and 9 discs. Complications covering the entire horological spectrum have been integrated into this calibre in their most accomplished form. The chronograph features a split-seconds function; the phases of the moons are extremely accurate, requiring no correction in 1,027 years; the Gregorian perpetual calendar is presented in accordance with the ISO 8601 standard; the small seconds are the retrograde kind, with compensation for the time required for the hand to jump back; the tourbillon has three rotational axes; the sky chart rotates according to the sidereal day (23h, 56m, 4.09s); the day/night indicator of the second time zone is engraved with an azimuthal polar projection providing an original geographical perspective.

The 63 complications in this timepiece encompass the following categories:

Time measurement and regulation: 9 complications
Gregorian perpetual calendar: 7 complications
Chinese perpetual calendar: 11 complications
Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar: 2 complications
Astronomical indications: 9 complications
Split-seconds chronograph: 4 complications
Alarm functions: 7 complications
Grande Sonnerie: 8 complications
Additional functions: 6 complications

II. THE FIRST CHINESE PERPETUAL CALENDAR

With the alternation of day and night, the cycle of the seasons and that of the Sun and Moon, humankind became aware of the concept of time at a very early stage. It was however not until the advent of writing – in the fourth millennium BCE in the West and the second millennium BCE in China – that time became predictive. From then on, calculations based on astronomical observations could be used to develop a calendar. The ancients developed several calendar systems, based on the lunar months (Hegirian calendar), the solar year (Gregorian calendar) or a combination of the two, meaning lunisolar calendars incorporating the adjustments required to make them coincide. The Chinese calendar – like those of the Greeks, Hebrews and Celts – falls into the latter category.

· A complex and irregular system

Chinese calendar months are lunar and begin on the day of the new moon calculated on the 120th meridian east (UTC +8h) passing through the Shandong peninsula and the city of Hangzhou. In order to respect the average length of a lunation (29.53 days), they irregularly comprise either 29 or 30 days. In total, however, the 12 lunar months are 11 days shorter than a solar year (365.2422 days). For this reason, the Chinese calendar incorporates a 13th intercalary or embolismic month every two to three years, corresponding to seven times over the Metonic cycle. The latter – named after the Greek astronomer Meton (5th century BCE) – refers to the 235 lunations occurring over 19 tropical years, at the end of which the two systems (lunar and solar) are perfectly synchronised (i.e. 6,940 days). Depending on the lunations, the common Chinese year can therefore have 353, 354 or 355 days and the embolismic year 383, 384 or 385 days. The other factor to be considered is the Chinese New Year of which the date marks the start of the lunar year yet fluctuates between 21 January and 21 February.

The solar year in the Chinese calendar is a true tropical year, calculated on the same meridian (120th meridian east) between two winter solstices. It is divided into 24 periods of 15° each on the Sun’s path along the ecliptic (the Sun’s apparent annual path as seen from Earth). Each period, alternately known as jie (node) and qi (vital breath), lasts around 15 days, giving an average duration that fairly regularly corresponds to the Gregorian calendar, i.e. a year of 365 or 366 days.

Another feature of the Chinese calendar is that the units of time are numbered based on the association of two series of signs – 10 celestial stems and 12 earthly branches – yielding a possible total of 60 different combinations. This so-called sexagesimal cycle is most often used to mark the passing of years, but can also be applied to months, days or hours. The stems are also associated with the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) and with a polarity (yin, the feminine principle; or yang, the masculine principle). The branches are also represented by the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac in the following sequence: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. At each stage of the calendar, the number of the stem and the number of the branch is incremented by one to create a cycle of 60 combinations corresponding to the lowest common multiple of 10 stems and 12 branches or animals of the zodiac.

Lunisolar calendars play on complementarity. The system requires knowledge of the solar calendar to establish the dates of the leap moons and the beginning of the lunar years in order to achieve perfect synchronisation. Such was the aim of the Chinese, who ceaselessly improved their calendar so that it would reflect the reality of astronomical phenomena as closely as possible. The resulting accuracy is however a complexifying factor when it comes to modelling a system that is essentially characterised by its irregularity. While it is possible to program the calculation of the Chinese calendar since 1645 using analytical theories, as scientists have done, obtaining a concrete mechanical application represented an unfathomable challenge.

· A world first

The main innovation of Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication is its traditional Chinese calendar. It is the first watch to present it in the form of a perpetual calendar, with all the calculations, patience, ingenuity and understanding of Chinese culture that this implies.
In concrete terms, the three watchmakers first had to model the calendar in algorithms. They then worked on transcribing them into a mechanism programmed until the year 2200 and capable of following the irregularities of a calendar whose years and lunar months have different durations on an irregular sequential basis, with a fluctuating first day of the year. To achieve this, they devised three mechanical 'brains' capable of controlling the cams and gears on one of the movement’s two additional mechanisms on the front side. Broadly speaking, each of them "drives" one of the calendar's components: namely the lunar cycle, the solar cycle and the Metonic cycle. This latter cycle of 19 years – known as the golden numbers – can be read off on the 3 o'clock counter.
In addition to this feat of a watch programmed until the year 2200, Vacheron Constantin’s watchmakers went so far as to offer a disc-type display of the exact – yet by definition variable – date of the Chinese New Year. This in itself represents another major accomplishment, as this key date in the nation’s social life fluctuates continuously between January 21 and February 21.
The front of the watch is essentially devoted to the various indications of the traditional Chinese calendar. To find one’s bearings, one must first determine whether the current year is normal or embolismic (aperture at 11 o'clock) and whether the month is a short or long lunar month (aperture at 12 o'clock on the fixed New Year disc). This perpetual calendar bearing indications in Chinese characters includes a pointer-type date display on a 6 o'clock counter, along with aperture-type indications of the day at 8 o’clock and the month at 4 o’clock.
Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication also indicates an unprecedented amount of information linked to the sexagesimal cycle, the keystone of the Chinese calendar and indeed of the entire Chinese cosmological model. This feat was rendered all the more impressive by the fact that the information shown relates to different time scales: the hour, the day and the year. Vacheron Constantin's watchmakers have integrated a jumping display of the 10 celestial stems, with their yin-yang polarity and associated elements (9 o'clock counter) for the day. The 3 o'clock counter shows the 12 earthly branches associated with the double hours, each day being subdivided into 12 two-hour segments, starting at 11 o'clock. The display here is continuous, over a 24-hour period. Finally, the silhouette of the Chinese zodiac animal for the current year appears in an aperture positioned below the moon phases. The combination of the animal and the celestial stem suggested on the New Year's disc gives the position within the sexagesimal cycle.

As an essential complement to this Chinese perpetual calendar, the precision phases and age of the moon appear on the 12 o'clock counter, with no need for corrections over a full 1,027 years.
The final feature of this Chinese perpetual calendar is the caseback-side display – by a central hand – of the agricultural year’s 24 solar periods, along with the month lengths, seasons, solstices and equinoxes.

III. A HIGH-PRECISION ASTRONOMICAL AND CHIMING WATCH

Vacheron Constantin’s watchmakers did their utmost to incorporate the full range of horology’s noblest complications into this watch, be they in the realm of astronomical and chiming functions, as well as useful complications in terms of chronometry, alarms and time zones – all governed by a determination to achieve very high precision.

· Astronomical indications and Gregorian calendars

An astronomical watch par excellence, Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication also explores the vagaries of the Gregorian calendar. The latter is designed on a perpetual basis, i.e. until 2100, a non-leap secular year following the reform of the Julian calendar called for by the Council of Trent in 1582. Implemented by Pope Gregory XIII, this reform consisted of deleting 10 days to re-establish coincidence with the seasons. To avoid any further calendar drift, the decision was taken to eliminate three leap years in four centuries. Only those secular years whose year is divisible by 400 would remain leap years.

The Gregorian perpetual calendar is displayed on the watch’s second face, built on one of the movement’s two additional caseback-side mechanisms. The display comprises a retrograde date at 12 o'clock, complemented by the day of the week (9 o'clock counter), the month (3 o'clock counter) and the leap-year cycle (1 o'clock aperture). The Gregorian calendar has also served as the basis for another type of indication: since 1988, to avoid any confusion in international communications, the ISO 8601 standard has formalised numerical date formats for years (4 digits), months (1 to 12), weeks (1 to 52) and days (1 to 31 or 1 to 7). Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication thus incorporates the ISO 8601 calendar-week numeral pointed to by a hand (3 o'clock counter) with the day numeral in an aperture positioned above it.

The watch's astronomical references are not confined to calendars. Also visible on the back – fitted on this side of the movement’s second additional mechanism – is a sky chart with the constellations appearing in real time as observed from Shanghai. For the sake of accuracy, this celestial disc makes one complete rotation in one sidereal day. Using a fixed star in the sky as a reference point, the time taken for the Earth to complete a full 360° rotation (sidereal day) is exactly 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds. As the Earth both spins on its axis and revolves around the Sun, it takes around four minutes less than an average calendar day to return to its point of departure in relation to the given star. This sidereal time – that can be read counter-clockwise on the 24-hour circle with a scale bearing 15-minute graduations – is essential for correctly adjusting the sky chart. The map is marked with an off-centre ellipse to highlight the exact position of the constellations in the Northern Hemisphere at the time the watch is checked.

The equation of time completes the watch’s astronomical indications. Given that the Earth's path around the Sun is not circular but elliptical and that the Earth's axis is inclined at a 24° angle to the plane of its orbit, the time between two solar zenith passages is not the same throughout the year. This difference between the (true) solar day and the (mean) 24-hour civil day ranges from -16 to +14 minutes depending on the time of year and is equivalent to zero just four times a year at the solstices and equinoxes. This information known as the equation of time – or time correction in astronomical parlance – is obtained by means of a cam that controls the display of this time differential. As well as marking the passage of the seasons, this revolution of the Earth around the Sun also determines the length of the day and night phases. Two counters (5 o'clock and 7 o'clock) display sunrise and sunset times, along with the length of day and night, consistently calculated with Shanghai as the geographical location.

· Grande Sonnerie and alarms

Grande Sonnerie timepieces are in a class of their own among musical timepieces because of their extreme complexity. Mastery of these watches which strike the hour and quarters in passing – with the hour repeating before each quarter in Grande Sonnerie mode and without repeating in Petite Sonnerie mode – has quite logically not become widespread given the high demands placed on the design of the strikework integrated into the movement. These range from the mechanism’s safety features to the musicality of the sound sequences, not to mention energy management given the 912 hammer strikes in 24 hours. The world of chiming watches has been part of Vacheron Constantin's expertise since the very beginning, as evidenced by an order dating back to 1806 and referenced in the Maison’s archives.
The Vacheron Constantin watchmakers were keen to equip Calibre 3752 with a Grande Sonnerie mechanism featuring a Westminster carillon. This chimes the tune sounded by the bells of Big Ben – on London’s Tower of Parliament – in four bars of four notes played at different frequencies, punctuated by a fifth note for the hours. A total of five hammers and five gongs compose this chime, which can be heard at any time by activating the minute repeater lever positioned on the case middle at 6 o'clock.
In "Striking" mode (as shown by a pointer-type selector at 10 o'clock on the front), the watch is automatically activated upon each passing of a new quarter-hour, like a clock. In "Night" mode, the alarm is deactivated between 10pm and 8am, according to a time slot chosen by the customer, to save energy as well as to ensure peace and quiet at night. The last mode dubbed "Silence" suspends the strikework completely. A second selector coaxial with the first enables one to switch from Grande Sonnerie to Petite Sonnerie mode, as desired. This strikework has its own barrel with a pointer-type power-reserve display at 9 o'clock.
The watch’s striking mechanism is complemented by an alarm. Activated by a dedicated slide on the case middle at 1 o'clock, it is set by the crown, with the alarm time displayed by an hours hand coaxial with the one showing the watch time (at 12 o'clock on the front). It has its own energy reserve with a dedicated barrel that is set by a movable crown housed in the case middle at 5 o'clock, another of the watch's technical subtleties. The alarm torque is displayed by a hand on the same counter as the mode indicator (1 o'clock on the front). In "Normal" position, the alarm sounds progressively on a dedicated gong with a different tone struck by a sixth hammer. In "Carillon" position, the alarm activates the Big Ben chime and sounds in Grande or Petite Sonnerie mode. For mechanical safety reasons, both the Grande Sonnerie mechanism and the alarm mechanism have a system for blocking the striking when the power reserve of their respective barrels is exhausted.

· Triple-axis tourbillon regulator

This addition of astronomical and chiming complications should not detract from the watch's primary function, which is to display the time – or better still, to display the time in several time zones and even to measure short times. Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication fulfils all these functions with chronometric precision. The watchmakers devoted particular attention to the escapement and regulation system that controls the sequencing of the energy chain and, consequently, the precision of the gear train. As a result, they developed a triple-axis armillary tourbillon regulator, operating at a frequency of 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour) and fitted with a spherical balance-spring. The name "armillary" refers to the work of Antide Janvier (1751-1835), astronomer and watchmaker by appointment to King Louis XVI, one of whose greatest masterpieces was the creation of a moving sphere featuring an armillary planetary gear system.

With this type of construction, the escapement housed at the heart of the tourbillon takes up every different position in order to cancel out the effects of Earth’s gravity on the movement’s isochronism, which makes perfect sense for a pocket watch worn in a fixed position. This is further enhanced by the presence of a spherical balance-spring, whose performance is superior to that of flat balance-springs. The result is an extraordinary mechanical ballet visible on the back of the watch, with a tourbillon carriage of which the constantly rotating elements form Vacheron Constantin’s Maltese cross emblem every 15 seconds. The result is also a high degree of precision in the operation of the complications, a feat in itself given the complexity of Calibre 3752.

· Precision display and split-seconds chronograph

The time display is of the regulator type, with day/night indicators (1 o'clock on the front) and a 60-hour power reserve (3 o'clock). Historically, the precision clocks used to set watches in watchmaking workshops offered this type of dissociative display. In this model, the hours hand (12 o'clock counter on the front) is separate from the central minutes hand and the seconds hand (6 o'clock counter). To enhance this display, the watchmakers at Les Cabinotiers devised a retrograde seconds hand. Moreover, since this watch is clearly subject to the requirements of high precision, they have equipped this retrograde mechanism with a sophisticated technical solution consisting of adding two cams to the mechanism in order to compensate for the time it takes for the seconds hand to return to the "0" position.

The watch's chronograph, accurate to the nearest fifth of a second thanks to the movement's 2.5 Hz cadence, features a split-seconds function. This enables intermediate (split) times to be measured by stopping the second central sweep-seconds hand, which "catches up" (hence the French name rattrapante) with the first one – and thus with the elapsed time – once it is restarted. To differentiate it from the Reference 57260 watch, which has a chronograph with two retrograde seconds hands, the watchmakers have opted for a more 'classic' configuration, with both seconds hands moving in the same rotational direction. Integrated into the movement's second additional mechanism on the front, this chronograph is controlled by three column-wheels and a horizontal clutch via the pushpiece housed in the crown. The pusher embedded in the case middle at 11 o'clock is used to restart the split-seconds hand. The chronograph hours and minutes are indicated by hands on their respective counters at 3 o'clock (hours) and 9 o'clock (minutes) with a silver-toned colour code. On the front, the time indications appear in blue, while the Chinese calendar displays and the various chime functions are distinguished by golden tones.

· Second time zone and world time

Astronomical yet also travel-friendly, the watch displays world time, a function visible on the back. A 10 o'clock aperture enables the wearer to select one of the 24 cities corresponding to the 24 time zones into which the Earth has been divided since the 1884 International Meridian Conference held in Washington. The city symbol appears with the time differential in relation to the Greenwich meridian, such as N.Y. GMT -5. Below, the 9 o'clock counter shows the hours and minutes over a 12-hour period in a second time zone, with the corresponding day/night indication at 11 o'clock. On closer inspection, the rotating disc used to distinguish between day and night is engraved with a polar azimuthal projection of the Northern Hemisphere. This makes it possible to see the Earth's global sunshine duration from a geographical point located in this second time zone.

· Finishing and hand decorations

While Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication required years of development due to its sheer complexity, one must not overlook within this cycle the time devoted to decorating and finishing the 2,877 components, including the invisible convolutions of the mechanism, not to mention the case.
This perfectly elegant 18K white gold case features polished bezels on both sides. The winding crown is complemented by an aperture on the case middle, protected by a sapphire crystal, providing a view of the crown’s position when winding or setting the timepiece. On the front, the dial is composed of four subdials featuring different types of finish: opaline silver-toned on the main dial and sunburst on the auxiliary dials. The dial on the back of the watch features the same opaline hue.
Equal care was devoted to the movement, whose golden colour on a frosted base adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif on the reverse is a challenge in itself, as the slightest mishandling of the decorated components leaves indelible marks. The watchmakers in charge of assembling the timepiece – and who also did most of the decoration – therefore had to be extremely meticulous. The result is a watch whose complexity contributes to its overall elegance and harmony.

IV. A HUMAN ADVENTURE

Comprising 63 horological complications, Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication – a watch bearing the Hallmark of Geneva – surpasses the record already held by the Maison with Reference 57260. Between these two timepieces lies an extraordinary human adventure between a collector passionate about the great achievements of traditional watchmaking and three watchmakers from Vacheron Constantin's Les Cabinotiers department.

· The patience and trust of a passionate enthusiast

The Reference 57260 and Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication watches first took shape in the mind of the same commissioner, an American businessman and philanthropist who owns a prestigious collection of pocket watches that he has patiently assembled over the last 50 years. A discerning connoisseur, he loves challenges and the first one he set for the Maison was that of the most complicated watch ever made, incorporating a Hebraic perpetual calendar. This kind of challenge is one that Vacheron Constantin makes a point of taking up, having created some of the most accomplished Grand Complication watches in watchmaking history. For the three master watchmakers from the Maison’s Les Cabinotiers department in charge of the project, such a commission represented the acme of their career, as well as a path strewn with obstacles. It took no less than eight years to bring Reference 57260 – presented in 2015 – to fruition.
United in complexity and in a relationship of mutual trust, the client and the three watchmakers in charge of this timepiece had found common ground, with the former’s patience strengthened by these specialists’ ingenuity. Nurtured by the client's trust in the expertise of Vacheron Constantin's watchmakers, this community of spirit led to a sequel – as even before the Reference 57260 watch was completed, its non-identical twin was commissioned. This time, instead of the Hebraic calendar, the idea was to incorporate a Chinese perpetual calendar. “The result is a true horological masterpiece and the World’s most complicated timepiece” commented Mr Berkley. “It is unlikely any other Maison would have been prepared to undertake such a Herculean challenge.”

· Doing better than possible

The commissioner of this timepiece is clearly one of those passionate clients, such as Henry Graves Jr. or James W. Packard, who envision pushing the limits of feasibility. Appreciating challenges, they provide a Maison like Vacheron Constantin with the opportunity to progress, to question itself and to evolve. Through this timepiece and its clearly stated name, Vacheron Constantin pays a vibrant tribute to this great collector, who also owns the Vacheron Constantin pocket watch presented in 1946 to King Farouk I of Egypt.
With both patience and tenacity, in keeping with the Maison’s enduring mission to always do better than possible, the same three watchmakers from its Les Cabinotiers department continued the adventure alongside the commissioner, embarking upon a new 11-year epic. Resting on their laurels was out of the question, meaning they never stopped rethinking the functions and systems of the 2015 movement with the aim of improving it, optimising it or proposing different displays. The result is Calibre 3752, a double-sided mechanical marvel comprising 2,877 components.
Such optimising also implied innovating, given that no solution had ever yet been found for translating the complexity and irregularity of the Chinese calendar into cams and gears forming a perpetual horological configuration. Vacheron Constantin's three watchmakers took on this "Herculean" task, perpetuating the Maison’s time-honoured tradition of exclusivity and expertise in the service of the most demanding watchmaking requirements.

V - INTERVIEW WITH CHRISTIAN SELMONI, STYLE & HERITAGE DIRECTOR

What is your overall impression of this watch?
I have boundless admiration for the complexity of this timepiece, its level of finishing and its precision, given the 63 complications. It is the epitome of hyper-horology, stemming from years of effort and ingenuity. After Reference 57260, one might have thought it represented the ‘last word’ in this field. As we can see, it is possible to take demands a step further by achieving what no one has ever managed before, namely a Chinese perpetual calendar without any correction until 2200.

Can you give us more details about this calendar?
The three watchmakers in our Les Cabinotiers department – who worked for 11 years on this timepiece – succeeded in modelling this extremely complex calendar. By that, we mean translating it and transcribing it into algorithms that can then be applied mechanically. In concrete terms, this translates into three mechanisms – which our watchmakers like to call "brains" – that control the calendar’s different variables: its 19-year Metonic cycle; the New Year dates; its sexagesimal cycle of 60 combinations; and finally its solar agricultural cycle of one tropical year. Combining these elements results in a Chinese perpetual calendar whose difficulty lies not only in its irregularity but also in these different cycles. A veritable feat of innovation.

What technical solutions are also worth highlighting?
The regulator-type retrograde seconds hand is one of them. While it’s already rare to have a retrograde seconds hand on a watch, the watchmakers at Les Cabinotiers wanted it to be as accurate as possible. This meant compensating for the time taken for the seconds hand to return to its initial position. They achieved this by adding two extra cams to the mechanism. The "Night" function of the Grande Sonnerie is another. This mode suspends the alarm at night for a period of time of the customer's choosing, a novel feature. Among the many other technical developments, the triple-axis armillary tourbillon deserves a special mention. Although it was already present in Reference 57260, it nonetheless represents a mechanical feat and makes perfect sense in the case of a pocket-watch which is by definition worn in a single position.

