SIHH 2010: Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle
Vacheron Constantin, one of the oldest and most famous high-end watchmakers in the world, released five new models within their Patrimony Traditionnelle collection at SIHH 2010 last week. Case sizes range from 38 mm all the way up to 44 mm. All Patrimony timepieces are available in either 950 platinum or 18-carat white gold, no red or pink gold (which was immensely popular with many brands last year). As far as complications, they range from a chronograph all the way up to a minute repeater.
Platinum, the purest, rarest and most enduring of metals
for the new major complications by Vacheron Constantin
The trend for 2010 is an exclusive and sophisticated grey
Platinum, at the top of the hierarchy of precious metals, denotes the highest prestige in fine watchmaking. Extremely rare, it can be used to protect only watch movements of the most elaborate complexity. Vacheron Constantin thus gives full honour to this most precious of metals by choosing it to encase the very complicated movements of three models introduced in 2010.
The Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2253" model in the Collection Excellence Platine is an outstanding timepiece and chief among the Grand Complication models presented by Vacheron Constantin at the SIHH 2010. In addition to the tourbillon escapement, it includes such astronomical complications as the perpetual calendar, the times of sunrise and sunset and the equation of time. Furthermore it has an exceptional running time of 14 days. Only 10 numbered pieces will be produced in this limited edition.
The Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2755" watch in platinum concentrates the major complications in which Vacheron Constantin excels both technically and stylistically. It combines the tourbillon and the perpetual calendar with a minute-repeater that features an original and completely silent mechanism to pace the strike.
The third model, also in platinum, is the Patrimony Traditionnelle Chronograph Perpetual Calendar "Calibre 1141QP", which embodies the Vacheron Constantin convention in styling. It brings together a chronograph and a perpetual calendar driven by a highly regarded hand-wound movement. The Calibre 1141 is an exceptional design that has been used in some of the best chronographs. Experts consider it a model of highly complex chronograph construction.
Proficiency in watchmaking excellence: from deceptive simplicity to great complications
Founded in 1755 during the Enlightenment, Vacheron Constantin stands alone in horology as the oldest watch manufacturer with more than 250 years of uninterrupted and skilled production. However, no time has been lost in the creation of horological movements and timepieces that have, in one way or another, represented their era. These witnesses to centuries of technical and artistic inventiveness constitute a watchmaking heritage of inestimable worth. Every type of watchmaking bears the mark of ingenuity: ultra-thin movements, horological functions, the artistic treatment of watches and their mechanisms, automata, clocks and above all, the ultra-complicated mechanisms. Vacheron Constantin thus displays the lively and prolific spirit of Geneva watchmaking over the past two-and-a-half centuries.
Patrimony Traditionnelle Collection
In the world of Vacheron Constantin, the Patrimony collection best expresses the manufacturing company's genetic makeup - the inher-itance of skills painstakingly acquired since its inception. Their round cases span the past and the future as an eternal design of natural elegance that needs no adornment, for the simple beauty of time-honored workmanship is sufficient to denote Swiss watchmaking of the highest order.
The Patrimony Traditionnelle collection remains true to the artistry apparent in some of Vacheron Constantin's finest historical work. Beyond the studied restraint of the styling, the collection symbolizes certain values shared by those who treasure fine horology. Those who know something about watches will appreciate the finer points of the company's "special reserve" watchmaking: the thin bezel, the knurled surround of the screw-held caseback with its sapphire-crystal window, the perfectly ground trapezoid marking each hour - with a pair for the 6 and the 12 - and the faceted Dauphine hands on silvery dials of varied hues. The case, with welded lugs, has a stepped profile bisected by a cleanly drawn caseband. The artistic heritage of the Patrimony Traditionnelle collection, expressed in today's terms, serves as a reminder that tradition and modernity coexist as a matter of course at Vacheron Constantin.
Such established artistic parameters can be readily applied across the range of watches in the Patrimony Traditionnelle collection, from a self-winding wristwatch confined to the hours, minutes and seconds, to a minute-repeating tourbillon watch with a perpetual calendar. Extending from straightforward to extremely involved mechanisms, the collection proclaims Vacheron Constantin's spirit of invention and pays tribute to two-and-a-half centuries of history.
The Collection Excellence Platine
Platinum's rarity, purity and incorruptibility qualify it as supreme among symbols of excellence. Vacheron Constantin started working with platinum in the early 19th century to offer its clients pieces in the most valuable of all metals.
While 18-carat gold contains 75% of the pure metal, platinum is 95% pure. Platinum is also 30 times scarcer than gold and there are very few deposits. Its hardness and density make it more resistant than any other metal and thus the best choice for an everlasting object. A scratch in platinum displaces rather than removes material, avoiding the loss through wear and tear of a softer metal. Platinum's ability to retain its full weight and value has made it popular as a token of eternity. Platinum has other remarkable features: it is malleable and very ductile. A gram of the metal can be drawn into a thread almost two kilometers long.
