Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin is famed for its horological showpieces but arguably the most well-known among them in modern history is the Reference 57260.
In 2015, the year of its 260th anniversary, the pocket watch with 57 complications was launched and till today, remains to be the most complicated watch in the world.
Besides successfully combining that many mechanisms in a 98mm-wide pocket watch, Les Cabinotiers, an expert department specialising in exclusive commissions at the manufacture, also incorporated rare and technical complications, such as a Hebraic calendar, into it.
Such is the level of craftsmanship Vacheron Constantin has become synonymous with, throughout its illustrious history that began in 1755.
While realising horological fantasies is its forte, the brand is also known for fusing high watchmaking with wearability.
This is evident in its staple collections, which include well-designed complicated creations for both men and women.
“One of not many” is the ethos it has subscribed to, preferring to limit its production to ensure a consistent but high level of quality.
Here is a spotlight on four watch types – astronomical, retrograde and chiming watches as well as tourbillons – that Vacheron Constantin has given form over the centuries, explained using a combination of complicated marvels from the past and the present.
The moon and the stars
Apart from just time, an astronomical watch indicates astronomy-related readings such as moon phases and the position or movement of constellations and the planets.
The finest example of such a creation in Vacheron Constantin’s repertoire is the King Farouk Grand Complication pocket watch, which was made for the king of Egypt and presented to him in 1946.
At an imposing size of 80mm wide, it is one of the most complicated watches of its time, befitting the status of its royal owner.
Now part of a private collection, it features 15 complications, including a carillon minute repeater with grande and petite sonneries fitted with three gongs and three hammers, and a split-seconds chronograph.
In early 2021, the watchmaker again showcased its horological expertise for astronomy watches by unveiling the Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon perpetual calendar – Planetaria.
Developed and created by the aforementioned Les Cabinotiers department, the one-of-a-kind piece celebrates the astronomical basis of timekeeping in a unique way. Alongside intricate mechanisms such as a double-axis tourbillon and a perpetual calendar, it sports an unusual 3D depiction of the earth’s Northern and Southern hemispheres.
The two highly detailed titanium globes perform a complete rotation in 24 hours, displaying a day/night indication with a mesmerising visual display.
Astronomical watches are not necessarily all unique creations. Over the years, Vacheron Constantin has perfected the art of introducing simpler astronomical functions into its stable of wristwatches.
The Égérie moon phase jewellery watch is a good case in point. While most people will be captivated by the copious amount of diamonds on its case, dial, bezel and bracelet, one small detail on its watch face reveals the brand's strong relationship with astronomy. Taking its place between 1 and 2 o’clock is a moon phase indicator, which shows the moon moving and transforming across the beautiful starlit midnight sky.
Great leap
At Vacheron Constantin, the retrograde display became a feature of interest from the mid-1930s. Unlike the conventional, the display does not indicate day, date, month or time in a circular fashion. Instead, its retrograde hand indicates information in an arc and jumps back to its starting point after it finishes the sequence.
Such complications are technically challenging, requiring extreme precision in designing the mechanisms responsible for accomplishing their actions.
Retrograde watches became highly popular during the Roaring 20s and Vacheron Constantin naturally set itself apart from the rest with its technically and aesthetically impressive interpretations.
A shining example is the Arms In The Air two-tone pocket watch with bi-retrograde display made in 1930. On the dial is a Chinese magician whose arms will indicate – at the touch of a pusher at 10 o’clock – the hours and minutes on two graduated segments appearing on either side of the silver dial. He then adopts various hand postures as the hours pass.
Fast forward to today and retrograde displays still remain a key signature of Vacheron Constantin, seen in the iconic Patrimony collection. An elegant complication watch, the Patrimony Retrograde Day-Date incorporates the retrograde function in its date and day display.
On reaching Sunday, as well as the end of the month, the hand on each display arc jumps back to the beginning, ready to start its passage across the arcs once again.
Music to the ears
Chiming or repeater watches were invented at the end of the 17th century for a practical reason – to tell the time in the dark as electricity had not yet been discovered.
At Vacheron Constantin, the first repeater watch was only produced in 1806. Then came a particularly exquisite piece 10 years later, a musical quarter repeater pocket watch lauded for its finely executed pink gold case and guilloché dial.
Though chiming watches may not have much practical application today, they are treasured by watch enthusiasts.
These melodic creations present a charming way of telling the time and are, of course, exceptionally complicated underneath their deceptively simple dials.
More recently, the Les Cabinotiers department created the Westminster Sonnerie – Tribute to Johannes Vermeer, a project that first began in 2013 and took eight years to develop.
Not only does it boast the highly complicated Westminster chime mechanism, the pocket watch is also a visual masterpiece. Its caseback features a hand-painted miniature reproduction of Johannes Vermeer’s painting, Girl with A Pearl Earring, by Swiss enamel expert Anita Porchet.
Vacheron Constantin demonstrates its experience with repeaters in current pieces such as the Patrimony Minute Repeater Ultra-Thin. The cognoscenti is duly impressed with its melodious tones. Many even claim that the chimes are the best they have heard from a watch, especially when its case measures merely 8.1mm thick.
Defying gravity
A tourbillon was invented by legendary watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet at the beginning of the 19th century to counteract the effects of gravity on watch mechanisms, thereby improving the watch’s accuracy.
While only a few watchmakers tried their hand at the tourbillon, Vacheron Constantin started incorporating it into pocket watches as early as in the 1900s.
There were many impressive creations but one of the most notable ones is the Les Complications tourbillon pocket watch from 1990.
A limited-edition creation commissioned by UK-based jeweller Asprey London, it was fitted with a one-minute tourbillon designed in the early 1940s. But the tourbillon was so well-designed that it even fulfilled modern requirements to participate in chronometry competitions right up till the 1990s.
The appearance of tourbillons in its wristwatches took place only in the 1980s, when the watchmaker started to develop new movements with the complication.
Such is the reliability and beauty of the tourbillon that it remains a mainstay complication in Vacheron Constantin’s current collections as well as the piece-unique commissioned models.
Take its Traditionnelle pieces from 2021, for instance. Designed for women, the Traditionnelle Tourbillon is fitted with an elegant mother-of-pearl dial with glittery diamonds adorning the case, bezel, horns and crown – a combination of the art of watchmaking and the beauty of gem-setting.
To up the ante and to speak to seasoned watch connoisseurs, Vacheron Constantin pairs the tourbillon with the chronograph for the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph.
Vacheron Constantin
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