You mentioned the level of finishing applied to the calibre. Could you elaborate?
Hand finishing of movement components is one of the signature features of High Watchmaking and of Vacheron Constantin in particular, with techniques adapted to all the different types of surface: bevelling, rounding off, circular-graining, straight-graining, etc. While such operations already require perfectly mastered expertise for a simple movement comprising some 150 components, one can imagine what it represents with 2,877 components! What's more, this work goes completely unnoticed because this double-sided watch has no openwork on the movement apart from the tourbillon aperture. It is only when you open the watch that you realise the scale of the task. What's more, the three watchmakers who worked on this timepiece and produced most of the decoration did not take the easy way out. In fact, the calibre has a sand-blasted frosted finish that leaves no room for mistakes, as any untimely handling leaves indelible traces. It’s therefore easy to see why this watch took a whole year to assemble.

You also mentioned precision?
This timepiece does not claim to be a chronometer, as it has not been tested by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC). In-house tests nonetheless showed that Les Cabinotiers - The Berkley Grand Complication has a precision that exceeds COSC requirements, with a daily tolerance margin of -4 to +6 seconds. It is worth recalling in this context that this timepiece bears the Hallmark of Geneva, a guarantee of provenance, craftsmanship, reliability, expertise and precision. The Hallmark’s criteria stipulate that the rate of the watch must vary by no more than one minute after seven days and this watch is well below this mark – which is quite remarkable, given its complexity.

VI. THE CHINESE CALENDAR FROM ITS ORIGINS TO THE PRESENT

· A time-honoured dating system

According to legend, Chinese astronomy dates back to the 61st year of the reign of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi), i.e. 2637 BCE. This legendary monarch is said to have invented the Chinese calendar, which has been an attribute of emperors' sovereignty ever since. Emperors inaugurated their reigns with a new calendar, often different from the previous one. For practical reasons, historians had to devise a chronology based on a single origin, dating back to the reign of Huangdi.
The last alteration to the traditional Chinese calendar as we know it today goes back to the work of the Jesuit Adam Schall von Bell, Imperial court astronomer in Peking (now Beijing). In 1645, he incorporated his latest observations – true solar time – into the combination of a solar (agricultural) calendar and a lunar (civil) calendar representing the Chinese system. While China adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1912 and the Common Era in 1929, the traditional calendar still serves as the unavoidable benchmark for festivals celebrated throughout the country.

· The principles behind the Chinese lunisolar calendar

The 12 months are lunar. They begin on the day of the new moon and have 29 or 30 days to respect the average length of a lunation, which is 29.53 days.
The 11 days missing from the solar year are made up by means of an intercalary or embolic 13th lunar month every 2-3 years, i.e. 7 times in a 19-year cycle.
The solar 'periods' of the year correspond to 24 divisions of 15° each on the Sun's path along the ecliptic. Each period lasts about 15 days, giving an average duration that corresponds to the Gregorian calendar.
The solar year begins at the winter solstice and has 365 or 366 days. The lunar year begins on the Chinese New Year – between 21 January and 21 February. Depending on the lunation, there are 353, 354 or 355 days in common years and 383, 384 or 385 days in embolismic years.
The Chinese lunisolar calendar follows a 60-year sexagesimal cycle, composed of successive combinations of 10 celestial stems, associated with the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water), and 12 earthly branches, associated with an animal: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

VII. VACHERON CONSTANTIN'S MASTERY OF GRAND COMPLICATIONS

At Vacheron Constantin, creating complicated watches for the most renowned clients is a tradition.Three of the most extraordinary watches of their time became precious possessions of two Egyptian kings – Fouad 1 and his son Farouk – and Count Guy de Boisrouvray. A fourth equally remarkable one was made to the specifications of the great collector James Ward Packard.

James Ward Packard (1918)
This 20K gold chiming pocket watch made its mark on the history of High Watchmaking. It includes a quarter and half-quarter repeater with Grande and Petite Sonnerie as well as a single-counter chronograph. Founder of the Packard Motor Company, James Ward Packard commissioned and acquired it in 1918.
King Fouad 1 of Egypt (1929)
This large, highly complicated 18K yellow gold and enamel pocket watch is a chiming watch featuring a minute-repeater with Grande and Petite Sonnerie, equipped with three gongs and three hammers, as well as a split-seconds chronograph with a 30-minute counter, perpetual calendar and indication of the phases and age of the moon. It was presented to His Majesty King Fouad 1 of Egypt by the Swiss expatriate community in 1929.
King Farouk 1 of Egypt (1946)
This extremely complex, very large 18K yellow gold pocket watch is a chiming model. It includes a minute-repeater with Grande and Petite Sonnerie, equipped with three gongs and three hammers, a split-seconds chronograph with a 30-minute counter, perpetual calendar, indication of the phases and age of the moon, alarm and two power-reserve indicators. It was presented to King Farouk I of Egypt by the Swiss authorities in 1946 and surpasses its predecessor in terms of complexity.
Count Guy de Boisrouvray (1948)
This pocket-watch with its large 18K gold hunter-type case includes a minute-repeater with three hammers striking three gongs, along with a perpetual calendar with leap-year and moon-phase indications, split-seconds single-counter chronograph and alarm. It was sold to Count Guy de Boisrouvray in 1948.
Reference 57260 (2015)
Reference 57260 is a horological masterpiece uniting previously unimaginable technical complications. Eight years of development went into creating this timepiece. The watch is an entirely original creation with a total of 57 complications, including several unprecedented ones such as the first Hebraic perpetual calendar.

VIII. Complications List

Time measurement (9)
1.      Regulator-type hours, minutes and seconds for mean solar time
2.      Retrograde second for mean solar time
3.      Day and night indication for reference city
4.      Visible spherical armillary tourbillon regulator with spherical balance spring
5.      Armillary sphere tourbillon
6.      World time indication for 24 cities
7.      Second time zone hours and minutes (on 12 hours display)
8.      Second time zone day and night indication
9.      System to display the second time zone for the Northern or Southern hemispheres

Gregorian Perpetual Calendar (7)
10. Gregorian perpetual calendar
11. Gregorian days of the week
12. Gregorian months
13. Gregorian retrograde date
14. Leap-year indication and four-year cycle
15. Number of the day of the week (ISO 8601 calendar)
16. Indication for the number of the week within the year (ISO 8601 calendar)

Chinese Perpetual Calendar (11)
17.     Chinese perpetual calendar
18.     Chinese number of the day
19.     Chinese name of the month
20.     Chinese date indication
21.     Chinese zodiac signs
22.     5 elements and 10 celestial stems
23.     12 earthly branches
24.     Chinese year state (common or embolismic)
25.     Month state (small or large)
26.     Indication for the Golden number within the 19-year Metonic cycle
27.     Indication for the date of the Chinese New Year in the Gregorian calendar

Chinese Agricultural Perpetual Calendar (2)
28. Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar
29. Indications of seasons, equinoxes and solstices with solar hand

Astronomical Indications (9)
30.     Sky chart (calibrated for Shanghai)
31.     Sidereal hours
32.     Sidereal minutes
33.     Sunrise time (calibrated for Shanghai)
34.     Sunset time (calibrated for Shanghai)
35.     Equation of time
36.     Length of the day (calibrated for Shanghai)
37.     Length of the night (calibrated for Shanghai)
38.     Phases and age of the moon, one correction every 1027 years

Split-seconds Chronograph (4)
39.     Fifths of a second chronograph (1 column wheel)
40.     Fifths of a second split-second chronograph (1 column wheel)
41.     12-hour counter (1 column wheel)
42.     60-minute counter

Alarm (7)
43.     Progressive alarm with single gong and hammer striking
44.     Alarm strike / silence indicator
45.     Choice of normal alarm or carillon striking alarm indicator
46.     Alarm mechanism coupled to the carillon striking mechanism
47.     Alarm striking with choice of grande or petite sonnerie
48.     Alarm power-reserve indication
49.     System to disengage the alarm barrel when fully wound

Westminster Carillon (8)
50.     Carillon Westminster chiming with 5 gongs and 5 hammers
51.     Grande sonnerie passing strike
52.     Petite sonnerie passing strike
53.     Minute repeating
54.     Night silence feature (between 22.00 and 08.00 hours – hours chosen by the owner)
55.     System to disengage the striking barrel when fully wound
56.     Indication for grande or petite sonnerie modes
57.     Indication for silence / striking / night modes

Additional features (6)
58.     Power-reserve indication for the going train
59.     Power-reserve indication for the striking train
60.     Winding crown position indicator
61.     Winding system for the double barrels
62.     Hand-setting system with two positions and two directions
63.     Concealed flush-fit winding crown for the alarm mechanism

IX. Technical Data

LES CABINOTIERS - THE BERKLEY GRAND COMPLICATION

Reference
9901C/000G-B472
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Calibre
3752
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, manual-winding
72 mm (31 ½’’’) diameter, 36 mm thick
Approximately 60 hours of power reserve
2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations/hour)
2’877 components
245 jewels

Caliber plates
Plate 152: Chronograph
Plate 252: Gregorian perpetual calendar
Plate 352: Chinese perpetual calendar
Plate 552: Astronomical indications

Indications
Time functions
Perpetual calendar function: Gregorian and Chinese
Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar functions
Astronomical indications
Split-seconds chronograph (3 column-wheels) functions
Alarm functions
Westminster Carillon striking functions
Additional features

Case
18K white gold
98 mm in diameter, 50.55 mm thick

Dial
Metal
Opaline silver-toned

Number of hands
Front: 19 / back: 12

Accessories
Delivered with a corrector pen & a magnifying glass

Additional Information
Single-piece edition, crafted on demand
Total weight: 980gr

“From Geometry to Artistry” Exhibition : The art of watchmaking across time - Geneva, April 2024

Embargo lifted on 9 April 2024, 8.30AM CET

From 9 to 22 April 2024 at Geneva

A travelling exhibition of historical Vacheron Constantin timepieces celebrating the Maison’s creativity across three centuries of history.
“From Geometry to Artistry", a theme that illustrates the symbiosis between design and mechanical ingenuity.
Watches from the Vacheron Constantin private collection, backed by archives that are unique in the watch industry.

Vacheron Constantin presents "From Geometry to Artistry", an exhibition illustrating the subtle alchemy that transforms mechanical watchmaking into objets d'art. Selected from among some 1,600 timepieces in the Maison’s heritage, an array of rare and exceptional watches will travel the world throughout 2024.

“From Geometry to Artistry” – the Maison’s annual theme
Transforming mechanical instruments into art and design objects is a cherished Vacheron Constantin reality. A sketch, a geometrical design and its technical extensions give rise to a world of shapes, colours and textures specific to the Maison and its aesthetic values. Far from being self-sufficient, the technical imperatives of a Vacheron Constantin timepiece stimulate aesthetic exploration capable of transcending them. Above and beyond function, "form" expresses the creative momentum uniting artisans, designers, finishers, dial-makers and leather artisans around a single timepiece.The quest for precision, rigorous execution and finely balanced forces – all essential skills in the creation of watch movements – are part of a broader purpose aimed at ensuring a timepiece becomes a medium for conveying emotions. For the Maison, watchmaking "geometry" becomes an artistic field that transforms time measurement into an object of contemplation.

Vacheron Constantin’s rich heritage
All the watches in this exhibition have been selected by the Vacheron Constantin Heritage Department, which is home to more than 1,600 timepieces dating from the 18th century to the present day, as well as tools and items of furniture. This collection is complemented by an impressive archive covering some 420 linear metres. This infinitely rich collection including correspondence between the founding associates sheds fascinating light – both historically and artistically – on the Maison’s activities over the years and centuries. It also lends invaluable documented depth to this “From Geometry to Artistry” exhibition.

A selection of timepieces illustrating 270 years of creativity

Art Deco "staircase" pocket watch in yellow and white gold, two-tone silvery dial – 1931
During the Art Deco period, watches became an essential accessory for the outfits of the time. The style was for these timepieces to feature highly geometric shapes, enhanced by noble materials and a play on colours – as is vividly illustrated by this 1931 manual-winding men's pocket watch. A favourite for evening wear paired with a dinner jacket, it is distinguished by its square shape with cut angles and its two-tone yellow and white gold case made by Verger Frères – a Parisian jeweller with whom Vacheron Constantin enjoyed a close relationship from the late 19th century onwards. This 39 mm timepiece with its two-tone silvery dial and "staircase" look exudes undeniable graphic elegance.

Ladies' yellow gold diamond watch, yellow gold bracelet, silver-toned dial – 1919
With the advent of wristwatches in the early 20th century, watchmakers were free to imagine other case shapes representing a break with the traditional roundness of pocket watches. During this period marked by the influence of Art Deco, Vacheron Constantin distinguished itself with its timepieces featuring highly original contours rendered possible by the miniaturisation of watch movements. This lozenge-shaped manual-winding yellow gold ladies' watch is a perfect example of this new aesthetic quest permeating every detail. Note the hour-markers in the form of radiating Arabic numerals, as well as the Vacheron Constantin signature in the form of a half-ellipse, along with the elegant integration of the yellow gold bracelet featuring extremely slim links.

Dual Time yellow gold watch, frosted silver-toned dial – 1982
Watches have always met the needs of daily life, as demonstrated by the development of minute repeaters in the days before electricity. Multiple time-zone or world time models became popular as soon as intercontinental travel became accessible to all those with a taste for far horizons. Vacheron Constantin did not remain on the sidelines of this development. As early as the 1960s, the Maison began offering timepieces displaying several time zones, such as this 1982 yellow gold quartz model. Housed in a tonneau-shaped case with an octagonal bezel, it mirrors the passage of time here and elsewhere in a rigorously geometrical manner.

Ladies' yellow gold pocket watch with miniature painting in champlevé enamel – 1854
This 34 mm-diameter 1854 yellow gold pocket watch by Vacheron Constantin features decoration representative of Geneva enamelling, a technique of miniature painting on enamel for which the city became famous in the 19th century. In this example, a mother and daughter are depicted against a pastoral background. The composition is set in a bluish champlevé enamel frame. The exquisitely fine lines of the painting are enhanced by the square border, which is itself integrated within the rounded shape of the watch. This juxtaposition of geometric shapes is the ultimate expression of rigorous artistry stemming from a rare degree of enamelling mastery.

Cioccolatone yellow gold watch, two-tone silvery dial – 1957
An emblematic Vacheron Constantin watch produced between the 1950s and 1960s, this model – appearing here in a yellow gold 32.5 x 35 mm version – owes its Cioccolatone nickname to its shape evoking a square of Swiss chocolate. Inherited from the first Vacheron Constantin thematic auction, this name comes from its distinctive rectangular case with curved longitudinal sides housing a square bezel with softened angles. Equipped with self-winding Calibre 1019, the Manufacture's first bidirectional-winding movement, this 1957 timepiece is meticulously finished with applied facetted hour-markers on a two-tone silvery dial. The bracelet seamlessly integrated into the watch brancards (vertical sidebars) completes the architectural appearance of this timepiece.

Yellow gold trapeze-shaped watch, sunburst silver-toned dial – 1964
With the advent of battery-operated watches, followed by quartz watches in the early 1960s, not only was the mechanical nature of watchmaking called into question, but also the aesthetic codes of a profession now stirred by fresh creative winds. It was at this time that the first watch designers began to make their mark. While this 1964 yellow gold trapeze-shaped watch remains classic in its use of the famous manual-winding Calibre 1003, the exceptional slimness of its movement nonetheless enabled the disruptive style intended by its asymmetrical trapeze-shaped case. Measuring 27 x 30 mm, it plays on opposites by incorporating a dial with hour-markers arranged in a circle, resulting in a complex composition paradoxically imbued with simplicity.

Elliptical yellow gold enamelled ladies' watch, enamelled yellow gold bracelet, tiger's eye dial – 1972
This 1972 jewellery watch is characteristic of an era when women's watches were breaking away from classical codes and adopting new graphic lines in line with the miniaturisation of quartz movements. While this Vacheron Constantin watch remains faithful to the watchmaking tradition because it is equipped with a mechanical movement, Calibre 1430 nonetheless enabled all kinds of fanciful designs thanks to its extremely small proportions, measuring 12.40 mm in diameter and 2.90 mm thick. This is evidenced by the elliptical shape of the enamelled yellow gold case, flowing into a bracelet composed of the same ellipses held together by large engraved yellow gold links. The tiger's eye dial completes the composition, making this watch as precious as it is original.

Gem-set yellow gold oval ladies' pendant watch, Harlequin-style mother-of-pearl dial – 1978
The 1970s were a time of unbridled creativity in many fields, including watchmaking. This yellow gold ladies' pendant watch made in 1972 is a perfect example. It is powered by Calibre 1003 – which at 1.64 mm thick was the world's thinnest manual-winding movement at the time of its introduction in 1953 – appearing here in the form of a veritable work of art positioned at the centre of the openworked dial. To highlight it, a Harlequin-style mother-of-pearl mosaic plays on light effects, while the bezel adorned with a snow-set diamond motif completes the picture. This atypical, precious and highly architectural 37 x 47 mm watch conveys a sense of cleverly offbeat creative momentum.

Saltarello yellow gold cushion-shaped watch, sunburst silver-toned dial – 1998
Jumping-hour watches were designed by watchmakers to offer newly facilitated legibility. This complication is often accompanied by retrograde minutes, as on this Saltarello model launched in 1997, a combination of functions that has become a recurrent feature in the technical world of Vacheron Constantin since the turn of the millennium. This Saltarello equipped with ultra-thin self-winding Calibre 1120 is also distinguished by its hand-guilloché dial, featuring striations radiating from the axis of the minutes hand. The dial is housed in a cushion-shaped case with stepped lugs that enhance the originality of the composition.

White gold Métiers d'Art Savoirs enluminés watch, engraved and enamelled dial – 2015
Comprising three 20-piece limited editions, this Métiers d'Art Savoirs Enluminés series is inspired by the Aberdeen Bestiary. One of the finest gems of medieval literature, this early 13th century work served both scientific and fictional purposes. In tribute to this manuscript, the Maison has chosen three animals from the Bestiary, including this midnight blue “Caper” (wild goat) with its piercing gaze, created using a combination of champlevé enamel and miniature enamel. The extremely faithful representation of the original is complemented by engraving on the lower part of the dial, using a gold shading and texturing technique that refers to the calligraphy of the period. Ultra-thin Calibre 1120AT driving a retrograde satellite indication of the hours opposite the minutes scale completes this skilful, creative and highly architectural composition, enhanced by equally imaginative watchmaking techniques.

-------------------------------------

Interview with Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director

Is Vacheron Constantin sensitive to the principle that function dictates form?
This principle underpinning the early 20th century Bauhaus movement has indeed found favour among some watchmakers. Adhering to this rule means first and foremost that the clarity and legibility of the various functions take precedence over all other considerations. The result is a certain form of minimalism for both dials and cases, driven by a concern for 'industrial' ergonomics. Vacheron Constantin does indeed demonstrate rigorous discipline when it comes to form, essentially due to a highly geometrical approach to the aesthetics of watchmaking. This has the advantage of highlighting the different functions without confining creativity to any mere principle of simplicity. Across different eras, Vacheron Constantin watches have demonstrated real imagination in their form and even in their ornamentation, yet without ever abandoning this almost methodically rigorous approach to their architecture.

What about the Roaring Twenties or the Golden Sixties?
Vacheron Constantin has never remained frozen in time. The Maison has consistently proven itself able to adapt to and even anticipate different trends. Vacheron Constantin's private collection comprising over 1,600 models perfectly reflects this wealth of styles, with numerous examples of Art Deco-inspired watches and far more fanciful models from the 1960s and 1970s, the two periods we are discussing. Nonetheless, this collection also reflects the characteristics found throughout the almost 270-year history of the Manufacture, stemming precisely from highly structured aesthetic fundamentals, based on impeccable watchmaking techniques, yet also conducive to the creative impulses that transcend them. Vacheron Constantin watches thus have a "family resemblance" that could be described as the expression of "artistic geometry".

How could one characterise Vacheron Constantin's current collections?
Vacheron Constantin remains loyal to the same fundamentals, namely that the architecture of its watches should be in line with discreet, understated elegance. Once again, these highly geometric foundations are complemented by a sense of composition, attention to detail, meticulous finishing and masterful craftsmanship, all of which contribute to the stylistic orientation that makes Vacheron Constantin timepieces extremely horological yet highly distinctive by their aesthetic signature. This symbiosis underpinning this year's theme is a perfect illustration of the creative process that transforms a watch from a scientific object into an objet d'art.

……………………….

Boutique Vacheron Constantin - From 9 to 22 April 2024 at Geneva

Place de Longemalle 1, 1204 Geneva

MON-FR 10h-18h30_SAT 10h-17h / +41 22 316 17 40

When Lingnan Cultural Heritage Meets the Beauty of High Watchmaking

Vacheron Constantin recently announced its new flagship boutique in Taikoo Hui, Guangzhou, the largest in China to date. A perfect blend of Chinese traditional heritage with Western modernity, it embodies the Maison's sincere respect for traditional Chinese culture and art.
For the first time in China, the boutique features an interactive installation called "Chronogram", which digitally presents Vacheron Constantin's historical documentation of almost 270 years.
The grand opening was highlighted by a stunning showcase of traditional Chinese art forms such as a Konghou performance, live calligraphy demonstration, dragon dance and eye-dotting ceremony, all infused with Lingnan characteristics, showcasing Vacheron Constantin's profound attachment to Chinese culture.
To celebrate the new Flagship Boutique, a selection of Les Collectionneurs watches are on display for the first time in Guangzhou, inviting discerning connoisseurs and vintage watch collectors to discover their favorite pieces through a close-up experience.

Vacheron Constantin, the luxury Swiss watchmaking Maison, is proud to announce the grand opening of its new flagship boutique at Taikoo Hui Guangzhou, a high-end commercial and office complex in the heart of the thriving city. As the Maison's largest boutique in China, it will bring extraordinary timepieces and services to the area. The grand opening ceremony kicked off with enchanting melodies from the ancient Chinese harp Kanghou, amazing guests with an array of performances such as a calligraphy show, dragon dance and eye-dotting ceremony. To mark the occasion, an exclusive exhibition was unveiled, showcasing for the first time in Guangzhou a specially curated selection of Les Collectionneurs timepieces. Displayed for a limited period of one month, these vintage masterpieces from the 20th century provide a window into the Maison's "One of Not Many" legacy of watchmaking excellence throughout three centuries of history.

A Deep Bond with Guangzhou
Since its first trade relations with China in 1845, Vacheron Constantin has been committed to promoting and fostering the international expression and appreciation of Chinese culture. Deeply rooted in art and history, many of its timepieces are inspired by Chinese art and craftsmanship. With the grand opening of the new boutique at Taikoo Hui Guangzhou, the largest in China to date, the Maison aims to offer a fun-filled timepiece journey in Guangzhou through an exquisitely arranged curation of experiences.
As a special highlight, the flagship boutique features a captivating mix of Guangdong province’s Lingnan cultural elements. A fusion of the traditional touches and the contemporary design shed a light on the Maison's deep bond with the historic city of Guangzhou.
Upon entry, visitors are immediately drawn to a blue-tiled wall inspired by the roof tiles of the traditional Lingnan architecture “Huo’er House”, symbolizing prosperity and abundance in local folklore. Further inside, the VIP lounge is enlivened by the fluid strokes of the Chinese-style landscape paintings “The Island of Penglai” and “the Palace of Nine Perfections” in antique blue and green hues. The blend of intricate Chinese artistry and Western elegance creates a unique and harmonious aesthetic within the boutique.

The ground decoration is based on Botticino marble, with fan-shaped Rosa Levanto marble embellishing it, evenly surrounding the display cabinets, creating a dazzling effect. Fans have important significance in traditional Chinese culture, symbolizing etiquette and grace, wisdom and talent. By incorporating fan shaped patterns into the ground design, they add a touch of vitality and dynamics, creating a unique halo visual effect for the flagship boutique.
The boutique also features, for the first time in China, an interactive installation – "Chronogram". Through engaging interactions, connoisseurs are taken on an immersive journey through the Maison's nearly 270 years of history and its exquisite creations. Developed in collaboration with École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne(EPFL), one of the world’s leading polytechnic institutes, the installation is equipped with a sensor-based smart screen which digitally presents Vacheron Constantin's substantial body of archives accumulated since 1755, allowing visitors to dive into a world of extraordinary timepieces and marvel at the Beautiful High Watchmaking.

Harmony of Music and Art: Grand Opening Event
On the day of the opening ceremony, guests were treated to a Kanghou performance. With a history spanning over two thousand years, the traditional Chinese plucked string instrument gradually disappeared after the 14th century, before it was revived in the 20th century in the form of a double-bridge harp. Using this historical instrument, the performance of the famous Cantonese melody "Colorful Clouds Chasing the Moon" set the tone for the grand opening. The music vividly depicted the captivating beauty of the vast sky with an ethereal clarity, resembling the sound of a mountain spring, slowly narrating the Maison's nearly 270 years of high watchmaking heritage and its on-going dedication to artistic and cultural innovation.
Accompanying the music was a live traditional Chinese calligraphy performance by renowned artist Mr. Zhu Jingyi. A gem in the treasure trove of Chinese culture, the art of calligraphy is deeply rooted in thoughtful artisanship, which also characterizes Vacheron Constantin’s watchmaking artistry. With his powerful strokes, the calligrapher created a stunning piece which read ““粤启新春，龙定乾坤”(Dragon Brings the Reinvigorating Energy of Spring to Guangdong)”. The artwork incorporates distinctive Lingnan elements as a nod to Chinese traditional culture and symbolizing the Maison’s aspirations for charting a new chapter in Guangdong.
The calligraphy piece also featured the drawing of a dragon, to celebrate the Year of the Dragon, and infuse the newly opened boutique with the majestic energy and vitality of the Dragon. Amid the rhythmic drumbeats reminiscent of the sounds of wind rustling through pine trees, the dragon’s eyes were dotted in red by Jenny Gu, CEO of Richemont China, and Jessica Huang, General Manager of TaiKoo Hui Guangzhou, to symbolize giving life to the dragon. Leo Yang, Managing Director of Vacheron Constantin China, stamped the work as a finale to the “dragon dance and eye-dotting” ceremony, to spread blessings and good fortune to the new flagship boutique at Taikoo Hui Guangzhou and the local community.

“We are delighted to welcome watch lovers and connoisseurs to our new flagship boutique at Taikoo Hui Guangzhou, to closely appreciate the technical excellence and refined aesthetics of Vacheron Constantin.” said Mr. Leo YANG, Managing Director of Vacheron Constantin China. “With this new boutique, we are able to strike a deep, genuine resonance with the local audiences, to seamlessly connect the cultural roots of Guangzhou and the Maison's watchmaking heritage, and to exemplify the Maison’s openness to diverse cultures. Looking ahead, we will remain passionately committed to art and culture, continuing to deliver exquisite timepieces and unparalleled experiences to our clients, to convey the beauty of time with boundless creativity."

The First Ever “Les Collectionneurs” Exhibition in Guangzhou
To add some flair to the grand opening ceremony, a selection of “Les Collectionneurs” pieces are on display for the first time in Guangzhou, paying tribute to the deep connection between the time-honored watch manufacturer and the historical city of Guangzhou. Since 2008, Vacheron Constantin has made the world of vintage watchmaking its specialty through its Les Collectionneurs range which provides a window onto the 20th century world of the Maison. Now, connoisseurs have the opportunity to experience these vintage timepieces at the Taikoo Hui Guangzhou flagship boutique, each specially selected, restored and authenticated by Vacheron Constantin’s Heritage experts.
The rich and varied selection includes exemplary watches from the 1940s through to 2000, which encompass both ultra-thin or complicated calibres and original displays. Collectors will thus be able to find highly sought-after chronographs from the 20th century, as well as artistic craft watches, Grand Complication timepieces and three-hand models equipped with outstanding movements. A closer look at the distinctive features of these watches highlights the wealth of Vacheron Constantin's production through the ages.

Among them, the 18K yellow gold watch (reference 4642), launched in 1953, is an example of post-war watchmaking. The simplicity of the vertical satin silver dial, embellished with a small seconds hand with simple markers, completes the sense of great watchmaking expertise.
Created in 1995 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the death of Flemish mathematician and geographer Gerhard Mercator, the “Mercator” bi-retrograde watch in 950 platinum (reference 43050) is characterized by an intricately hand-engraved and enamelled dial which reproduces the maps drawn by Mercator himself. Featuring a bi-retrograde display indicated by compass-shaped hands, the watch flaunts its originality while remaining sophisticated.

The stainless steel Overseas I watch with integrated bracelet (reference 42050) from 1998 is the perfect illustration of Vacheron Constantin's contemporary sports watches, with an original design combining elegance with sports appeal, reminiscent of the famous “222”. Featuring a stainless steel case surrounding an anthracite dial, this timepiece from the Overseas I range is highly collectible, exuding a timeless appeal. It bridges two eras, drawing on the best of both.
The 18K yellow gold tourbillon watch with power reserve indicator (reference 30050/000J) was born in 1999 from a decision made by Vacheron Constantin in the early 1990s to develop its first tourbillon wristwatch of the modern era. Its guilloché dial is characterized by a perfectly symmetrical architecture, while the transparent caseback allows the tourbillon to be seen. Remarkably thin for a tourbillon model, it is an elegant and highly desirable piece of fine watchmaking.
Created in 2000, the yellow gold "Historiques" chronograph watch (reference 47111) combines the aesthetic codes of the 1940s with 21st century technology. This piece is intended for collectors of vintage pieces benefiting from watchmaking developments of the 21st century.

Summary
The opening of the new flagship boutique at Taikoo Hui Guangzhou marks a significant milestone for Vacheron Constantin. Following the trend of commercial development in Guangzhou, the Maison has taken a significant stride in expanding its footprint in southern China with the new flagship boutique. Here, every connoisseur can discover Vacheron Constantin's unbounded creativity in fusing cultural ingenuity and exquisite craftsmanship. Marking its grand opening, the diversity of traditional Chinese cultural performances demonstrated the Maison’s genuine respect for Guangzhou's unique cultural heritage, while nodding to its long-standing bond with China. Artistry, time and heritage converge at this exquisite space, where Vacheron Constantin’s horological saga spanning nearly three centuries is told. Visitors are invited to experience, admire, and immerse themselves in the “One of Not Many” cultural and artistic realm of the Maison, while diving deeper into its multifaceted world of high watchmaking through the 'Les Collectionneurs' selection of vintage timepieces.

Boutique Location
Vacheron Constantin Flagship Boutique at Guangzhou Taikoo Hui
Address : 209A, 2nd Floor, Taikoo Hui, 383 Tianhe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province
Business hours : 10:00 to 22:00
Tele. : 020-3880 8007

“Time Imprints": Tracing Traditions”: An exhibition in partnership with Crafts on Peel Hong Kong

Since its founding in 1755, Vacheron Constantin has devoted great importance to art and culture, in safeguarding heritage and in passing on of know-how and craftsmanship
This year, the Maison will partner with Crafts on Peel Hong Kong for a year-long project to preserve, perpetuate and innovate local traditional crafts in Hong Kong
“Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” will be the first part of the series with an aim to foster a creative dialogue to reimagine local crafts heritage in Hong Kong

Vacheron Constantin launches “Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong. First part of a series, the exhibition will mark an exciting start of the Maison’s new artistic and cultural project piloting in Hong Kong. In partnership with Crafts on Peel, a charitable organization in Hong Kong, this new initiative will make an effort to preserve, perpetuate and innovate local traditional crafts which, might have humbly appeared in our everyday lives without us noticing, but are now slowly fading away in the tides of time and modernization. The project aims to foster a creative dialogue to reimagine our cultural heritage, to highlight the essence of craftsmanship and folk wisdom in the disappearing local crafts, and to inspire local traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans in passing-on and exchanging their know-how with innovative thinking.

Vacheron Constantin attachment to the world of art and culture
Since its founding in 1755, Vacheron Constantin remains the world’s oldest watch Manufacture in continuous production. Through different time periods, the Maison has continued to draw from age-old traditions and craftsmanship to create masterpieces that are relevant not only for today, but also for the future, by imbuing them with innovation and creativity that is relatable to a new and contemporary audience.
In the course of nearly 270 years of watchmaking heritage, Vacheron Constantin has also devoted great importance to arts and culture. Their partnerships, recently with The Louvre and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, have betoken a celebration of beauty driven by the Manufacture’s constant concern for safeguarding and passing on of heritage, as well as a perpetual pursuit for excellence through exploration, innovation and self-renewal. This emphasis on artistic and cultural heritage highlights Vacheron Constantin’s shared commitment with all its partners to transmitting knowledge and preserving the arts.

Crafts on Peel Hong Kong partnership
This year, Vacheron Constantin will partner with Crafts on Peel, Hong Kong, for a year-long project to preserve, perpetuate and innovate local traditional crafts in Hong Kong. Together with Crafts on Peel – a charitable organization whose mission is to revive, reinterpret and perpetuate traditional Hong Kong craftsmanship by promoting collaborations between local craftsmen and contemporary artisans through apprenticeship and exchange of techniques, “Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” will be the first part of the year-long series in fostering a creative dialogue to reimagine our cultural heritage, to highlight the essence of craftsmanship and folk wisdom in the disappearing local crafts, and to inspire local traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans in passing-on and exchanging their know-how with innovative thinking.

“Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions”
On exhibition from March 15 to 18, at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, “Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” will bring together local creative talents across generations to showcase this cultural mission:

Master Liu Wing Sheung, one of Hong Kong’s last remaining and preeminent casting craftsmen, who has begun passing along his experience and know-how to Fanson Lam, a young sculptor who has created contemporary art by infusing traditional casting techniques into his work, and Angel Hui, a contemporary painter, whose works feature and continues to transcend the traditional Chinese art of embroidery.
The exhibition will explore various themes that look back through our cultural history – from mythology and folklore to present day Hong Kong. Master Liu Wing Sheung and Fanson Lam will both showcase art pieces on their own that highlight the art of casting that depict our traditional ideas of perception, philosophy, karma and culture, as well as pieces that include fantastical imagery.
The art pieces will highlight the seasoned hands of both artisans and their collaborative efforts inspired by ancient Chinese traditions and crafts - from the use and mastery of bronze, to inspiration from age-old tools like mirrors and door knockers, to casting techniques amalgamated with an in-depth knowledge and modern interpretation of our culture to create something new and meaningful for a contemporary audience.
Angel Hui, meanwhile, will showcase a colourful world of nature that has been inspired by Hong Kong’s local cityscape “Goldfish Street” – the goldfish itself, a traditional Chinese symbol of happiness and good fortune. The result brings the exhibition back to modern-day Hong Kong, fusing the artist’s interpretation of social roles of commonly found objects with the ancient Chinese art of embroidery as she applies challenging embroidery techniques on fragile plastic material, creating exquisite, soulful goldfish motifs.

Métiers d’Art Tribute to Explorer Naturalists
In perpetuating their craft as it pertains to art and craftsmanship, Vacheron Constantin itself is writing a new chapter in the Métiers d’Art collection with four Tribute to Explorer Naturalists ten-piece limited editions. An ode to exploration, craftsmanship and technicity, the series focuses on the scientific discoveries of the naturalists who travelled the world's oceans aboard the English ship Beagle in the early 1830s. The collection brings together the combined talents of the Manufacture’s artisans – engravers, enamellers, guilloché specialists and jewellers – that the Maison cultivates within its Manufacture, alternately mingling their skills to create dials that are like windows opening onto the world.
Vacheron Constantin continues to collaborate with different artistic and cultural partners to preserve and promote arts, and this program aims to preserve fading crafts in Hong Kong and rejuvenate them in a contemporary manner to a new audience; much like how Vacheron Constantin looks to their famous heritage as the world’s oldest Manufacture, to take inspiration from the past, and inject and rejuvenate their creations with innovation for the modern era and the future.

“Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” Exhibition

Date: March 15 – 18, 2024

Time: From 10am to 8pm (March 18 will be closed at 6pm)

Venue: Duplex Studio - Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road, Central, Hong Kong

About Vacheron Constantin
Founded in 1755, Vacheron Constantin is the world’s oldest watch Manufacture in continuous production for nearly 270 years, faithfully perpetuating a proud heritage of watchmaking excellence and stylistic sophistication through generations of master craftsmen.
At the pinnacle of Haute Horlogerie and understated elegance, the Maison creates timepieces with unique technical and aesthetic signatures, and an extremely high level of finishing touches.
Vacheron Constantin brings to life unparalleled heritage and a spirit of innovation through its collections: Patrimony, Traditionnelle, Métiers d’Art, Overseas, Fiftysix, Historiques and Égérie. It also offers its discerning clientele of connoisseurs the rare opportunity to acquire vintage pieces within the Les Collectionneurs assortment, as well as unique and bespoke timepieces by means of its Les Cabinotiers department.

About Crafts on Peel
Crafts on Peel is a charitable organization to revive, reinterpret and perpetuate Hong Kong’s traditional craftsmanship. Incubated in 2017, we started with an aim to support craftsmen and artisans by providing them a platform for their creativity. Acting as a matchmaker, we foster dialogues and collaborations between traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans domestically and internationally. Through crafts exchange, we create opportunities for skill and knowledge transfer to nurture the younger generation to incorporate traditional craft techniques into innovative contemporary design.
Ever since our official opening in 2020, Crafts on Peel has launched several local and international exhibitions, organised workshops in collaboration with our artisans, cultivated the Crafts Fellowship Programme and incubated numerous partnerships and collaborations that connect artisans globally. Crafts on Peel hopes to develop these programs to enhance the appreciation of craftsmanship, but also to show how traditional crafts can be juxtaposed with our modern lifestyles in a way that celebrates our cultural heritage.
We believe that the essence of craftsmanship lies in the hands. At the core of the concept of Crafts on Peel is the stories of our craftsmen. Our logo reflects our commitment to preserving our Chinese cultural heritage, which is composed of a pair of “hands” (手) in two Chinese characters – the fundamental tool for a craftsman. The hand character, together with its inverted mirrored image, combined to form the Chinese character “I” (我), which is the idea that each craft originates from the unique experiences of the craftsman. The two hands also symbolize the relationship between the craft master and his apprentice, as the skill is passed on from one generation to the next.

VACHERON CONSTANTIN x THE MET : A Masterpiece on your Wrist program

The partnership between Vacheron Constantin and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET) was established in 2023 with the long-term vision of safeguarding and passing on knowledge and expertise.
The ‘Masterpiece on your Wrist’ program offers Vacheron Constantin’s clients the possibility of creating a single-piece edition Les Cabinotiers watch, the dial of which will feature an enamel reproduction of an artwork chosen by the client. The program now offers works from The MET’s collection, such as masterpieces by Claude Monet, Winslow Homer, Vincent van Gogh, and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.
The ‘Masterpiece on your Wrist’ program offers clients a unique experience when commissioning their piece unique, including a private tour of The MET in the company of its expert curators, as well as a visit to Vacheron Constantin’s Manufacture in Geneva.

Ever since its founding in 1755, a deep commitment to the arts has been at the core of Vacheron Constantin and remains integral today. The ongoing partnership with The Metropolitan Museum of Art is the latest way in which Vacheron Constantin continues to support, engage, and learn from the Arts community.

A long-term Partnership
The partnership between Vacheron Constantin and The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The MET), launched in 2023, is rooted in a shared commitment to safeguarding and passing on knowledge and expertise. Both institutions individually have extensive histories of conservatorship in artistic know-how and craft, and together seek to share in this commitment to the arts. For Louis Ferla, CEO of Vacheron Constantin, "the quest for excellence is a constant challenge in which we never stop learning.” This multi-year partnership will focus on the values shared between the two institutions and will support combined ideas and efforts to engage the artistic and creative community. Continued learning, and a support of the transmission of knowledge from master to apprentice, have been at the core of Vacheron Constantin since 1755.

Max Hollein, The MET’s Marina Kellen French Director and CEO, has shared: “We are delighted to partner with Vacheron Constantin and are grateful for their support of The MET’s mission, which aligns with the esteemed watchmaker’s own longstanding efforts to celebrate creativity and preserve artistic traditions. We look forward to collaborating on a number of unique projects that build on our mutual commitment to education and the arts.”

Vacheron Constantin and The MET’s partnership will entail a variety of mission-driven projects, including an artist-in-residency program and other educational initiatives, to be shared at a later date. The first project to be unveiled is the extension of the ‘Masterpiece on your Wrist’ program.

The Masterpiece on your Wrist Program
Initially launched in 2019, the ‘Masterpiece on your Wrist’ program offers connoisseurs the unique opportunity to realize a bespoke, single piece edition watch, featuring an enamel dial reproduction of a masterwork housed in the world’s preeminent museums. The partnership with The Metropolitan Museum of Art now broadens this offering, bringing a vast array of iconic and beloved artwork into the program’s catalog. “To fully illustrate this vision, Vacheron Constantin and The MET have rendered four examples to showcase how masterpieces from the Met’s catalog could be realized in the ‘Masterpiece on your Wrist’ including paintings such as Wheat Field with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh, Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies by Claude Monet and Northeaster by Winslow Homer or sculptures such as Diana by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, are offered.”
As a part of the ‘Masterpiece on your Wrist’ experience, the commissioning client will have the opportunity to experience a private tour of The MET in the company of its experts and curators, to guide selection of their Masterwork, as well as a visit to Vacheron Constantin’s Manufacture in Geneva to meet the master watchmakers and artisans who will undertake the project. The culmination of this process will result in a piece unique watch, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from both the museum and Vacheron Constantin, reflecting the taste and interests of its commissioner and offering a daily view of a masterpiece.

Métiers d'Art– Miniature Enamel Painting
Miniature Enamel Painting is an exceedingly rare craft, mastered by only a select few artisans worldwide. This technique consists of hand-painting in minutia a desired artwork or motif onto a base-layer of baked enamel. Applied in individual thin layers by color, the paint is fixed in place by successive firings. Once the painting is complete, the artisan protects the work with a transparent enamel flux to give it both brilliance and depth. Unlike other techniques, Miniature Painting is perfect for reproducing dramatic details, movement and colors due to its unique ability to imitate the brushstrokes and impasto depth of classical paintings.
Miniature Enamel Painting is the perfect technique for realizing masterworks such as: Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies by Claude Monet (1899), Northeaster by Winslow Homer (1895 reworked by 1901), and Wheat Field with Cypresses by Vincent van Gogh (1889).

Métiers d'Art – Grisaille Enameling
The Grisaille enameling is a monochromatic technique often employed due to its unrivaled ability to suggest depth, luminosity and dimensionality. Grisaille is the perfect technique to create the illusion of sculpture, especially relief, due to the shading achieved in the process. Grisaille begins with a dark enamel base, usually black, as a background upon which the master artisan builds up translucent layers of Limoges white – a pasty white enamel – to obtain varying shades of grey. Each successive layer builds up a chiaroscuro effect, the representation of light and shadow as they define three-dimensional objects, to suggest to the viewer an object in space.
Grisaille enameling is the perfect technique for reproducing masterworks such as: Diana by Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1893-94).

Summary
Vacheron Constantin offers their ‘Masterpiece on the Wrist’ program in partnership with New York's prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art. This alliance is based on common values of safeguarding and passing on knowledge dedicated to creativity and innovation. Their joint emphasis on artistic and cultural heritage encourages the sharing of knowledge in the pursuit of excellence. The MET and Vacheron Constantin will continue developing a series of joint projects designed to showcase their respective rich heritages and their ability to keep cultural legacies alive for future generations.

Calibres Available / Technical Data

Calibre
2755 TMR
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin Mechanical, manual-winding
33.9 mm diameter, 6.1 mm thick
Approximately 58 hours of power reserve
2.5 Hz (18,00 vibrations per hour)
471 components
40 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepieces
Minute Repeater, Power Reserve, Tourbillon, Hours, minutes and small seconds on Tourbillon

The manual-winding 2755 TMR movement, launched in 2017, combines the musical charm of a minute repeater with the timekeeping precision of a Maltese cross-shaped tourbillon regulator. Designed to compensate for the effects of the Earth's gravity, this mechanism operates at a low frequency of 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour). This enables its complexity to be fully appreciated – especially as it is the only mechanical element visible from the front, with the 58-hour power reserve displayed by a hand on the back of the watch. The only sign of the minute repeater’s presence is the slidepiece on the case middle.
To create this on-demand striking mechanism, one of the most delicate horological complications due to its melodiously audible nature, Vacheron Constantin's engineers and master watchmakers drew inspiration from the work carried out on the La Tour de l'Île anniversary watch in 2005 and notably its strike governor. This system enables the duration of the musical sequences to be perfectly timed in order to obtain a distinct and harmonious sound from the notes played for the hours, quarters and minutes by the hammers striking the two circular gongs. Calibre 2755 TMR features High Watchmaking finishing including meticulously hand-chamfered bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève pattern, a circular-grained mainplate and a beautifully rounded-off tourbillon carriage bar.

Calibre
1731
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin Mechanical, manual-winding
32.8 mm diameter, 3.9 mm thick
Approximately 65 hours of power reserve
3 Hz (21,600 vibrations per hour)
265 components
36 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepieces
Minute Repeater, Hours and minutes

The In-house Calibre 1731, named after the year Jean-Marc Vacheron was born, offers extreme thinness for a minute repeater movement. At only 3.90 mm thick, it is nevertheless equipped with a barrel ensuring an impressive 65-hour power reserve. It took four years to solve the conundrum of how to create a minute repeater movement combining slenderness, pure acoustics, aesthetic elegance, reliability and robustness. Nor is the technical prowess confined to the ultra-thin challenge, since Calibre 1731 is also equipped with a completely silent flying strike governor (unlike conventional pallet lever-type governors), whose role is to regulate the rate at which the hammers strike the gongs. Great attention was devoted to acoustics, the true reason for being of a minute repeater. To obtain a crystal-clear and perfectly harmonious sound, the gongs are not only linked to the case middle to amplify the sound, but also superimposed rather than aligned side by side.

Calibre
2460 SC
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding
26.2 mm diameter, 3.6 mm thick
22K pink gold oscillating weight with The MET façade engraving
Approximately 40 hours of power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour)
182 components
27 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepieces
Hours, minutes and central seconds

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 by a group of American citizens—businessmen and financiers as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day—who wanted to create a museum to bring art and art education to the American people. Today, The MET displays tens of thousands of objects covering 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The MET Fifth Avenue and The MET Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The MET experience online. Since its founding, The MET has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. Every day, art comes alive in the Museum’s galleries and through its exhibitions and events, revealing both new ideas and unexpected connections across time and across cultures.

Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies, Claude Monet, 1899
This example features a detail from an oil painting by Claude Monet (French, 1840–1926) representing the wooden footbridge over his famed water-lily pond in Giverny. A passionate horticulturist, Monet purchased the land in 1893 with the intention of building something "for the pleasure of the eye and also for motifs to paint." This painting in The MET collection is part of a series of views of the bridge and pond. It gives prominence to the water lilies and their reflections on the pond thanks to its vertical format.

Northeaster, Winslow Homer, 1895 reworked by 1901
This example features a detail of Northeaster, one of Winslow Homer’s (American, 1836–1910) seascapes painted at Prout’s Neck, Maine, where he lived and worked in the last decades of his life. Homer studied the rugged coast and churning ocean across the seasons, in varying conditions and at different times of day, painting a series of images that conveyed the timeless power and majesty of the sea. Critics admired this rendering of a particularly fierce winter storm for its “large atmosphere of great natural spaces unmarked by the presence of puny man.”

Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent van Gogh, 1889
This example features a detail of a masterpiece painted in oil on canvas by the famous artist Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890) shortly after he took refuge at the asylum in Saint-Rémy in 1889. Setting up his easel in the Provençal countryside, he captured the towering cypresses that hold forth over golden windswept fields of wheat, the swaying olive trees, the Alpilles mountains, and clouds swirling in the skies. He regarded it as one of his “best” summer landscapes, and repeated the composition in a summer drawing and two later paintings made in his studio that fall.

Diana, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, 1893-94
This example features a detail from Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s (American, 1848–1907) gilded bronze sculpture Diana that depicts the Roman goddess of the moon and the hunt about to release her arrow. For his only female nude, Saint-Gaudens accentuated the figure’s simple, elegant lines and strong silhouette. The MET sculpture is a half-size model of a 13-foot-high Diana that was on top of Madison Square Garden’s tower from 1893 until the building was demolished in 1925. Saint-Gaudens capitalized on the fame of this iconic New York landmark by producing reductions in various heights.

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The History of Les Cabinotiers
Vacheron Constantin continues the grand tradition of the Cabinotiers in the Age of Enlightenment, crafting unique, personal and unexpected creations at the behest of discerning clientele. During this time, the watchmaking artisans in Geneva worked in ‘cabinets’ installed in attics, on an overhanging floor called a "dome" because it was bathed in daylight, which was essential for their miniature creations. They became known as cabinotiers and, throughout the years, the name, as well as the resolutely demanding approach to their craft, has stayed in the Vacheron Constantin spirit.

Related Press releases

• A partnership to safeguard and pass on knowledge and expertise - Vacheron Constantin and The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• The Master Enameller, artisan of colour

“AMONG THE PILLARS”, An artistic collaboration for Ramadan with Emirati artist, Omar al Gurg

Dubai, U.A.E, March 11th 2024

Exhibited in The Dubai Mall Flagship boutique and replicated in all regional boutiques throughout the month of Ramadan.
Art installation inspired from the Middle East's rich landscape and Islamic architecture.
Crafted from innovative and locally sourced materials, which illustrates the Maison's commitment to the region’s culture, innovation and craftsmanship.

Vacheron Constantin, the luxury Swiss watchmaking Maison with nearly 270 years of expertise and continuous history, collaborates with Emirati designer Omar Al Gurg on the occasion of Ramadan to unveil 'Among The Pillars’, an art installation inspired from the Middle East's rich landscape and Islamic architecture.

The designer's minimalist approach brings together fine craftsmanship and locally sourced materials, illustrating the Maison's commitment to local culture, innovation and craftsmanship. The main art piece is exhibited in the Atrium of The Dubai Mall flagship boutique and replicated in all regional boutiques across the United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain during the entire month of Ramadan.

“We are proud to collaborate with Omar Al Gurg, a talented and creative artist who beautifully blended together the strong cultural heritage of the region with the precision of fine watchmaking and craftsmanship. In the spirit of Ramadan,
this distinctive masterpiece embodies values of heritage, community and Islamic art through the use of innovative and sustainable palm tree material. We welcome our clients to discover this avant-garde art installation in our regional boutiques. Ramadan Kareem!” - Christophe Ramel, Vacheron Constantin Regional Managing Director - Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa

“Among The Pillars”
Known for his unique minimalist and modulable approach, Omar Al Gurg, founder of Modu Method, embodies the essence of The Maison's annual theme, 'Less’ential', by reflecting the beauty and impact of simplicity in design. Inspired by Middle Eastern culture, he brought to life a 4-meter-tall masterpiece composed of two innovative and locally sourced materials, which underscores the Maison’s profound engagement with the local community.
The first one "PlyPalm", is a new material made of regional palm tree fronds, which turns palm tree branches into a statement of elegance. Crafted from this sustainable material, the robust hexagonal pillars represent the strong roots and foundation of the region's heritage, as well as the origin of time, which was traditionally marked by the projection of a pillar's shadow onto
the floor.
The second material "DateForm", is the world's first date-seed based solid surface, which transforms date seeds into an element that enriches our interiors. This fascinating material, being made of dates, further amplifies the traditions of the holy month and takes its place as the backwall of the art piece.
The artistry of Vacheron Constantin is displayed through an engraved plate adorning the top of the shorter pillars, unveiling the Vacheron Constantin Maltese cross. This detail establishes a seamless link between high watchmaking excellence and local craftmanship techniques.

To delve deeper into the creative and artistic process, a 'making-of' movie is available on the Maison's website at
https://www.vacheron-constantin.com/ae/en/events/ramadan.html

About Omar Al Gurg:
Dubai-born designer Omar Al Gurg, founder of "Modu Method," seamlessly blends creativity, community, and functionality in his globally acclaimed work. His iconic "Spike" and versatile "NU" pieces reflect an intuitive and pragmatic design philosophy, solving real-life problems. Al Gurg's journey, influenced by solitude and a commitment to community in his "modern-day majlis," is shaped by hands-on family upbringing, architectural studies in Belfast, and a return to the UAE to manage Modu, and his family business.
Under "Modu Method", Al Gurg champions accessible design, reaching global destinations from Italy to Kuwait, uniting contemporary pieces with timeless appeal. His designs, echoing Arab identity, tell unique stories, making each piece a
distinctive creation in the design landscape. Omar Al Gurg's commitment to accessible design, craftsmanship, and storytelling sets him apart, ensuring his creations stand out with a name and character.

Traditionnelle manual-winding – Colorful elegance and a modern vibe
The Traditionnelle manual-winding watch is adorned with a pleasing pink gold and green colour combo, framed by a 38 mm diameter designed to suit the wrists of High Watchmaking devotees. As a loyal custodian of the 18th century watchmaking heritage, this new Traditionnelle watch features all collection’s characteristic design codes. Its classic look is immediately
recognisable by the slender, stepped case middle and the railway-type minutes track punctuating the dial, swept over by Dauphine-style hands. The contemporary twist comes in the form of a new green dial with a sunburst finish playing with light effects at every subtle flick of the wrist.
Technically speaking, horological mechanics are dedicated to aesthetics in this model. Vacheron Constantin has opted for manual-winding in-house Calibre 4400 AS endowed with a generous 65-hour power reserve to drive the hours, minutes and small seconds indications, It can be admired through the sapphire caseback and features the refined Côtes de Genève pattern representing the unmistakable signature of a High Watchmaking timepiece.
The Traditionnelle manual-winding watch comes in an elegant 33 mm-diameter pink gold case. Featuring a slim stepped profile, railway-type minutes track and Dauphine-type hands, this beautifully balanced model celebrates traditional, classical watchmaking codes, yet with an exquisitely original touch. The radiance of the 54 round-cut diamonds delicately set on the bezel is matched by that of the majestic green sunburst dial. A truly luminous sight enhanced by a tone-on-tone alligator
strap.Beating behind the scenes is in-house manual-winding Calibre 1440 with its 42-hour power reserve and Côtes de Genève decorative pattern.

Patrimony moon phase retrograde date
The Patrimony moon phase retrograde date model, presented in 2017 in white and pink gold versions, is one of Vacheron Constantin's signature watches. Its understated elegance and the originality of its display embody the Maison’s identity at
first glance.
Entirely faithful to the spirit of the Patrimony collection, drawing inspiration from the watches created by the Maison in the 1950s, this timepiece bears witness to the minimalist aesthetic approach with a concern for detail aimed at achieving
perfectly balanced lines. The timelessly elegant 42.5 mm round case houses the self-winding Manufacture 2460 R31L calibre with its precision moon phase and retrograde pointer-type date display. For optimal user-friendliness, all function settings are performed via the crown.

Patrimony self-winding jewellery: A new jewellery signature
Following in the footsteps of the self-winding Patrimony models unveiled in spring 2023 in a case with redesigned proportions and adorned with a subtly rounded crown, this new creation imbued with uncompromising refinement is distinguished by the finesse of its gem-setting. Light bounces off every facet of its elegant 37 mm case. The slender case middle is adorned with round diamonds and the lugs are also delicately gem-set, as too is the bezel forming a halo of light around the dial. In all, the Patrimony self-winding model is set with 769 diamonds, including a single rose-cut diamond resting delicately on the sensual curve of the crown.

Overseas moon phase retrograde date
In 2016, Vacheron Constantin made its Overseas watch the symbol of sporty-chic watchmaking. New horizons were explored for this model emblematic of the Maison, through a collection with a revisited design and new calibres that perpetuates its original spirit of 1996. Uniting strength and distinction, a sporty temperament and inherent refinement, the Overseas collection successfully blends performance and style, High Watchmaking and a certain aura of casual elegance. With the passing years, various versions of the Overseas have made their mark with their characteristic six-sided bezels, in-house self-winding movements and interchangeable bracelets/straps.
Everything contributing to the collection’s visual signature and horological qualities is to be found in the new Overseas moon phase retrograde date model. At the heart of a 41 mm steel case beats in-house Calibre 2460 R31L/2, combining for the first time in this collection a retrograde date and a high-precision moon phase. The iconic blue lacquered dial features a play on light thanks to the velvet-finish flange and sunburst satin-brushed centre. The complications are displayed with extreme legibility. The entire spirit of the Overseas collection is concentrated in this new watch that is totally versatile and intrinsically horological.

Overseas self-winding: clothed in gold and light
Like a new invitation to travel, the Overseas self-winding watch reveals a new facet of its temperament. Its signature style? A harmonious tone-on-tone approach playing with the warm reflections of pink gold clothing its case and bracelet,
matched by the radiant glow of its dial draped in transparent lacquer and adorned with a sunburst satin-brushed finish.
Vacheron Constantin's artisans devoted a great deal of effort to producing the exact dial nuance, in perfect harmony with the caseband and bracelet. This monochrome look, accentuated by the brilliance of the 90 diamonds finely set on the six-sided bezel evoking the Maltese cross, traces a slim cuff-watch design on the wrist. A jewel-like watch featuring a slender, dainty silhouette that is the perfect companion at all times.

Vacheron Constantin exhibits two centuries of retrograde indications in Madrid

Exhibition from 20 February to 04 March 2024, located in the boutique in Madrid (C/ Serrano 68)
The retrograde indications, which have been present since the 18th century, reflect Vacheron Constantin's expertise in watchmaking complications.
To illustrate this distinctive feature of Vacheron Constantin, a selection of models with retrograde indications spanning more than two centuries of history is presented.

Retrograde indications, which appeared in the 18th century and are sometimes accompanied by protruding indications, represent a technical challenge requiring extreme precision. The watches selected from Vacheron Constantin's private collection, on display from 20 February to 04 March 2024, pay tribute to the expertise that the brand has been cultivating for over two centuries in the field of retrograde indications.

The history of retrograde indications dates back to the 18th century and involves the indicator not making a complete turn of the dial, but returning to its starting point and starting to move again after having travelled its entire measuring segment. This aspect has always represented a technical difficulty requiring extreme precision, something that the Maison has made a distinctive feature of since 1824, including protruding indications on pocket watches.
Vacheron Constantin perfected its technique over the course of a century to be able to equip its wristwatches with retrograde indications, giving the Maison a special know-how in the field of horological complications and making them part of its current collections.
The exhibition pays tribute to Vacheron Constantin's technical mastery over more than two centuries of history through models with retrograde indications specifically and special indications more generally.
Following the success achieved with the development of retrograde indications, the Maison now has models that include this complication in its Traditionnelle or Overseas collections, notably the Traditionnelle tourbillon openface watch with retrograde date or the Overseas moonphase watch with retrograde date.

Gentleman's pocket watch in yellow gold with split-seconds chronograph - 1894
The chronograph first appeared at the beginning of the 19th century as a counter of thirds and was subsequently joined by numerous innovations, such as the split-seconds function for calculating split times. The split-seconds counter was created in 1831 by the Austrian Joseph-Thadeus Winnerl with a single-hand system and improved in 1838 with the addition of an extra hand. These early mechanisms were created for a clientele interested in adventure, speed and sporting competitions, such as an 1889 order from a client in Buenos Aires interested in horse racing for a chronograph with a split-seconds hand, or the 1922 request from the famous set designer Edgar Wallace (creator of the film King Kong) for a personalised model of chronograph with a bassine-type split-seconds hand in polished 18-carat gold. Mechanically, the split-seconds function is much more complex than a simple chronograph because it is equipped with a second disengagement system with clamps to bring the chronograph wheel and pinion into contact with or separate them from the same parts located on the split-seconds hand. In addition, the hand is repositioned by a spring which is loaded by the chronograph.

Gentleman's pocket watch "Arms in the air" in yellow gold - 1931
At the beginning of the 20th century, the art deco movement was in full swing and creative minds were at work creating imaginative dials and cases with retrograde indications. At Vacheron Constantin, these novelties appeared almost simultaneously on table clocks (1920s), pocket watches (1930s) and wristwatches (1935) and have become a distinctive feature of the Maison, forming part of its current collections.
The pocket watch in question is a bi-retrograde model and is the perfect example of the aesthetic freedom offered by special indications. The dial depicts a Hindu magician whose arms indicate the hours and minutes in two graduated segments on either side, and as time progresses he adopts different postures, reminiscent of the automatons that were so fashionable at the time. Historically, in addition to cyclical retrograde time indicators (hours, minutes, seconds or dates), there are also "sweep" retrograde indicators such as power-reserve indicators.

Gentleman's pocket watch in yellow gold with split-seconds chronograph – 1984
This pocket-watch model, through its Reference 57260, represents the quintessence of retrograde indications due to its rampant chronograph with double retrograde indication, being one of its 57 horological complications.
It is crafted in 18-carat yellow gold, with a white enamelled dial, manual winding, perpetual calendar and minute repeater.

Gentleman's wristwatch Saltarello, Model 43041 - 2000
The Saltarello model was first presented in 1997 at the "Watches & Jewels" event in Berlin and has become one of Vacheron Constantin's most iconic models, accentuating one of the Maison's hallmarks: inventing new ways of displaying the time, in this case taking inspiration from lift indicators to show the floor.
The time is displayed in a window at 12 o'clock on the dial, while a retrograde hand indicates the minutes and moves along the graduated arc from 0 to 60, then jumps back and starts again (a system patented by Vacheron Constantin). The self-winding Model 43041 also features a soft cushion-shaped case and a pink gold dial with a guilloché finish. This is a limited edition of 500 pieces (200 in white gold, 100 in yellow gold and 200 in pink gold).

Gentleman's wristwatch The Mercator, Model 43050 – 2001
A tribute to the geographer Gerard Mercator, it reproduces the maps of Europe drawn by him in the 16th century on its Grand Feu polychrome enamelled dial, using the cloisonné technique. It features an ultra-thin Calibre 1120 which began to be marketed in 1967 and comprises one of the thinnest automatic movements in the world due to its 2.45 mm thickness. It also features a double retrograde hours and minutes indication in continuous movement.
The inspiration for this watch is to be found in the "arms-in-the-air" indications typical of the early 20th century, but integrated into the volume in a more reduced form to fit the wrist. Its retrograde compass-shaped hands were specially designed for this collection and the positioning of its axis at 12 o'clock perfectly evokes the instrument used throughout the cartographer, mathematician and geographer's life.

Ladies' wristwatch, Model 83570 - 2014
This model belonging to the Traditionnelle collection is the ultimate expression of the strict tradition of Geneva Haute Horlogerie inherited in the 18th century. Imbued with history and rigorous discipline, the Traditionnelle collection displays great technical refinement and pays tribute to the manual decorative techniques handed down from generation to generation.The watch is crafted in 18-carat white gold and is set with 81 brilliant-cut diamonds and a high-precision moon phase, located in the centre of its mother-of-pearl dial, which only needs to be adjusted every 122 years.

Gentleman's wristwatch Savoirs Enluminés - 2015
The Savoirs Enluminés model is part of the Métiers D'Art collection and forms a unique edition of only 60 examples. It invites you on a voyage of discovery to the heart of the Middle Ages, inspired by the Bestiary of Abedeen, an ancient Celtic manuscript that is internationally renowned for the exquisite quality of its miniatures. This particular model called "Alcyon" pays homage to Water, representing a seabird that builds its nest in the sea and symbolises serenity. Its dial is decorated with the art of Grand Feu enamel and also with the technique of engraving in the form of a delicate phrase with gold shading and texturing.
Its patented mechanism has a continuously variable hour indicator and the three spokes of the hour wheel extend into a carousel, each supporting four hour numerals, the direction of which is determined by a Maltese cross-shaped cam. The hour slides progressively downwards before disappearing after crossing the 60th minute index and giving way to the next hour numeral.

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Vacheron Constantin Boutique Madrid

Serrano 68 Street

28001, Madrid, Spain

Vacheron Constantin at Doha : Jewellery and Watches Exhibition - 5 February – 11 February 2024

Vacheron Constantin announces its participation in the Doha Jewellery & Watches Exhibition 2024.
The Maison will offer an experiential journey enriched with client-first services.
Several novelties from the Traditionnelle, Overseas and Patrimony collections will be showcased.

Vacheron Constantin, the luxury Swiss watchmaking Maison, renowned for its nearly 270 years of expertise and unwavering commitment to excellence, proudly announces its participation in the highly anticipated Doha Jewellery & Watches Exhibition, set to take place from February 5th to 11th, 2024.

Immersive experience
Building on its rich legacy of craftsmanship and innovation, Vacheron Constantin aims to offer a captivating and immersive journey at the exhibition. The exhibition will showcase timepieces with intricate details, from simple elegance to high
complications, promising a rare and intimate insight into Vacheron Constantin’s unwavering dedication to the artistry of high watchmaking.
Guests are invited to indulge in unparalleled client-first services, including a dedicated strap bar, providing a personalised experience to explore and engage with the Maison's exquisite timepiece collections, among which the Traditionnelle, Overseas and Patrimony.
“In a world where time is the ultimate luxury, Vacheron Constantin is honoured to participate in the prestigious Doha Jewellery & Watches Exhibition once again. Our timepieces are not just instruments to measure time but reflections of our heritage, craftsmanship, and dedication to perfection. We invite clients, connoisseurs, and watch enthusiasts to join us on this extraordinary journey of elegance and innovation.” says Christophe Ramel, Regional Director of Vacheron Constantin Middle East.

Overseas moon phase retrograde date: first ever sport watch with a retrograde display for Vacheron Constantin
The Overseas line incorporates a retrograde display, a function that is part of Vacheron Constantin’s living heritage and continually reinvents itself. The new model keeps the collection iconic attributes immediately recognisable: six-sided
bezel evoking the Maltese cross, fluted crown, polished and satin-brushed finishes, translucent lacquered dial, luminescent hour-markers and hands, by combining them with a retrograde date and a precision moon-phase.
At the heart of a 41 mm steel case beats in-house Calibre 2460 R31L/2, combining for the first time in this collection a retrograde date and a highprecision moon phase. The iconic blue lacquered dial features a play on light thanks to the velvet-finish flange and sunburst satin-brushed centre. The complications are displayed with extreme legibility. The entire spirit of the Overseas collection is concentrated in this new watch that is totally versatile and intrinsically horological.

Overseas self-winding: a new silhouette
Four new references in steel and 18K 5N pink gold enrich the Overseas collection, in a 34.5 mm diameter for the non-set versions and 35 mm for the gemset models. With these new sizes suited to both men's and women's wrists, the case design
has been subtly refined. Three of the new models feature a sunburst blue lacquered dial with a velvety finish for the minutes track, while the fourth in gemset steel is graced with a pink hue. The new watches are fitted with an integrated metal bracelet in 18K 5N gold or steel, depending on the model, secured by two additional interchangeable leather and rubber straps with pin buckles or folding clasps. The colour of the two additional straps corresponds to that of the dials: blue on the non-set gold and steel versions, and gemset beige-pink on the steel variation. Calibre 1088/1 has been chosen to power these pieces. Equipped with a stop-seconds mechanism enabling precision adjustment, it is fitted with the 22K gold rotor bearing the collection's emblematic compass rose, which ensures winding with a 40-hour power reserve.

Overseas self-winding – Clothed in gold and light: A shining addition to the new Overseas 35 mm assortment
Radiant in gold and light, the new self-winding Overseas sees life in pink and broadens the horizons of elegance. Presented in a 35 mm diameter, this model radiating a slim sporty-chic cuff vibe accompanies the launch of the new ‘One of not Many’ campaign, created with artist and explorer Zaria Forman. Like the rest of the collection, the new Overseas self-winding model features an interchangeable bracelet and buckle system serving to adapt its style to any situation.
In addition to its pink gold bracelet – as supple and soft as a second skin thanks to its slender links reminiscent of the Maltese cross – this glamorous timepiece comes with two additional straps. A refined yet sporty allure for this model with the look of a fine cuff, delivered with two additional straps and beating to the precise cadence of an in-house self-winding Calibre 1088/1.

Patrimony retrograde day-date
Heir to the grand stylistic and technical tradition of the Maison, this limited annual production timepiece reveals meticulous attention to detail in which the expression of minimalism is combined with technical excellence.
The 42.5 mm-diameter 950 platinum case frames a salmon-coloured dial with a sunburst pattern reflecting the codes of the collection. The purity of the design matches the model’s mechanical and aesthetic sophistication.
Beneath the 12 o'clock hour-marker sits a facetted Maltese cross in relief, the emblem of the Maison. Crafted in 18K 5N pink gold, it features facets that are sandblasted on one side and polished on the other, offering a new expression of the Vacheron Constantin symbol specific to this signature platinum case and salmon-coloured dial. With its original combination of retrograde complications evoking the iconoclastic displays of the 1920s and 1930s, the new Patrimony retrograde day-date in 950 platinum with a salmon-toned dial perpetuates a refined style.

Traditionnelle manual-winding
Vacheron Constantin expanded its Traditionnelle collection with two models featuring a majestic green sunburst dial highlighted by a pink gold case. The Traditionnelle manual-winding watch is available in two diameters designed to suit every
wrist. In the 33 mm version, it flaunts its precious finery with a dainty setting of 54 diamonds adorning the bezel; while the 38 mm pink gold case encircles the wrist with a resolutely elegant touch. In the 33 mm version, it flaunts its precious finery with a dainty setting of 54 diamonds adorning the bezel; while the 38 mm pink gold case encircles the wrist with a resolutely elegant touch. These two models, reserved exclusively for China for a full month, are fitted with a tone-on-tone alligator leather strap and driven by in-house manual-winding movements: Calibre 4400AS with a generous 65-hour power reserve for the 38 mm model; and Calibre 1440 with a 42-hour power reserve for the 33 mm version.

Vacheron Constantin Exhibition Details:
Address:
DECC – Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre
Doha, Qatar

Opening hours:
Sunday to Thursday – From 12 pm until 10 pm
Friday – From 3 pm until 10 pm

Vacheron Constantin exhibe dos siglos de creaciones femeninas Madrid, del 9 al 19 de enero de 2024

Vacheron Constantin exhibe dos siglos de creaciones femeninas Madrid, del 9 al 19 de enero de 2024

Vacheron Constantin Boutique C/ Serrano 68 Madrid, España

El universo creativo de Vacheron Constantin se ha visto agraciado con interpretaciones femeninas desde finales del siglo XVIII.
Para ilustrar este fastuoso legado relojero, que refleja fielmente varias corrientes artísticas, Vacheron Constantin presenta una selección de modelos femeninos de su colección privada.
Exhibidos en la boutique de Madrid, rinden homenaje al mundo de la Alta Costura.

Vacheron Constantin rinde homenaje a la Alta Costura, un universo sujeto a códigos estrictos, rigurosa-mente disciplinado y cargado de imaginación, con el que mantiene un estrecho parentesco. La selección de relojes de la colección privada de la Maison pone de relieve esta poderosa conexión. Expuestas duran-te dos semanas, del 9 al 19 de enero de 2024, estas piezas dan testimonio de la creatividad femenina que la marca cultiva desde hace más de dos siglos.

La Alta Costura y la Alta Relojería mantienen una sólida relación que se pone de manifiesto en sus propios nombres. Desde mediados del siglo XX, las Casas de Alta Costura se rigen por un conjunto de normas que codifican sus actividades, desde la confección de las prendas en el taller hasta los desfiles de moda. Esta disciplina rigurosa y sin concesiones estimula de forma natural la imaginación de estas Casas, que for-man todo un universo de estilo, lujo y calidad. Del mismo modo, sus homólogos de la Alta Relojería, como Vacheron Constantin, se adhieren a una serie de preceptos que garantizan que sus relojes sean fruto de una combinación de arte y conocimiento.

Vacheron Constantin comparte con la Alta Costura la búsqueda de una inmaculada calidad consagrada a la creatividad y una forma de abordar el trabajo artesanal propia de las artes decorativas. Por último, no es posible evocar estos estrechos lazos sin mencionar el universo femenino, campo privilegiado de expresión de la Alta Costura y encarnación de la sensibilidad artística de Vacheron Constantin desde hace más de dos siglos.

Alta Relojería Femenina
Las mujeres mostraron su interés por la relojería desde etapas muy tempranas de la historia, a fin de realzar sus vestimentas con objetos que en ocasiones se salían de la norma, pero que por lo general estaban concebidos como auténticas joyas. Sin embargo, en estos artículos no se pasaron por alto los aspectos prácticos, como demuestran los numerosos relojes de sonería o de calendario fabricados para mujeres. Además, las mujeres fueron las primeras en lucir relojes en la muñeca, mucho antes de que los relojes de pulsera se generalizaran en la primera mitad del siglo XX.

Vacheron Constantin ha dejado su huella en la relojería cada uno de estos periodos, desde los primeros relojes de bolsillo de señora, hechos al inicio del siglo XVIII, hasta las elegantes creaciones contemporá-neas. Al igual que los adornos de Alta Costura, con las que encajan a la perfección, esas creaciones todas evocan sueños y pasión.

Vacheron Constantin Heritage: un tesoro vivo e inspirador
Las colecciones de Vacheron Constantin Heritage, compuestas por más de 1.300 piezas, dan testimonio de este formidable impulso creativo en el campo de los relojes femeninos. Con una primera referencia histórica que se remonta a 1815, un reloj de bolsillo de oro amarillo con la carrura delicadamente decorada con un grabado con un motivo floral realzado con granates, la Maison dio tempranas muestras de la espe-cial atención que dedicaba a las mujeres.

Ya sean relojes funcionales o de ceremonia, relojes-joya o deportivos, las creaciones femeninas de Va-cheron Constantin siempre han sabido captar las corrientes artísticas para adaptarlas a las tendencias de la moda del momento, a la evolución del estatus social de la mujer, a sus deseos y a sus caprichos más desatados. Desde 1800, la mujer no ha dejado de influir en las creaciones más logradas de la Maison.

Dos siglos de creatividad en una exposición
Para ilustrar estos dos siglos de relojería en femenino, Vacheron Constantin ha seleccionado algunas pie-zas de las colecciones de su departamento Heritage. A la manera de un diseñador de una gran casa de Alta Costura, que diseña prendas para eventos especiales, la Maison ha elegido estos relojes para aso-ciarlos a un atuendo lucido en una gala, a la hora del té, en un almuerzo o en un cóctel, sin olvidar el reloj accesorio, objeto indispensable para las personas de buen gusto.

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Gala
Los relojes seleccionados utilizaban las técnicas de engaste más delicadas. Merece la pena destacar que, en el momento de nacimiento de los relojes de pulsera, los brazaletes de platino y oro eran flexibles, para que no fuesen arrancados y para proporcionar la mayor comodidad al portador. Durante el periodo Art Déco apareció una amplia gama de diferentes y extravagantes formas: ovaladas, rectangulares, cua-dradas con esquinas agudas o redondeadas. Los perfiles solían ser alargados y curvados para que se ajustasen perfectamente a la muñeca. Parte de estas creaciones se convirtieron en rasgos distintivos de la estética de la Maison, que siguió imaginando nuevas formas especialmente durante los años 70, una época rupturista y muy creativa.

Broche de señora (Ref.Inv.11845): 1927
Reloj broche de señora en platino, motivos geométricos esmaltados en champlevé negro, diamantes talla brillante y baguette, perlas, suspendido de una cadena de platino.

Reloj de pulsera de señora (Ref.Inv.11928): 1971
Reloj romboidal de pulsera, para mujer, en oro blanco de 18 quilates y con diamantes engastados. Esfera completamente tachonada con diamantes engastados, brazalete de oro blanco.

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La hora del té:
Antes de empezar a sujetarse el reloj a la muñeca, a las mujeres les gustaba llevarlo como colgante o broche.

Reloj colgante de señora (Ref.Inv.12020): 1902
Reloj broche de señora de oro amarillo, fondo finamente cincelado con un diamante talla antigua engastado.

Reloj colgante de señora (Ref.Inv.10184): 1910
Reloj colgante de mujer en platino, oro amarillo, esmalte y diamantes de talla antigua, con cadena.

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Almuerzo:
Al principio, durante los locos años veinte, Vacheron Constantin siguió la tendencia Art Déco de realzar las estructuras y dar una arquitectura específica a sus creaciones con líneas puras y sobrias. A continuación, nos adentramos en la llamada Era Moderna. Los accesorios pasaron a ser elementos vitales del atuendo, y los relojes secretos se pusieron de moda. Desde su primera presentación en la exposición Montres et bijoux en 1942, la Maison siempre ha destacado por sus innovaciones de diseño, en respuesta a las exigencias de la alta costura y del universo femenino. De hecho, en entornos sociales elegantes y espe-ciales, comprobar la hora podría considerarse de muy mala educación, sobre todo si lo hacía una dama.

Reloj de pulsera de forma romboidal, de señora (Ref.Inv.11144): 1919
Reloj de pulsera en forma de rombo, de señora, elaborado en oro amarillo con brazalete de oro ama-rillo pulido.

Reloj secreto de señora (Ref.Inv.12066): 1946
Reloj secreto de pulsera de señora, de oro rosa, completamente grabado con motivos texturizados, eslabones de pulsera en forma abombada.

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Cóctel:
Al usarlos en la muñeca, los primeros calibres de los relojes de pulsera (calibres de relojes de bolsillo en versión miniaturizada) se enfrentaban a nuevos desafíos derivados de los golpes y sacudidas, la hume-dad y los cambios de temperatura. Durante el siglo XX, la mayoría de las innovaciones nacieron del deseo de mejorar la fiabilidad de esos calibres. A causa de la gran demanda de relojes de formas variadas, los maestros relojeros prefieren desarrollar calibres en miniatura que se adapten mejor a relojes de dimen-siones más reducidas. En 1915, Vacheron Constantin presentó un calibre lineal extremadamente peque-ño (21,5 x 6,5 mm), que se denominó baguette y que se utilizó principalmente en relojería de joyería. Más tarde, el conocido como calibre baguette de 7’’’ utilizó un sistema antichoque patentado para proteger de golpes y sacudidas al volante.

Reloj de pulsera “Sporty” de señora (Ref.Inv.10476): 1929
Reloj de pulsera “Sporty” de señora, de forma rectangular, elaborado en platino, con asas en relieve y esfera plateada con 12 números arábigos pintados. Correa de cordón doble de piel.

Reloj secreto de señora (Ref.Inv.12027): 1971
Reloj de pulsera secreto de señora de oro amarillo, bisel de oro blanco con engaste al grano de dia-mantes talla brillante, eslabones de pulsera en forma de colmena con inserciones de lapislázuli y oro blanco.

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Accesorios:
En 1879, Ferdinand Verger se convierte en agente exclusivo de Vacheron Constantin en Francia, colabo-ración que continuará cuando los hijos de Ferdinand se hagan cargo del negocio de su padre en la década de 1920. Vacheron Constantin y Verger Frères
establecieron una asociación muy estrecha que duró hasta 1938. Durante este periodo, aprovechando los movimientos baguette de reducidas dimensiones, nuestra Casa crea numerosos modelos para los que Georges o Albert Verger registrarán patentes como los relojes “jalousie” de celosía o cortinilla, los relojes para bolsos llamados “cautivos” o finalmente los relojes broche tipo chatelaine. Posteriormente profundizamos en este arte para crear nuevas formas de convertir los relojes en accesorios.

Reloj de bolsillo “sorpresa” (Ref.Inv.11273): 1930
Reloj de bolsillo “sorpresa” Art Decó, de oro amarillo con cabujones de jade engastados, motivos geométricos esmaltado en champlevé negro.

Reloj de bolsillo retráctil (Ref.Inv.10444): 1930
Reloj de bolsillo retráctil de oro amarillo, motivos geométricos grabados en champlevé negro y mo-nograma LR.

Overseas Quartz

The first Overseas quartz 33 mm in pink gold with integrated bracelet.
A new design combining a bezel set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds and a denim blue dial.
One watch and three looks thanks to the interchangeability system of the pink gold bracelet, the calfskin or denim blue rubber strap, as well as their clasp.

Technical Data

Reference
1225V/200R-H015

Calibre 1207
Quartz
18.79 mm (8¼’’’) diameter, 2.22 mm thick
32,768 Hz
74 components
7 jewels

Indications
Hours, minutes, central seconds
Date at 3 o’clock

Case
18K 5N pink gold
33 mm diameter, 7.58 mm thick
Bezel set with 78 brilliant-cut diamonds
Soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection Screwed-down crown
Water-resistant tested at a pressure of 5 bar (approx. 50 metres)

Dial
Translucent denim blue-lacquered, sunburst satin-finished base and velvet-finished external minutes track
18K 5N pink gold applied hour-markers and hours & minutes hands, all highlighted with blue Super-Luminova®

Bracelet
18K 5N pink gold, half Maltese cross-shaped polished and satin-brushed links, secured by a 18K 5N pink gold triple-blade folding clasp with push-pieces and comfort-adjustment system

Additional straps
Denim blue calfskin leather with tone-on-tone stitches
Denim blue rubber
Delivered with a 18K 5N pink gold buckle with interchangeable system, compatible with both additional straps

Total diamond-setting
78 diamonds, for a total weight of approx. 0.80 carats (guaranteed minimum carats)

Vacheron Constantin Zurich Boutique moves to La Réserve Eden au Lac for three months

Vacheron Constantin will be completely renovating its Zurich boutique on Bahnhofstrasse for three months.
From January 8 to March 23, 2024, the Maison will welcome its customers by appointment in its Suite 1755, a specially designed area at La Réserve Eden au Lac.

Vacheron Constantin, the Swiss watchmaker with a legacy dating back to 1755, is delighted to announce the creation of an exclusive lounge, Suite 1755, to provide a bespoke experience for collectors and passionate watch enthusiasts, as they discover the Maison's collections in a warm, artistic setting, conducive to a series of events and exhibitions.

Vacheron Constantin considers welcoming connoisseurs and enthusiasts within its boutiques to be highly privileged moments to nurture long-lasting relationships. In keeping with this principle, Vacheron Constantin's Zurich boutique at Bahnhofstrasse 38 will close its doors on December 24 for three months of major renovation work. From January 8 until March 23, 2024, Vacheron Constantin will be inviting its customers by appointment to the nearby Hotel La Réserve Eden au Lac on Utoquai. On the hotel's third floor, Suite 1755 will become Vacheron Constantin's ephemeral lounge in Zurich for three months.

"We are thrilled to welcome our clients to the Suite 1755 at Hotel La Réserve, where we embrace the spirit of the Swiss Alps
and the quest for excellence that defines Vacheron Constantin.” Clémence Charrier, Brand Director Central Europe

The Suite 1755 at La Réserve Eden au Lac Hotel in Zurich, merges typical Swiss Alps spirit and contemporary style. The spirit of the space reflects the interiors found in luxury residences in the Swiss mountains. The furnishings are refined and warm, with stone displays and wood furnishings, and unbleached walls enlivened in places by mosaic decorations suggesting the Maltese cross emblematic of Vacheron Constantin. Here, a fireplace breaks with the lakeside horizon of the large picture windows overlooking the mountains. Here, the VIP lounge offers soft comfort for discovering the Maison's Haute Horlogerie collections.

Les Collectionneurs
Les Collectionneurs are a selection of vintage watches carefully sourced, restored and authenticated by the Maison’s Heritage experts. It is now possible to view the selection at Suite 1755 until end of February.

Vacheron Constantin exhibits two centuries of feminine creations
Vacheron Constantin is paying tribute to Haute Couture, a strictly codified, rigorously disciplined and imaginative universe with which it enjoys a close kinship. The selection of watches from the Maison’s private collection highlights this powerful connection. At Suite 1755 on show for one month from February 5 to March 23 2024 , these pieces testify to the feminine creativity that the Manufacture has been cultivating for more than two centuries.

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Vacheron Constantin Suite 1755
Hotel La Réserve Eden au Lac - Utoquai 45, Zurich
January 08 - March 23, 2024 / Monday to Saturday 11:00 - 19:00
By appointment only
Contact +41 43 888 33 08

Les Collectionneurs The vintage world of Vacheron Constantin - Bangkok - Thailand

Les Collectionneurs are a selection of vintage watches carefully sourced, restored
and authenticated by the Maison’s Heritage experts.
It is now possible to view the selection on the Vacheron Constantin website, book an appointment, view the location of the timepices and register an interest.
The new selections are presented in Bangkok, Thailand - 1 - 30 December 2023 at Vacheron Constantin Siam Paragon boutique
Models “hunted down” by Vacheron Constantin's experts, then restored and delivered with a certificate of authenticity and a two-year guarantee.

Chosen with patience and talent by the Maison’s heritage department specialists, vintage watches covering the entire 20th century are now part of the aptly named
Les Collectionneurs collection. The latter continues to evolve over time and is regularly offered for sale to brand aficionados at dedicated events organised in Vacheron Constantin boutiques around the world. Les Collectionneurs models all come with a certificate of authenticity and a two-year guarantee – an offer unmatched in the watchmaking world.
Since 2008, Vacheron Constantin has made the world of vintage watchmaking its speciality through its Les Collectionneurs range which provides a window onto the 20th century world of the Maison. Consisting of constantly renewed selections of vintage timepieces, this collection can now be found on the Maison’s website. Interested customers can discover all the special features of the new watches tracked down by Vacheron Constantin's experts and enquire about the details surrounding this particular offer and its presentation. It is also possible for the visitor to request an interest in other vintage timepieces that the Maison Experts can advise on. Although displayed online, these vintage models are reserved for purchase in Vacheron Constantin boutiques. This presents an opportunity for collectors to show their interest by registering on the site and setting a time and date in the location of their choice with a view to forthcoming boutique appointments in the United States, Shanghai and Dubai.

Historical and technical expertise
The Maison’s Heritage experts are responsible for sourcing these watches from their network. Serving as a reference, Vacheron Constantin's exceptional archives span three
centuries of history starting from the first document recorded in 1711, the apprenticeship contract signed by Jean-Marc Vacheron. These some 420 linear metres of sales and
production registers, correspondence and other iconographic documents are complemented by 1,600 horological items from the 18th century to the present day. This documentary wealth enables the Maison’s experts to guarantee the traceability of all timepieces that have left its workshops since 1775. With each acquisition of a vintage timepiece, the first task thus consists in recording the serial numbers of the case and movement, which are kept in the Vacheron Constantin archives for authentication purposes.

After that, the technical diagnosis establishes whether the model requires simple cleaning, repair for malfunction or, more fundamentally, the replacement or supply of faulty or missing components. A corroded dial, missing hands, blunt-toothed gears or a pitted barrel spring are all challenges to be overcome. Within the Manufacture’s three workshops that handle these models according to their age, watchmakers can restore any watch produced by the Maison since its origins. The consistent objective is to intervene while respecting the work of previous watchmakers so as not to adulterate the timepiece. To accomplish these tasks, they have stocks of period components and a fleet of historical machines at their disposal if they need to recreate such or such a movement component. Any major operation performed on a timepiece is comprehensively documented in a booklet given to the client, so that the various stages of restoration can be fully explained.
Once these historical stages of authentication and maintenance techniques have been completed, the watches are delivered with a certificate of authenticity, a two-year warranty
and a blockchain-based Digital Passport to enable trust and transparency for the future lifetime of the timepiece.

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Questions for Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director
Is this a new step forward with Les Collectionneurs?
Vacheron Constantin has gained enough experience since 2008 with its Les Collectionneurs selections to 'institutionalise' this range. By that, we mean that the Maison has now made this a collection in its own right, which appears on its website in the same way as its other collections. Vacheron Constantin began researching and restoring antique timepieces some 15 years ago, with the aim of meeting the needs expressed by a clientele of collectors. Considering that Vacheron Constantin is a watch Manufacture of and for connoisseurs, it seemed judicious to explore this vintage universe, especially since it has all the skills required, both historically and technically, to present a serious, thoughtful and attractive offering. For a long time, the events organised to present these products took the form of almost confidential customer meetings. This is definitely no longer the case
today, as interest in this type of timepiece is growing, emanating from ever-increasing numbers of passionate enthusiasts. Within this context, the Maison has decided to take things a step further. These timepieces and their characteristics are now online, as are details of the boutiques where they are offered for sale, with the option of registering
and making an appointment with the Maison’s experts.

What are the main challenges you face when selecting models?
First and foremost, we have to find models that are neither too rare nor too common. They must also not be too damaged, too recent nor too old. Very rare pieces are destined for auctions that exceed the price ranges that the Maison offers with Les Collectionneurs. The same applies if the restoration is too extensive and hence too expensive. Items that are too old are aimed primarily at specialists, while those that are too recent fall outside the realm of vintage. On this basis, it's a question of finding timepieces that all have a specific characteristic liable to make them sufficiently attractive to collectors. This may take the form of an original display, an exceptional calibre, an anniversary piece, artistic crafts models or Grand Complications. Any combination can work, provided of course that you know how to assess its relevance from a historical perspective. In theory, this may seem a relatively easy task. In practice, it is nothing of the sort. That's why the Maison’s Heritage experts have to be highly skilled in this area and have the right networks to source these timepieces. Once acquired, these watches are taken care of according to a well-established process within the Manufacture.

What are the distinctive features of the ranges you're offering this autumn?
The rich and varied selections include not only wristwatches but also pocket watches. They encompass both ultra-thin or complicated calibres and original displays. Collectors will thus be able to find highly sought-after 1940s chronographs, as well as artistic craft watches, Grand Complication timepieces and three-hand models equipped with outstanding movements. A closer look at the distinctive features of these selections highlights the wealth of Vacheron Constantin's production through the ages in terms of both men’s and ladies’ watches, bearing in mind that the boundary between the two is now increasingly blurred. In the field of mechanical watchmaking, just as in that of styles and trends, Vacheron Constantin has always been in the creative vanguard.

Watch Selection, Thailand
1 - Perpetual calendar chronograph watch in pink gold with moon phases, matt varnished white dial (Ref. 49005 – 1999)
The watch bearing Reference 49005 is an emblematic achievement by Vacheron Constantin, as much for the technical sophistication of its movement as for the aesthetically masterful layout of the complications. The model launched in 1992 remained in production until the turn of the century, when it was replaced by Reference 47112 in the Malte collection providing the same functions. During this period, the Maison produced versions in pink gold and platinum. This model, with its pink gold gadrooned case measuring 38 mm in diameter and 12 mm thick, was Vacheron Constantin’s first to combine the chronograph and perpetual calendar functions with moon phases and small seconds, powered by self-winding Calibre 1136QP measuring just 7.10 mm thick. Among watches that feature both chronograph and perpetual calendar functions, Vacheron Constantin's Reference 49005 stands out for the perfect legibility of its functions, enhanced by its sophisticated design.
2 - “Prestige de la France" asymmetrical watch in yellow gold, black dial (Ref. 2091 – 1972)
In 1972, Vacheron Constantin was awarded the "Prestige de la France" prize in recognition of the atypical design of a watch that would give rise to an iconic Vacheron Constantin collection. Initially called "Trapèze", it is characterised by the isosceles trapezoid shape of its curvex case that was unprecedented in watchmaking as well as being perfectly ergonomic. A symbol of the 1970s and representing a break with classic watchmaking codes, this model reflects a quest for simplicity, expressed through new geometrical codes and meticulous attention to detail. The minutes-track-free dial punctuated only by slim gold applied hour-markers and Roman numerals accentuates the pared-down look of this model, while the harmonious integration of the strap dispenses with lugs and the crown is adorned with a cabochon-cut. This 6 mm-thick "Trapèze” model with its ultra-thin oval manual-winding Calibre 1050 gracefully asserts its futuristic style.
3 - Chronomètre Royal watch in yellow gold, silver-toned satin-brushed dial with date (Ref. 6694 – 1967)
The Chronomètre Royal range began in 1907 when Vacheron Constantin – renowned for the quality of its chronometry – unveiled high-precision models specially developed for the hot, humid climates of Latin America. From 1953 onwards, the same qualities of robustness, resistance and precision were found in the Chronomètre Royal wristwatchesNicknamed ‘Batman’ because of the highly recognisable shape of its lugs, this Reference 6694 is powered by Calibre K1072/1 with simple calendar, Vacheron Constantin's first self-winding chronometer movement. Introduced in 1959, it remained in production until the range was discontinued in the late 1970s. Even today, this movement is considered a masterpiece of its kind, bearing the Hallmark of Geneva and featuring a variable-inertia balance and an index with movable balance-spring stud-holder enabling fine adjustment of the mechanism. The finishing is equally meticulous, notably including an 18K gold circular-segment rotor adorned with a dainty barleycorn guilloché
4- Watch in yellow gold, silver-toned dial (Ref. 4600 – 1950)
Watchmaking classicism is a subtle blend of harmonious proportions, refined aesthetics, sound ergonomics and cutting-edge mechanics. The result is a sense of natural elegance evoked by this 1950 watch, perfectly adapted to the wrist and housing an impeccable three-hand Calibre 453 also driving a small seconds display at 6 o'clock.
Measuring 28.8 mm in diameter and 4 mm thick, this manual-winding movement powering the model enables the gracefully curved design of the 36 mm case. Available since the early 1940s, Calibre 453 is one of the most reliable watch movements developed in the mid-20th century. Considered a benchmark by experts, it remained in production for some 30 years and was also used as the base movement for Vacheron Constantin's famous 485 and 496 triple-calendar references. This model with its silver-toned dial punctuated by applied gold Roman numerals and featuring an external minutes track captivates with its discreet charm and perfect functionality.
5 - Watch in pink gold, champagne-toned dial (Ref. 4165 – 1942)
This 33 mm-diameter pink gold timepiece with champagne-toned dial exudes all the charm of a classic watch suited to both men's and women's wrists, in keeping with the wristwatch norms prevailing during the first half of the 20th century. With its slender lugs, minutes track punctuated by applied gold hour-markers and Arabic numerals, along with likewise gold baton-type hands, this model meets the need for functionality in a refined style distinguished by monochrome tones. To equip it with a reliable and accurate movement, Vacheron Constantin opted for Calibre 453, widely regarded as a benchmark among manual-winding movements since its appearance in the early 1940s. This rhodium-plated brass movement powering an eminently classical timepiece features a circular-grained mainplate and bridges adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif. It is equipped with
a terminal-curve balance-spring and swan’s neck index enabling extremely accurate adjustment of the mechanism.
6- Pocket watch in pink gold, two-tone copper- and silver-toned dial (Ref. 4118 – 1940)
This elegant 45 mm-diameter pink gold pocket watch radiates a design clearly influenced by the Art Deco style. Produced in the early 1940s, it features a domed case with clean, pure lines, accentuated by the slender bezel at 12 o'clock. The minimalist dial is distinguished by its two-tone configuration, which contributes to the perfect legibility of the hours, minutes and small seconds at 6 o'clock. The minutes track bearing applied gold Roman numerals and the seconds scale stand out in contrast with their silver-toned circles against a coppery background. The gold pointed baton-type hands are driven by manual-winding Calibre RA 17''' 9/12, thus ensuring both precision and robustness. Adorned with circular-grained decoration on the mainplate and a Côtes de Genève pattern on the bridges, this movement is equipped with a bimetallic balance held by an index-bridge
enabling fine adjustment of the length of the flat balance-spring and thus guaranteeing precision.
7 - Watch in yellow gold, opaline silver-toned dial (Ref. 4826 – 1953)
This watch with its understated design and round case is typical of 1950s watchmaking elegance, complete with a few stylistic subtleties that set it apart. Its 38 mm diameter makes it an "imposing" watch for an era when men's watches generally came in sizes ranging from 32 to 35 mm. The stepped lugs welded over the bezel endow the model with an assertive character. The dial with its frosted minutes track and gold baton-type hands is finished in porcelain with applied gold hour-markers and Arabic numerals. The final touch of originality is the discreet applique at 6 o'clock, in the form of a gold dot “bearing” the small seconds. This watch is powered by Calibre 453, a benchmark among mid-20th century manual-winding movements and renowned for its reliability and precision.
8 - Chronomètre Royal watch in steel, silver-toned dial with date (Ref. 42001– 1978)
Introduced in the early 1970s, this self-winding Chronomètre Royal model marked a transition for Vacheron Constantin. The elegance of its chronometers, perfectly symbolised by the legendary 6694 ‘Batman’ reference, evolved towards sportier models with integrated metal bracelets. For much of the 20th century, Vacheron Constantin reserved the term "Chronomètre Royal" for its most emblematic watches. Reference 42001 – issued in an individually numbered run – was one of them, available from the outset in yellow gold or
steel, a metal that was now making its appearance in this category of Vacheron Constantin chronometers. This chronometer-certified watch with its special-shaped case reflects the free-spirited style of the 1970s and is powered by self-winding Calibre 1096, notably driving instantaneous date and stop seconds displays.

Vacheron Constantin announces the Grand Opening of its newest boutique concept in Highland Park Village, Dallas - USA

29 November 2023

A new boutique of 200 square meters nestled in the heart of Dallas
A unique space for all horology enthusiasts to gain a deeper understanding of the Maison’s heritage, craftsmanship and technical excellence

Vacheron Constantin, the luxury Swiss watchmaking Maison with nearly by 270 years of expertise and continuous history, announces the Grand Opening of its newest US boutique, located in Highland Park Village in Dallas, Texas. This location is imbued with the spirit and iconography of Dallas which invites all connoisseurs of High Watchmaking to gather and explore artisanal craft, métiers d’art and sophisticated design.

A new boutique nestled in the heart of Dallas

This new boutique promises an unparalleled experience that harmonizes sophistication, exclusivity, and world-class service. Behind the arched windows, visitors will discover a 200 square meter space which artfully mixes the traditional materials of the Maison – wood, bronze, leather and rich, colored lacquer – with a spectacular mural by Dallas-Based artist Drigo, and décor which reflect the soul of the city. Clients will be able to explore the depth of the Maison’s rich history and breadth of fine timepieces and exclusive boutique models, relaxing in the generously appointed lounge or within the elegant showrooms. The Vacheron Constantin Boutique at Highland Park Village invites all those who appreciate fine watchmaking to immerse themselves into the culture, history, and tradition of excellence that defines Vacheron Constantin.

“Vacheron Constantin has always had distinctive style, putting a twist on classic elegance, which is a large part of why we have been so embraced by America throughout the years. We believe we have a shared spirit of individuality with Texas and the pioneering spirit of Dallas, which is why this is such a natural place to be. This new boutique will be a unique space for all horology enthusiasts to gain a deeper understanding of the Maison’s heritage, craftsmanship and technical excellence. I look forward to welcoming connoisseurs and watch enthusiasts to this beautiful new space to experience Vacheron Constantin.” says Alexander Schmiedt, President of Vacheron Constantin Americas.

A 190-year love story with America

In 1831, Jacques Barthélémi Vacheron wrote a letter stating his intent to expand his business to the United States, and in 1832 the company established its first agent in New York. By the twentieth century, Vacheron Constantin timepieces could be found on the wrists of Hollywood Icons including actors Marlon Brando and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as eminent Americans such as members of the Rockefeller family, Henry and William James, and automobile manufacture James Ward Packard to name a few. Of the many innovative and historically important Vacheron Constantin timepieces, special references inspired by American clients include one of the first large wristwatches for aviators, a series of pocket watches for the U.S. Corps of Engineers during WWI, and just a few years later, the cushion-shaped “American 1921”, a classic yet daring tilted dial design created for the American market.

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Vacheron Constantin Boutique

Address

93 HIGHLAND PARK VILLAGE

DALLAS, TX 75205

Hours of Operation

MONDAY 10AM – 6PM
TUESDAY 10AM – 6PM
WEDNESDAY 10AM – 6PM
THURSDAY 10AM – 6PM
FRIDAY 10AM – 6PM
SATURDAY 10AM – 6PM
SUNDAY 12PM – 5PM

Phone Number

214.261.0005

For press inquiries, please contact:

Michael Zickert

+1 (347) 414 – 1397

Michael.zickert@Vacheron-constantin.com

Vacheron Constantin exhibits two centuries of feminine creations _Portugal_ Lisbon

Exhibition from December13 2023 to January 2 2024 - Lisbon - Portugal

The creative universe of Vacheron Constantin has been graced with feminine interpretations since the turn of the 18th century.
To illustrate this rich horological legacy, faithfully mirroring various artistic currents, Vacheron Constantin presents a selection of feminine models from its private collection.
Exhibited in Lisbon they pay tribute to the world of Haute Couture.

Vacheron Constantin is paying tribute to Haute Couture, a strictly codified, rigorously disciplined and imaginative universe with which it enjoys a close kinship. The selection of watches from the Maison’s private collection highlights this powerful connection. On show for one month from December 13 2023 to January 2024 , these pieces testify to the feminine creativity that the Manufacture has been cultivating for more than two centuries.

Haute Couture and Haute Horlogerie demonstrate a powerful connection highlighted in their very names. Since the mid-20th century, Haute Couture Maisons have been governed by a set of rules that codify their activities, from the making of garments in the atelier to fashion shows. This uncompromisingly rigorous discipline naturally stimulates the imagination of these Maisons forming a whole world of style, luxury and quality. In the same way, their Haute Horlogerie counterparts such as Vacheron Constantin adhere to a number of precepts that ensure that their timepieces stem from a blend of artistry and knowledge. Vacheron Constantin shares with Haute Couture a concern for irreproachable quality dedicated to creativity and an approach to artisanal work characteristic of the artistic crafts. Finally, one cannot evoke this closeness without mentioning the feminine universe, the privileged field of expression of Haute Couture and the embodiment of Vacheron Constantin's artistic sensitivity for over two centuries.

Feminine Haute Horlogerie

Women became interested in watchmaking at a very early stage of history, often in order to enhance their adornments with objects that were sometimes unusual but generally conceived as authentic jewellery. The practical aspects of these items were nonetheless not neglected, as evidenced by the many striking or calendar watches made for women. Moreover, women were the first to wear timepieces on their wrist, long before wristwatches became widespread in the first half of the 20th century. Vacheron Constantin has left its horological mark on all these periods, from the first ladies’ pocket watches made at the turn of the 18th century to elegant contemporary creations. Like the Haute Couture finery with which they are a perfect fit, they all evoke dreams and passion.

The Vacheron Constantin Heritage: a living and inspiring treasure

The Vacheron Constantin Heritage collections, comprising more than 1,300 pieces, bear witness to this formidable creative impetus in the field of ladies’ watches. With a first historical reference dating back to 1815, a yellow gold pocket watch featuring a caseband finely engraved with a floral motif enhanced with garnets, the Maison provided early demonstrations of the special attention it devoted to women. Whether functional or ceremonial timepieces, jewellery or sports watches, Vacheron Constantin's feminine creations have always been able to capture artistic trends and adapt them to the clothing trends of the moment, to women's changing social status, to their desires as well as their wildest whims. Since the 1800s, they have continuously influenced the Maison’s most accomplished creations.

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Two centuries of creativity in one exhibition

To illustrate these two centuries of watchmaking in the feminine mode, Vacheron Constantin has selected a few pieces from its Heritage collections. In the manner of a great couturier who designs clothes for special events, the Maison has chosen these timepieces to be associated with an outfit worn at a gala, tea time, lunch or cocktail party, while not forgetting the accessory watch, an indispensable object for people of good taste.

Gala

The selected watches were using the most delicate setting techniques. It is also interesting to notice that when wristwatches were born, the Platinum and gold bracelets were flexible to avoid the grubbing out of the bracelet and to provide the best comfort to the wearer. During the Art Deco period appeared a wide range of different extravagant shapes: oval, rectangular, square with either sharp or rounded corners. Often elongated and curved in order
to fit perfectly the wrist. Part of these creations became one of the esthetical signature of our Maison, which continued to imagine new shapes especially during the 70’s, a disrupting and highly creative era.

Lady’s brooch (Ref. Inv.11845): 1927

Lady's brooch watch in platinum, black champlevé enameled geometrical patterns, brillant and baguette-cut diamonds, pearls, suspended from a platinum chain

Lady’s wristwatch (Ref Inv: 11928): 1971

Lozange-shaped 18K white gold and diamonds set jewellery lady's wristwatch. Full set diamonds dial, white gold bracelet

Tea-time:

Before attaching their watches to their wrist, women were happy to wear them as a pendant or a brooch.

Lady’s Brooch (Ref. Inv. 12020): 1902

Lady's brooch watch yellow gold, finely chiselled case-back set with an antique-cut diamond

Lady’s Pendant Watch (Ref-Inv:10184): 1910

Lady's pendant-watch in platinum, yellow gold enamel and antique-cut diamonds, with a chain

Luncheon:

At first, during the roaring twenties, Vacheron Constantin followed the art deco tendency to structure and give some specific architecture to its creations with pure and sober lines. We then entered the so called Modern Era. Accessories were then vital components of an outfit, and secret timepieces became fashionable. From its first presentation at the Montres et bijoux exhibition in 1942, the Maison has always been notable for its design innovations, in response to the couture and women’s requirements. Indeed, during elegant and special events, to read the time could be considered as very impolite, especially for a lady.

Lady’s Lozange-shaped (Ref.Inv:11444):1919

Lady's lozange-shaped wristwatch in yellow gold with a polished yellow gold bracelet

Lady's secret wristwatch (Ref.Inv:12066): 1946

Lady's secret wristwatch in pink gold entirely engraved with a textured pattern, dome-shaped bracelet links

Cocktail:
Worn on the wrist, early wristwaches calibers (miniaturized pocket watches calibers) faced new constraints due to the shocks, humidity and temperatures changes.
During the 20th century most of the innovations were driven to improve the reliability of those calibers. Due to the large demand of varied shaped watches, watchmakers prefer to develop miniaturized calibers more appropriated to smaller watch dimensions. In 1915, Vacheron Constantin presented an extremely small in-line caliber (21.5 x 6.5 mm) that was so-called baguette and mostly used in jewelery watch. Later, the so-called baguette, 7’’’ caliber used a patented system to protect the balance-wheel against the shocks.

Lady’s Secret Wristwatch (Ref.Inv.12027): 1971

Lady's secret wristwatch in yellow gold,bezel in white gold bead-set with brillant-cut diamonds, beehive-shaped bracelet links filled with lapis lazuli and white gold

“Sporty” Wristwatch (Ref.Inv. 10476): 1929

Platinum rectangle shape lady's "Sporty" wristwatch, relief handles and silvered dial with 12 Arabic numerals painted. Double leather cord strap.

Accessories:
In 1879, Ferdinand Verger became Vacheron Constantin exclusive agent in France, a collaboration which will continue when Ferdinand’s sons took over their father’s business in 1920. Vacheron Constantin and Verger Frères will then create a very close partnership until 1938. During this period, taking advantage of reduced baguette movements, our Maison created many models for which Georges or Albert Verger will file patents such as “jalousie” shutter watches, bag watches called “captives” or finally chatelaine-type brooch watches.

We then developed this art to create new ways of accessorizing the watches.

Shutter purse watch ( Ref.Inv. 10144 ): 1930

Purse watch in yellow gold with a polished yellow gold bracelet

«Shutter» purse watch in yellow gold, black champlevé engraved geometrical patterns and monogram LR

Retractable purse watch (Ref. Inv. 11273): 1930
Purse watch in yellow gold close-set jade cabochons, black champlevé enameled geometrical pattern

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Vacheron Constantin Boutique
Av. da Liberdade, 192A
1250-147 Lisbon, Portugal

Overseas tourbillon high jewellery: a sporty-chic watch imbued with precious elegance

Embargo 12 December, 9AM CET

A first in the Overseas collection: the combination of white gold and the collection's signature blue dial, along with the setting of baguette-cut diamonds.
Technical mastery to ensure the slimness of complication movements: a tourbillon powered by ultra-thin Manufacture Calibre 2160.
A watch adorned with a total of 85 baguette-cut diamonds set on the bezel, index and pin buckle.

Vacheron Constantin enriches its Overseas collection with a new technical and precious tourbillon model. Available in an original combination of white gold with a blue dial, it is also distinguished by its bezel and hour-markers entirely set with baguette-cut diamonds. This 42.5 mm-diameter sporty-chic watch features a slender curvature thanks to its ultra-thin self-winding movement, in-house Calibre 2160 with tourbillon. The watch comes with three interchangeable bracelet/straps. The case-integrated first white gold bracelet is fitted with a folding clasp, while the two additional straps in blue calfskin and rubber are secured by a likewise interchangeable white gold pin buckle set with baguette-cut diamonds.

Baguette-cut diamonds: a first on the Overseas collection

Vacheron Constantin has chosen the Overseas tourbillon model to introduce two new additions to its collection dedicated to the spirit of travel. For the first time, the model is attired in white gold, a material perfectly suited to its sophisticated nature. To bring out the luminous gleam of the metal, the watch bears the collection’s emblematic satin-brushed blue dial. The second addition is about the colour contrast, enhanced by the setting of 60 diamonds on the six-sided bezel, extending onto the hour-markers. Unlike the other Overseas models, the diamonds set on this piece are baguette-cut, with minimalist contours echoing the watch's highly structured silhouette. This precious Overseas tourbillon high jewellery is also extremely elegant thanks to its slim case.

Ultra-thin: reflecting technical mastery

The Overseas tourbillon watch offers an excellent interpretation of Vacheron Constantin's understated, creative aesthetic combined with perfect technical mastery. This symbiosis is notably expressed through the slenderness of its curvature, made possible by its ultra-thin movement, Calibre 2160 measuring a mere 5.65 mm thick. Such proportions – just over 10 mm thick for the cased-up watch – are achieved by means of the 22K gold peripheral rotor ensuring an 80-hour power reserve. This construction not only enhances thinness by eliminating the central axis of rotation of the oscillating weight, but also gives a clearer view of the entire movement from the back.

The show staged by this ultra-thin Calibre 2160 is all the more striking. Drawing all eyes, the ballet performed by the regulator is particularly impressive due to its slender architecture, a veritable technical feat accentuated by the care devoted to the movement finishes. With its circular-grained mainplate; bridges adorned with Côtes de Genève and hand-bevelled, like the tourbillon bar; its frosted wheels as well as its chamfered and polished screws, Calibre 2160 and its 188 components offer a concrete embodiment of technical and precious High Watchmaking. Beating at a frequency at 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour), it displays the hours and minutes, as well as the small seconds on the tourbillon carriage.

One watch, three faces

Water-resistant to 50 metres with a screw-down crown, the Overseas tourbillon high jewellery watch features an interchangeable bracelet/strap system. A special feature of the collection, this technical trick enables the straps to be changed entirely tool-free, thereby enabling Overseas watches to take on new looks to match the circumstances. Supplied with an integrated white gold bracelet fitted with a folding clasp, the model adopts a sportier vibe with a blue rubber strap, or a more classic character with a calfskin leather strap in the same shade. Both straps are fitted with a white gold pin buckle, itself interchangeable tool-free and set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds.

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Interview with Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director

Is baguette-cut gemsetting part of the Vacheron Constantin world?
Baguette-cut diamonds first appeared on certain medieval and Renaissance jewels, but really came into their own at the beginning of the 20th century. They were particularly popular in the Art Deco style and were well suited to new techniques such as the invisible setting. Vacheron Constantin was quick to adopt baguette-cut diamonds in its creations, as seen in many of the Maison’s historical timepieces. Brilliant-cut and baguette-cut gems often alternate on the same timepiece, the latter disrupting the rhythm of the round, traditional gems, such as on the Traditionnelle tourbillon jewellery watch featuring precisely this combination of 559 round-cut and baguette-cut diamonds on a watch powered by the same Calibre 2160 as the new Overseas. On the other hand, the invisible-set Malte tourbillon regulator is magnificently adorned with 565 exclusively baguette-cut diamonds totalling 19 carats.

Why choose this new baguette cut for an Overseas watch?
Vacheron Constantin's designers and gemsetters introduced this new cut to the Overseas collection because it is beautifully aligned with its sophisticated character. Compared with the 58-facet brilliant cut most widely used in the jewellery world, the baguette cut with its 25 facets features an edgier, more graphic look that emphasises the diamond's purity rather than its brilliance. With its right angles, flat surface and sharp edges, the baguette cut reinforces the architectural design of Overseas.

What makes Vacheron Constantin's Calibre 2160 so exceptional?
Calibre 2160, one of the thinnest tourbillon movements on the market at just 5.65 mm, is a genuine technical feat. For the Maison's watchmakers who developed this calibre presented in 2018, the challenge was to integrate a tourbillon regulator into an ultra-thin self-winding movement. This type of construction entails twin difficulties. The presence of an oscillating weight and the integration of a tourbillon cage generally imply additional movement thickness. It was therefore necessary to work first on the architecture of the tourbillon itself and then to design a high-efficiency peripheral rotor winding system to achieve an 80-hour power reserve. The watchmakers at Vacheron Constantin were able to respond perfectly to these constraints with ultra-thin Calibre 2160, which is also aesthetically pleasing thanks to the meticulous attention lavished on the decoration.

For whom is this new Overseas tourbillon intended?
For all devotees of High Watchmaking who appreciate a precious touch. This timepiece represents a magnificent compromise between a technical watch with a sporty look and more formal models. For some time now, the 'sporty-chic' segment has been experiencing strong popularity, with the first 1970s models serving as the benchmark. This category of watches offers a host of possible interpretations, from technical to aesthetic, and jewellery! The Overseas tourbillon high jewellery meets all these expectations.

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Summary

With the Overseas tourbillon high jewellery watch, Vacheron Constantin introduces two new features to its collection dedicated to travel and discovery: a new combination of the emblematic Overseas blue dial and a white gold case with integrated bracelet; along with the setting of baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel, hour-markers and pin buckle. This watch with its slender curves is powered by the ultra-thin self-winding in-house Calibre 2160 with tourbillon, measuring just 5.65 mm thick. Beating at a frequency of 2.5 Hz, it ensures an 80-hour power reserve while driving displays of the hours, minutes as well as small seconds on the tourbillon carriage. The watch comes with two additional interchangeable straps in blue rubber and calfskin, themselves fitted with a gemset pin buckle that is itself interchangeable without any need for tools.

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Technical Data

Overseas tourbillon high jewellery

Reference
6007V/210G-B955

Calibre
2160
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding, peripheral rotor
31 mm (13½’’’) diameter, 5.65 mm thick
Approximately 80 hours of power reserve
2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations/hour)
188 components
30 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepieces

Indications
Hours, minutes, small seconds on tourbillon carriage (color screw) Tourbillon

Case
18K white gold
42.5 mm diameter, 10.39 thick
Bezel set with 60 baguette-cut diamonds, invisible setting
Soft iron casing ring ensuring anti-magnetic protection
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistant tested at a pressure of 5 bar (approx. 50 meters)

Dial
Translucent blue-lacquered, sunburst satin-finished base with velvet-finished flange
18K white gold hour-markers set with 9 baguette-cut diamonds, closed setting
18K white gold hours & minutes hands highlighted with blue LumiNova®

Bracelet
18K white gold, half Maltese cross-shaped polished and satin-brushed links. secured by a 18K white gold triple-blade folding clasp with push-pieces and comfort-adjustment system.

Additional straps/clasp
Blue calfskin leather strap with grey stiches
Blue rubber
Interchangeable 18K white gold pin buckle set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds, invisible setting

Total diamond-setting
85 baguette-cut diamonds, for a total weight of approx. 3.61 carats (guaranteed minimum carats)

“Elements of Time” : An interactive installation in collaboration with Singapore industrial artist, Olivia Lee.

Vacheron Constantin has collaborated with Singaporean industrial designer Olivia Lee, on an interactive installation to celebrate LESS’ENTIAL, at the Maison’s Singapore Marina Bay Sands Boutique.
The installation is currently available in the Vacheron Constantin Marina Bay Sands Boutique in Singapore.

In spirit of Vacheron Constantin’s Less’ential yearly thematic, “Elements of Time” is a collection of interactive sculptures that explore the subjective and sensorial passage of time – representing cadence, flow and geometry. The installation’s vibrant colours contrast against the boutique’s natural hues, evoking an invitation to interact and experience the concept of time. Supplementing the installation, the boutique is enhanced with static sculptures depicting sand falling – capturing the moment of being frozen in time.

Intention

“Elements of Time is a delicate concept often gone unnoticed in the modern-day urban lifestyle. We are excited for clients to experience the excellence of Vacheron Constantin timepieces and immerse in the installation which heightens one’s sense of sight, sound, and touch, appreciating the passage of time. ”

Gaël Porte – Vacheron Constantin Managing Director, SEAO

Vacheron Constantin’s timepieces represent Less’ential, where the essence of excellence lives in many subtle details – a slender silhouette, clean lines, precision, and mechanical virtuosity. “Elements of Time” intends to represent the same link - where simplicity is the essence of beauty and provoke deliberation and evolution of mechanisms.

About Olivia Lee

Vacheron Constantin collaborates with internationally acclaimed and award-winning multidisciplinary Singaporean industrial designer Olivia Lee on this visual installation. Her nuanced and narrative-driven approach is agile and distinct, exemplified through creations across sectors steeped in heritage, craft, and technology.

Inspired by ancient timekeeping typologies such as hourglasses, pendulums and counterweights — Olivia plays with the viewer’s perception of time throughout the boutique with interactive sculptures, immersive sandscapes and objet d’art that appear frozen in time.

The artworks

Cascade of Time

A large-scale hourglass with intricate brass details that highlight the unpredictability and turbulence of time.

Pattern of Time

A pendulum that creates delicate spiral patterns in sand, reminding us to surrender to the natural pace of time.

Rhythm of Time

A percussive artefact marking a subjective duration of time via sound through the accelerating and decelerating rush of falling beads.

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The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands,
2 Bayfront Avenue, B2M-238

Sunday to Thursday 10:30 am – 10:00 pm

Friday to Saturday 10:30 am – 11:00 pm

Book an appointment: +65 3158 3727

Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon -Tribute to Art Deco style

Embargo lifted on 27 November 2023 - 9:00 AM CET

Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages sets off to discover the world and its wonders in the spirit of openness that has characterised Vacheron Constantin since its origins: among the various destinations, the North American leg focuses on the United States, where the Maison has been active since 1832.
A masterpiece of engraving and guilloché work, this single-piece edition reflects a period of prosperity coupled with extraordinary artistic and cultural dynamism.
Emblematic of the Maison’s technical mastery, and protected by four patents, in-house Calibre 1990 combines a bi-axial tourbillon with an instantaneous bi-retrograde display.

The single-piece editions in the new Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages collection reflect Vacheron Constantin's geographical expansion, of which the Americas were a major milestone. These new territories became part of the Vacheron Constantin world at a very early stage, with the first contacts made in the United States in 1832, followed by Brazil in 1835 and Mexico ten years later. In the U.S., the turn of the century was marked by an intense period reflecting the principles of Art Deco, which quickly became a comprehensive art form. The new Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon – Tribute to Art Deco style watch, bearing the Hallmark of Geneva, is driven by in-house Calibre 1990 featuring a bi-axial tourbillon regulator with instantaneous bi-retrograde hours and minutes display.

Vacheron Constantin and Americas

Setting up its first representative office in New York as early as 1832, Vacheron Constantin was quick to identify the United States as a key market. The Maison’s watches soon met with success in booming cities such as Philadelphia and New Orleans. Within the space of just a few decades, it found its place among the country's social and cultural personalities, with a clientele including leading lights and captains of industry.

Among the timepieces of historical importance to Vacheron Constantin, many were made for American clients. Aviation pioneers Orville and Wilbur Wright placed an order in 1890 for a pilot’s watch to be strapped to the thigh, the very first of its kind. Three decades later, at a time when the Maison became a shareholder in the American Watch Case Co case manufacturer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ordered several thousand watches. The cushion-shaped American 1921 watch, specifically created for the United States, in turn testifies to the buoyant mood of the Roaring Twenties, which brought a breath of fresh air to the nation. Art Deco was the dominant style at the time, perfectly in keeping with this optimistic, modern vision of a world in the grip of tremendous cultural effervescence. This style imposed new architectural solutions that soon reached dizzying heights in New York, before taking over the fields of furniture, interior design, clothing and cars to the point of becoming a comprehensive art form in the United States.

It was also a time when the wristwatch was beginning to establish itself as the new horological standard, accompanied by the fanciful touches typical of the spirit of the age. This period notably featured the aesthetic of the American 1921, designed by Vacheron Constantin during these years of intense creativity and now celebrated with the new Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon –Tribute to Art Deco style.

A subtle combination of engraving and guilloché

With its highly architectural design, generous armillary tourbillon and openworked dial featuring a bi-retrograde display, the watch offers an ideal creative space for combining aesthetics with Art Deco style codes. Entrusted to the Maison’s master engravers, this task not only involves reworking the bridges and plate of Calibre 1990, but also adorning the case middle with a frieze extending over the lugs.

The master engraver juggled several techniques between the case and the rear movement bridges. Bas-relief serves to obtain a more accentuated motif than drypoint work; the surfaces are hand-chased point by point; while rounding off consists of gently rocking the intaglio tool, whose rounded bevel is fitted with thin sharp steel tips.

The guilloché work complements the engraving techniques applied to the case in 18K 3N yellow gold and to the movement machined from a nickel-silver alloy chosen for its rigidity. On the front, the calibre is entirely hand-guilloché in a perfectly geometrical, purely Art Deco-inspired radiating pattern. The metal has been given a black DLC surface treatment to accentuate the contrast with the colour of the case and bridges, again recalling the combination of brass and wrought iron typical of Art Deco ornamentation.

On the back, the three engraved bridges feature a motif reminiscent of the decorations on New York skyscrapers at the turn of the 20th century, with the added challenge of creating an uninterrupted pattern despite the break between the bridges. It took one month to complete these three components, not counting the bas-relief engraving on the case middle done by the master artisan and extending to the motif created on the back of the movement through a striking play of light and shade accentuated by the depth of the relief. The technique used consists of removing material to bring out the contours of the engraving. After drawing the motifs with a scriber, the master artisan uses the pounced ornament technique, which involves intricate chasing using a scorper, a kind of wider-tipped burin. As the sculpture becomes progressively slimmer, the tool itself becomes thinner. Particularly suited to three-dimensional creations where volumes have little depth, this technique provides scope for breathtakingly accurate details, further enhanced by the finishing. This is the first time that the bridges of Calibre 1990 have been engraved.

Finally, the folding clasp securing the black alligator leather strap of this 45 mm-diameter model was also engraved with Art Deco motifs.

Calibre 1990, a movement featuring historical references

Protected by four patents, Calibre 1990 has benefited from the technical developments made on the Les Cabinotiers Reference 57260 watch, the world's most complex timepiece to date with its 57 complications.

A manual-winding movement with a 58-hour power reserve, Calibre 1990 features an instantaneous bi-retrograde display of the time indications and a bi-axial armillary tourbillon with spherical balance-spring. The time can be read on the right-hand side thanks to a retrograde display with grade 5 titanium hands moving over a semi-circular track punctuated by Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes. Confined to a wide flange, this track reveals part of the movement, reinforcing the technical appearance of the timepiece already accentuated by the construction of the regulator.

The configuration of Calibre 1990 frees up the left-hand part of the dial, which is exclusively occupied by the bi-axial armillary tourbillon positioned at 9 o'clock beneath a bubble formed by the sapphire crystal. The distinctive feature of this regulator – oscillating at a rate of 18,000 vibrations per hour and bearing the small seconds hand – is its dual-axis construction with two interlocking aluminium carriages, each rotating at a speed of 60 seconds. At the heart of the tourbillon is a cylindrical balance-spring with no terminal curve, whose perfectly concentric beating ensures greater isochronism and therefore enhanced precision, in addition to the beneficial effect of the regulator's rotation, which neutralises the effects of Earth's gravity.

Each of these two technical developments has its own historical reference. The tourbillon owes its name ‘armillary’ to Antide Janvier, astronomer and watchmaker by appointment to King Louis XVI, one of whose greatest masterpieces was a moving sphere with a planetary wheel known as an armillary. The cylindrical balance-spring dates back to Jacques-Frédéric Houriet's invention in 1814 and is coupled here with an escapement featuring an escape-wheel in silicon with diamond-polished pallets, materials boasting a very low friction coefficient and requiring no lubrication.

Four patents mark the technical innovations of Calibre 1990. These relate firstly to the instantaneous retrograde system, controlled by a single minutes cam that perfectly synchronises the jump of the two hands at midnight or noon. The patented escapement collet – a component securing the inner end of the balance-spring – is made of titanium. This material matches that of the regulating organ, resulting in improved regulatory performance. The third patent concerns the architecture of the tourbillon carriage, which rotates every 15 seconds to form the Vacheron Constantin Maltese cross emblem. The final patent covers the silicon escape-wheel, with its diamond-polished pallets offering greater resistance to wear and friction.

Les Cabinotiers Récits de Voyages series

Vacheron Constantin's vocation has always been to perfect the art of watchmaking in Geneva while remaining open to the world. The founder’s grandson Jacques-Barthélémi Vacheron (1787-1864) was the first to criss-cross the roads of France and Italy, followed by his partner François Constantin (1788-1854), a tireless traveller who oversaw the commercial development of the Maison. He established commercial relations with Central Europe, South America, Scandinavia and Asia, during a period in time when Vacheron Constantin was also gaining a foothold in the United States and China, as well as in Brazil, Hong Kong and Cuba.

François Constantin's correspondence stretching over a quarter of a century paints the portrait of a Manufacture that was open to a Europe undergoing major restructuring in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna. This scope and reach continued to expand as the Vacheron Constantin name crossed borders and conquered new markets. Since that time, the very notion of travel has been inherent to the values of the Maison, an integral part of the human adventure characterising its nearly 270-year history. Following in its founders’ footsteps, the Maison offers these Récits de Voyages series as a watchmaking odyssey through the world and its wonders, applying craftsmanship and mechanical art as its means of expression.

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SUM-UP

The single-piece edition Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon – Tribute to Art Deco style watch represents the Americas within the Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages collection, which symbolises Vacheron Constantin's spirit of openness to the world since the dawn of the 19th century. This highly technical timepiece, measuring 45 mm in diameter and bearing the Hallmark of Geneva, is powered by Calibre 1990. This in-house movement features an open architecture conducive to the finishing, engraving and guilloché work. Several engraving techniques are used on this timepiece: the case middle and lugs, along with the movement components, mainplate and bridges, have been delicately sculpted in bas-relief, as well as guilloche-worked chased and rounded off by hand. The motifs are Art Deco-inspired, reminiscent of the ornamentation on the New York skyscrapers built at the dawn of the 20th century. Manual-winding Calibre 1990 benefits from the developments made on Vacheron Constantin's single-piece edition Reference 57260 – the world’s most complicated watch to date – to display the hours and minutes by means of bi-retrograde instant-return hands and the small seconds on the dual-axis armillary tourbillon. This is the first time that Vacheron Constantin has performed engraving work of this kind on this movement.

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Interview with Sandrine Donguy, Product & Innovation Director

To symbolise the Americas in the new Les Cabinotiers Récits de Voyages collection, you are presenting a timepiece that reflects technical sophistication. Why not opt for a solid dial that is eminently conducive to artistic crafts?

In the range of single-piece editions representing the American leg focuses on our Récits de Voyages, we wanted to include a highly technical, highly structured watch. The intention was to draw architectural inspiration from the early 20th century Art Deco-style New York skyscrapers. The choice was therefore for a watch with an openworked dial that would provide a chance to admire the structure of its movement. With this in mind, the ornamentation of the timepiece could only be done by drawing on the dexterity and creativity of our master artisans. The approach is similar to the one that led us to choose a Malte Tourbillon skeleton model to reflect Baron Haussmann's urban planning projects in Paris. As the artisans’ work on this armillary tourbillon timepiece is performed directly in the material, we also had to play on the tones and colours to bring out the power of the decoration. We therefore accentuated the contrasts between the color of the case and bridges and the deep black of the openworked mainplate on the front, obtained by galvanic treatment. To avoid disturbing this vision which is at once subtle when it comes to the engraved dial motifs and powerful in terms of the movement’s highly technical nature, we opted for a bevelled bezel that was perfectly smooth and polished. The engraver's art is expressed on the case middle by a bas-relief frieze that extends to the lugs and is then repeated on the bridges at the back.

You mentioned the armillary tourbillon in this model. Could you be more specific?

Calibre 1990 is a movement that has benefited from certain developments made for the Reference 57260 – the world’s most complicated watch to date presented in 2015 to mark the Manufacture’s 260th anniversary – and these include this spherical armillary tourbillon. It is a dual-axis tourbillon with carriages rotating at a rate of one turn per minute so as to provide a small seconds indication. The name ‘armillary’ refers to astronomical spheres used to model the celestial sphere in order to display the apparent movement of the stars, the sun and the ecliptic within the geocentric theory of the universe. Antide Janvier, one of the most eminent 19th century horologists, produced several examples that made their mark on history. Without going into all the astronomical details of these constructions, it was above all the appearance of these spheres that caught our attention, with the highly complex assembly of several rotating 'armillare' rings used for the various astronomical indications, similar to our dual-axis tourbillon. In terms of technical developments, it should also be noted that Calibre 1990 has been the subject of four patent applications relating to the instantaneous retrograde system, the attachment of the balance-spring, the diamond-polished pallet-lever and the multi-carriage tourbillon system.

Do you have any other 'American' references in terms of complicated watches?

Definitely and they are among Vacheron Constantin's most prestigious. By the early 20th century, Vacheron Constantin had built a solid reputation for producing ultra-complicated pocket watches. At that time, manufacturer James Ward Packard and banker Henry Graves Jr, both great American timepiece collectors, were engaged in a perfectly friendly joust to see who would own the most complicated watch. As part of this competition, Vacheron Constantin created a watch for James Packard, completed in 1919, incorporating a unique combination of complications including a chronograph, Grande and Petite Sonneries along with quarter and half-quarter repeater. The movement was housed in a finely chased gold case with a personalised rock crystal glass. At the same time, Vacheron Constant developed the American 1921 watch, a timepiece that set new standards with its offbeat style. Through this timepiece, Vacheron Constantin was no longer targeting only the great American families of industrialists and financiers, but all those who were prepared to break the rules at the height of the Prohibition era.

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TECHNICAL DATA

Armillary Tourbillon – Tribute to Art Deco Style

Reference 9860C/000J-090C

Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Caliber 1990

Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin Mechanical manual-winding

35.50 mm diameter, 10 mm thick

Movement power reserve: approximately 58 hours

2.5 Hz (18’000 vibrations/hour)

299 components

45 jewels

Front bridges: Black hand-guilloché radiant pattern

Back bridges: hand-engraved geometric pattern

Indications

Retrograde hours and minute

Small seconds on tourbillon

Armillary tourbillon

Case

18K 3N hand-engraved yellow gold

45 mm diameter, 20.10 mm thick

Transparent sapphire crystal caseback

Dial

Black

Strap

Black Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales

Clasp

18K 3N hand-engraved yellow gold folding clasp

Presentation box & accessory

Les Cabinotiers model

Unique timepiece

« Pièce unique », « Les Cabinotiers » and « AC » hallmark engraved on the back of the timepiece

Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon

Embargo lifted on 27 November 2023 - 9:00 AM CET

Les Cabinotiers - Récits de Voyages collection sets off to discover the world and its wonders in the spirit of openness that has characterised Vacheron Constantin since its origins: China and its ancestral culture are notably highlighted in certain models.
For the first time, the Maison's master enameller has employed the grisaille technique using green enamels to pay an original and vibrant tribute to the mythical five-clawed imperial dragon depicted on the dial.
Emblematic of the Maison’s technical mastery, this one-of-a-kind watch set with baguette-cut diamonds is powered by in-house Calibre 1120, an ultra-thin self-winding movement.

The single-piece edition timepieces in the new Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages range reflects Vacheron Constantin's geographical expansion. With the first commercial contacts forged between Vacheron Constantin and China in the mid-19th century, this country became an essential travel destination. To pay tribute to this country, the Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon watch features a green grisaille enamel dial, a first for Vacheron Constantin and an original backdrop for the mythical five-clawed imperial dragon. Manufacture Calibre 1120, one of the thinnest self-winding movements ever produced, powers this one-of-a-kind timepiece set with baguette-cut diamonds.

Vacheron Constantin and Asia

Vacheron Constantin’s human adventure, which gives substance to artistic crafts, is enriched with Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages, an imaginary horological odyssey to destinations representing the various historical stages in the expansion of the Maison. Each one-of-a-kind timepiece in the collection evokes the arts and cultures of the different continents visited by the Maison. This international expansion, which began in the early 19th century, also included China.

The emperor turned to the best European artisans, including Vacheron Constantin to rebuild his lost collection. Having begun prospecting the Chinese market in the first half of the 19th century, with business contacts documented as early as 1845, the Maison had already established a solid reputation in the country.

First green grisaille for Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin's master artisan has devised a new grisaille enamelling technique to enhance the dial of this timepiece and highlight the mythical five-clawed dragon. A symbol of power, nobility and good fortune, this creature is always accompanied by its pearl, an emblem of wisdom.

The art of grisaille, a technique dating back to the 16th century, reveals the motif in a play of chiaroscuro, designed to endow it with special depth. This now rare technique consists of applying layers of a rare white enamel known as Limoges white to a dark enamel base. Each layer is then fired in a kiln, with the firing time precisely defined to the nearest second. Over the course of the firing, the details of the dragon take shape, gradually giving consistency to the way in which the dragon is staged with a wealth of incredibly accurate details. The enameller's work generally ends with the application of a final layer of lapped translucent enamel to achieve an effect of brilliance and depth that brings out the contrasts in the painting.

For this piece, the Maison’s master enameller took a different approach by choosing to give a green tint to the translucent enamel applied to the initial work in Limoges white. This colouring reinforces the mythical appearance of the depiction. To accentuate the depth effect, the master enameller then used Limoges white for the final subtleties of the motif by means of successive layers fired in the kiln. Another first is the combination of grisaille enamel and gemsetting. The 40 mm case in 18K white gold is set with 146 baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel, middle and lugs (7.1 carats). The crown is adorned with a reverse-set brilliant-cut diamond. It is paired with a dark green alligator leather strap featuring a white gold pin buckle set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds.

Calibre 1120: a legendary ultra-thin movement

The Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon watch is distinguished by its elegant silhouette. This model with a case measuring just 8.9 mm thick benefits from the Maison’s expertise in the world of ultra-thin calibres.

While Vacheron Constantin's first ultra-thin calibres date back to the 19th century, the Manufacture developed several movements renowned for their slenderness throughout the 20th century, in response to the comfort-related expectations of a clientele won over by wristwatches. In 1911, for example, Vacheron Constantin's records show three calibres with different diameters but a common thickness of 2.82 mm. This quest for thinness led to the creation of movements measuring 2.25 mm thick in 1917 and 1.88 mm in 1924. In 1955, to celebrate its bicentenary, Vacheron Constantin presented Calibre 1003, a manual-winding movement just 1.64 mm thick and at the time the thinnest ever produced.

At just 2.45 mm thick, Calibre 1120 reflects this same concern for combining technical sophistication with elegant design. Introduced in 1968, this movement was redesigned in 2010 with an 18K gold oscillating weight shaped like a Maltese cross. It retained the same size, yer with a higher 40-hour power reserve. Bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, it was taken to the next level in terms of decoration and finishing, featuring a Côtes de Genève motif, circular graining, chamfering and straight-grained flanks. With its 144 components and a regulator operating at a rate of 19,800 vibrations per hour (2.75 Hz), this latest-generation Calibre 1120 drives the watch's white gold leaf-shaped hands.

Les Cabinotiers Récits de Voyages series

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SUMMARY

Vacheron Constantin presents Les Récits de Voyages, a collection of one-of-a-kind Les Cabinotiers timepieces combining craftsmanship and technical mastery. This collection dedicated to the Maison’s international expansion that began in the 19th century celebrates the spirit of openness it has demonstrated from the outset. Each watch illustrates the successive stages of this odyssey. Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon pays tribute to China, a country whose trade with Vacheron Constantin dates back to 1845. On the dial of this watch featuring a five-clawed imperial dragon and its pearl, Vacheron Constantin's master artisan has created a motif in green grisaille enamel, a first for the Manufacture, another first being the gemsetting of a model with a grisaille enamel dial. The case of this timepiece is entirely set with 146 baguette-cut diamonds on the bezel, middle and lugs, while a brilliant-cut diamond adorns the crown. This Hallmark of Geneva-certified watch is powered by self-winding Calibre 1120, a legendary movement distinguished by its extreme 2.45 mm thinness and its aesthetically pleasing construction. It is housed in a white gold case measuring 40 mm in diameter and 8.9 mm thick, paired with a dark green alligator leather strap secured by a gemset white gold pin buckle.

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Interview with Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director

You highlight the thinness of some of the models presented in this Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages collection. What are Vacheron Constantin’s credentials in this field?

Since its creation in 1755, Vacheron Constantin has been involved in all areas of the watchmaking art: pocket watches, wristwatches, rings, sautoir necklaces and brooches, demonstrating consummate mastery of complications, grand complications and ultra-thin mechanical movements. While this latter field of expertise might easily appear less prestigious than grand complication models, this is definitely not the case. Ultra-thin calibres require just as much talent and expertise, as demonstrated by Vacheron Constantin since its origins. As far back as the early 19th century, correspondence between the Maison’s directors clearly referred to "thin watches". This quest for slimness became a Vacheron Constantin signature throughout the 20th century, as exemplified by a pocket watch unveiled in 1931 with a mechanical manual-winding movement measuring 17 5/12 lignes or 39.20 mm in diameter and barely 0.94 mm thick. Calibre 1003, presented in 1955 to celebrate the Maison’s 200th anniversary; as well as Calibre 1120, which appeared 13 years later and is featured in the Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon watch, are part of this trend towards ultra-thin, aesthetically accomplished movements. Some of these calibres have become iconic among collectors, who recognise both the technical solutions adopted and the sense of form in the arrangement of their components. What applies to watches with two or three hands also applies to complications, notably thanks to this same Calibre 1120 with additional function modules. While on this topic, I should also mention the example of minute repeater Calibre 1731, the thinnest on the market at the time of its presentation in 2013 at just 3.90 mm thick.

Grisaille enamel and gemsetting: why are these two artistic crafts perfectly mastered by Vacheron Constantin only now being combined?

These two techniques are indeed among the artistic crafts perfectly mastered within the Manufacture. The fact that it had not previously seemed appropriate to combine the two was mainly because dials produced in grisaille enamel are strikingly beautiful, showcasing breathtaking attention to detail through chiaroscuro atmospheres forming realistic depictions that nothing should be allowed to disturb. The grisaille enamel models presented last year by Vacheron Constantin in its “Les Royaumes Aquatiques®” Les Cabinotiers collection feature a smooth bezel and case, with no gemsetting. With Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon, the green shade given to the dial's grisaille enamel – a first for Vacheron Constantin – prompted the Maison’s designers to try something different. Gemsetting the case was an obvious choice, not only because it accentuates the depth effect intended by this enamelling technique, but also because it enhances its brilliance.

Do Vacheron Constantin and China enjoy a longstanding shared history?

China is a fascinating country with which Vacheron Constantin has enjoyed close ties since the mid-19th century. In 2015, to celebrate 65 years of bilateral relations between China and Switzerland, Vacheron Constantin took part in the "Geneva at the Heart of Time –The Origin of Swiss Watchmaking Culture" exhibition, in partnership with the Musée d’art et d’histoire (MAH) in Geneva and the Capital Museum in Beijing. This was the largest watchmaking exhibition ever staged in Asia, with more than 350 pieces, tools, paintings and engravings, a third of which came from Vacheron Constantin's heritage collection. The Manufacture was also present at the exhibition site at the Capital Museum in Beijing with its master watchmakers, engravers, enamellers and guilloché artists. This simple example illustrates China’s importance for the Manufacture, which has around 30 points of sale in the country. Chinese customers are sensitive to la belle horlogerie and to fine craftsmanship. They are highly appreciative of artistic crafts and show great loyalty to these principles.

TECHNICAL DATA

Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon

Reference

2017C/000G-096C

Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Caliber

1120

Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin

Mechanical self-winding

28.40 mm diameter, 2.40 mm thick

Movement power reserve: approximately 40 hours

2.75 Hz (19’800 vibrations/hour)

144 components

36 jewels

Indications

Hours and minutes

Case

18K white gold set with 146 baguette-cut diamonds (approx.. 7.10 cts)

40 mm diameter, 8.90 mm thick

Crown set with an inverted brilliant-cut diamond (approx. 0.10 ct)

Transparent sapphire crystal caseback

Dial

“Green” Grisaille enamel representing a dragon

Strap

Dark green Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales

Clasp

18K white gold pin buckle set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds (approx. 0.60 ct)

Presentation box & accessory

Les Cabinotiers model

Unique timepiece

« Pièce unique », « Les Cabinotiers » and « AC » hallmark engraved on the back of the timepiece

Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian style

Embargo lifted on 27 November 2023 - 9:00 AM CET

Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages sets off to discover the world and its wonders in the spirit of openness that has characterised Vacheron Constantin since its origins: among the various destinations, the European leg takes us to Paris, where the Maison has been active since the 1820s.
The single-piece edition Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian style, a masterpiece of engraving, echoes the major urban planning projects carried out in the City of Light by Baron Haussmann in the mid-19th century.
Emblematic of the technical mastery of the Maison, the ultra-thin openworked and entirely engraved in-house Calibre 2790 SQ with tourbillon, date and power reserve is distinguished by its extreme thinness.

The single-piece editions in the new Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages collection reflect Vacheron Constantin's geographical expansion. Crossing Europe, the journey passes through Paris, a capital where Vacheron Constantin has had its own agent since the early 19th century and whose current urban planning stems from the major works conducted by Georges Eugène Haussmann under the Second Empire. Witness Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian style watch, distinguished by its in-house manual-winding Calibre 2790 SQ, an ultra-thin skeleton movement featuring a tourbillon regulator with date and power reserve.

Vacheron Constantin and Europe

Europe proved bountiful territory for Vacheron Constantin. Jean-Marc Vacheron, whose workshop founded the Manufacture in 1755, was himself the son of a weaver who had emigrated to Geneva. France and Italy soon came to represent major commercial outlets for the founder's descendants, with ports such as Genoa and Livorno offering close contacts with merchant navies. From the beginning of the 19th century following the partnership concluded between Jacques-Barthélémi Vacheron and François Constantin in 1819, the Maison gradually extended its reach to the main countries of Europe, to the point where, by 1850, its watches were already being sold throughout the continent.

François Constantin was the architect of this expansion. His travels inevitably took him to Paris, where he began sourcing jewellery in the early 1820s, convinced that watches and jewellery would have to complement each other in order to appeal to European customers. At the same time, his supplier, the jeweller Watin, became Vacheron Constantin's agent in the French capital. A few decades later, in 1880, an encounter with Ferdinand Verger in Paris sealed an exceptionally enduring partnership that was to be one of the Maison’s most fruitful. The City of Light had just undergone colossal urban development spearheaded by Georges Eugène Haussmann. Vacheron Constantin's Récits de Voyages echoes this masterful architectural undertaking with the single-piece Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian style edition.

A Haussmann-style case, top-notch engraving work

To ensure the watchmaking tribute is worthy of the model, a highly architectural, even three-dimensional piece was the obvious choice. The entire movement and case passed through the expert hands of the master engraver, whose task was to sculpt the latter using Haussmann-type façades as inspiration, as well as to adorn each movement component with a motif recalling the metal structures of the Eiffel Tower. This meticulous task required 150 hours of work on a watch whose tonneau shape already evokes Parisian chic through the harmonious curves of its case middle. First introduced in 1912, this ‘barrel’ shape is part of Vacheron Constantin's heritage and typical of the Malte collection that was redesigned a century later. At the time, Vacheron Constantin had already distinguished itself through this creative freedom in a watchmaking world that rarely ventured away from the classic conventions of the round watch. Today, it reaffirms this aesthetic moment through a new timepiece brimming with character.

The master artisan has left no surface blank on the 18K 5N pink gold case. The bezel and caseback are circular-grained and engraved with gadroons that are round on the front and hollowed on the back. While the lugs feature concave gadroons, the case middle provides an exceptional showcase for artistry, while recalling that this watch with its ultra-thin calibre is only 12.7 mm thick. It features a motif recalling the work of Baron Haussmann: while standardising the face of Paris, the latter encouraged the use of ornamentation, resulting in lions ‘taking over’ the capital, its monuments, its building facades and door-knockers as well as its parks. The case middle of the watch adopts the feline in the form of a bas-relief sculpture surrounded by a frieze. After tracing the decor with a dedicated scriber, the engraver sets about creating a champlevé (raised field) by removing the material around the motifs, of which the volumes are created using a burin. The result is a meticulously accurate depth effect – corresponding to 4/10ths of a millimetre for the lion and 2/10ths for its frieze – that still requires polishing. This extremely delicate operation is designed to strike the right balance between the gleam of the metal and the relief of the volumes, whose shadows are accentuated by small incisions or line engraving. The work is completed by fine chasing on the base, hand-crafted point by point to accentuate the contrasts and bring out the shimmering decoration.

A fully openworked and engraved ultra-thin movement, Calibre 2790 SQ

The mechanism has also been meticulously finished and embellished, a task rendered all the more complex by the fact that it is an ultra-thin movement. At just 6.1 mm thick, given its tonneau shape and, above all, its tourbillon regulator, manual-winding Calibre 2790 SQ represents a veritable technical feat. Unveiled by Vacheron Constantin in 2014, this 246-component movement powering displays of the hours and minutes, small seconds on the tourbillon, date and power reserve, is entirely skeletonised to create a highly architectural three-dimensional decoration. The movement has also been designed to offer a striking view of the regulating organ, oscillating at 2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations per hour), a relatively slow tempo perfectly suited to this mechanical ballet. Similarly, the axis of the hours hands has been moved slightly upwards to leave more space for the tourbillon carriage shaped like a Maltese cross, the emblem of the Maison since 1880.

Once the calibre has been skeletonised, the work of the engraver consists of reworking the components, essentially the fixed parts, mainplate and bridges, in order to give depth to each surface and thus ensure optimal light reflection. The result is an impression of lightness due to the airy design of the movement, whose technical sophistication is highlighted by the meticulous work of the master artisans wherever their scorpers can cut into the material, including interior angles of less than 45°. This tonneau-shaped Calibre 2790 SQ with its complete absence of right angles offers a striking horological vision, enhanced by the opulence of the case. In the grand tradition of ultra-thin movements presented by the Manufacture throughout its history, it perpetuates the Maison’s expertise as much in terms of the technical mastery required to develop them as the aesthetic research required to transform them into works of art.

The Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian style bears the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva – a guarantee of fine craftsmanship, precision as well as High Watchmaking decoration – and comes fitted with a dark brown alligator leather strap secured by a folding clasp, also engraved in the style that was intended to "aerate, unify and embellish" Paris, exactly as Prefect Haussmann wished.

Les Cabinotiers Récits de Voyages series

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SUM-UP

As part of its new Les Cabinotiers – Récits de Voyages collection, which reflects its spirit of openness to the world, the Maison presents the single-piece Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian style edition. Inspired by the major late 19th century construction projects that gave the French capital its current appearance, this tonneau-shaped 18K 5N pink gold watch bearing the Hallmark of Geneva, features ultra-thin in-house Calibre 2790 SQ with a tourbillon, date and power reserve. The entire case and movement have been expertly engraved. The bezel, case back and lugs feature gadrooned decoration, while the case middle is finely sculpted with a lion's head and frieze. The mainplate and bridges of the entirely skeletonised movement are also adorned with motifs recalling the structure of the Eiffel Tower. The technical sophistication of this watch is highlighted by means of dedicated hand-crafted ornamentation.

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Interview with Sandrine Donguy, Product & Innovation Director

Could you share the relevance of this Parisian leg of the new Les Cabinotiers - Les Récits de Voyages collection?

Looking back at the origin of a project that consists in expressing Vacheron Constantin's spirit of openness to the world through timepieces – and the consequent efforts expended to establish commercial relations in new markets from a very early stage – it seemed to us that the Récits de Voyages formula was perfectly appropriate. All the more so given that the very extensive correspondence between Jacques-Barthélémi Vacheron and François Constantin from the time of their collaboration in 1819 – which is preserved in our archives and spans more than 20 years – frequently resembles a set of travel diaries, over and above the commercial aspects mentioned. This led us to imagine a journey that would represent the Maison’s international expansion. It naturally all began in Europe, in local markets, before destinations further afield took shape in the Americas, Asia and the Middle East. Paris was one of the first cities to interest Vacheron Constantin, not only because of its clientele but also because of the professional relationships that could be forged there. One may recall that as early as the 1750s, a decade corresponding to the origins of Vacheron Constantin, many of the great watchmaking minds travelled to Paris. For Vacheron Constantin, it was a natural outlet, as was Italy.

Why opt for the Malte watch?

The choice of the Malte watch can be explained first and foremost by the tonneau-shaped case that first appeared at Vacheron Constantin in 1912 and which at the time marked a break with the rounded form of pocket watches and even the first wristwatches. This transgression is reminiscent of Baron Haussmann, who did not hesitate to overturn established architectural codes in order to assert his vision of modern urban planning. These major works shaped the Paris we know today. For this European stage, we wanted to pay tribute to him with a watch that is historically just as subversive as his grand project, offered in a skeletonised version out of respect for this great architectural work. The engraver’s skills then come into play to highlight this incredible Calibre 2790 SQ, whose curved and rounded construction is a textbook example of such craftsmanship.

Why the choice of a sculpted lion on the body?

If you're visiting Paris, lions are everywhere. Sculptures in squares, parks and gardens, starting with the famous Belfort Lion on Place Denfert-Rochereau. They can also be found on doors and facades, lampposts, balconies, the pediments of public buildings and cemeteries... A symbol of power and majesty, the lion with its bushy mane is highly expressive when sculpted in bronze or stone. As Baron Haussmann's plans for Paris involved harmonising the facades of the major boulevards, he himself expressly encouraged their ornamentation. The lion, which was already well established in Paris, as in many other cities, became extraordinarily popular. Our Haussmann tribute could not fail to include the king of the jungle. This is an animal that we have already represented, notably in the form of a roaring lion ronde-bosse engraving sculpted on the bow of the Les Cabinotiers Westminster Sonnerie – Tribute to Johannes Vermeer watch. Here, it appears in an equally expressive version thanks to the talent of the master engraver lavished on the entire timepiece.

TECHNICAL DATA

Malte tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian style

Reference

30135/000R-089C

Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Caliber

2790 SQ

Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin

Mechanical manual-winding

29.3 mm diameter, 6.1 mm thick

Movement power reserve: approximately 45 hours

2.5 Hz (18’000 vibrations/hour)

246 components

27 jewels

Indications

Hours and minutes

Tourbillon

Small seconds on tourbillon

Date

Power reserve

Case

18K 5N hand-engraved pink gold

41.5x38 mm diameter, 12.7 mm thick

Transparent sapphire crystal caseback

Dial

18K 5N grained pink gold

Strap

Brown Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales

Clasp

18K 5N hand-engraved pink gold folding clasp

Presentation box & accessory Les Cabinotiers model

Unique timepiece

« Pièce unique », « Les Cabinotiers » and « AC » hallmark engraved on the back of the timepiece