To herald the start of another quarter millennium in 2006, the Manufacture Vacheron Constantin, in tribute to the most extraordinary and aristocratic of precious metals, decided that all platinum watches would henceforth be initially produced in limited editions of never more than 150 pieces. Their availability would be reserved for collectors and connoisseurs. The Collection Excellence Platine was thus born. In addition to a platinum caseband, each watch in the collection has a rare watchmaking feature that distinguishes it from other watches in this metal. These might include a clasp, a winding crown or hands in platinum, as well as a brushed platinum dial, discreetly hallmarked "PT950". Attention to detail is taken to the extreme of using platinum thread entwined with silk to sew the dark blue alligator straps fitted to these watches.
Long reserved for royalty, platinum conveys unrivalled distinction, attracting both arbiters of taste and well-informed collectors. Such owners of Vacheron Constantin timepieces in platinum know that they belong to a most exclusive club.
Patrimony Traditionnelle « Calibre 2253 »
Collection Excellence Platine
Only 10 numbered pieces of this exceptional model
For 2010, Vacheron Constantin presents the Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2253" watch in the Collection Excellence Platine. This model features a major astronomical complication in terms of technical application. Entirely constructed by Vacheron Constantin's engineering department and developed over several thousands of hours, the new Calibre 2253 provides information derived from Earth's orbit around the sun, notably a perpetual calendar, the equation of time and the times of sunrise and sunset. It has a tourbillon escapement as well.
A power reserve of around 336 hours or 14 days
To celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2005, Vacheron Constantin introduced the Saint-Gervais watch. Its Calibre 2250 tourbillon movement with a perpetual calendar had the then exceptional running time of 250 hours from the energy stored in four mainspring barrels. The experience gained in making the Calibre 2250 was applied to the development of the Calibre 2253. The new movement benefited from the latest techniques deployed by the manufacturer's technicians, engineers and watchmakers.
Despite supporting extra mechanical complexity, the Calibre 2253 exhibits a breathtaking amount of power reserve - some 336 hours or 14 days of running time drawn from two pairs of coupled barrels. The power reserve is shown through the sapphire-crystal caseback.
The fascinating equation of time
The equation of time is probably the most fascinating complication in this outstanding model. Its purpose is to indicate the difference in minutes between the variable solar time shown by a sundial and the constant mean time of clocks and watches. For practical reasons, mankind has divided each year into 365 and a quarter days, each day into 24 hours, and the hours into 60 minutes each. However, because the Earth's orbit is elliptical rather than circular, the time in relation to the sun varies daily. The noon zenith of the sun when it crosses the observer's meridian seldom occurs at exactly 12 o'clock by his watch. In fact solar time and mean time coincide just four times a year - on April 15, June 14, September 1 and December 24. For the rest of the year, the difference between solar and mean time varies from minus 16 minutes to plus 16 minutes.
The oldest clock showing the equation of time was made by the mathematician Nikolaus Mercator in the 17th century. It enabled folk to covert the sun's varying noon to the standard constant time shown on their watches. Since then, the rare instruments calculating the equation of time have been the work of extremely accomplished horologists.
Making this complication work does indeed call for particular skill. It depends on the equation cam, a waisted oval, shaped like a figure 8 and calculated according to the daily declination of the sun observed from a given spot. The cam rotates once a year while a hand following its contour indicates the equation of time at between 10 and 11 o'clock on the dial of the Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2253" timepiece of the Collection Excellence Platine.
When the sun rises and sinks
This timepiece displays another function seldom found in watches - the times of sunrise and sunset throughout the year at a given locality. This tricky complication also relies on a cam, the outline of which is calculated according to the latitude of the locality. It demonstrates both the skill of the manufacture's engineers and watchmakers and Vacheron Constantin's attention to its clients, for they can choose the place of the sunrises and sunsets. To this extent it's a custom-made complication where the dials are paired at 8 o'clock and 4 o'clock on the face.
The tourbillon carriage, as always in the shape of the brand emblem, a Maltese Cross, rotates once a minute at 6 o'clock as a small seconds indication. The indications of the perpetual calendar are symmetrically laid out with the days, the months and the dates at 9, 12 and 3 o'clock respectively. The leap-year indicator makes a circumspect appearance on the upper right.
An exceptional level of finish
The sophisticated finish of this watch is taken to the limits to match its complexity. As part of the Collection Excellence Platine this Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2253" unsurprisingly incorporates many elements in platinum, from its 43 mm case, water-resistant at a pressure of 3 bar or 30 meters, to its dial hallmarked "PT950", its crown and its folding clasp in the shape of a halved Maltese Cross. There is one other most unusual, if not unique, horological feature: even the Dauphine hands that show the hours and minutes are fashioned in the same material - an incredible technical prowess. The decoration of the dial alternates silvered and frosted surfaces, with snailed chapters, circular-brushed subdials and diamond-polished filets. The applied hour markers and Maltese Cross are in white gold.
The Calibre 2253 movement also bears the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, which is an independent and legally sanctioned label of workmanship, origin, precision, resilience and competence. This seal of watchmaking perfection, among the oldest of professional labels, is reserved for a handful of Geneva manufacturers. It means that such decorative aspects of the movement as Côtes de Genève, circular graining, chamfering and straight graining of the steelwork are entirely done by hand.
The finish of the thin bridge that holds the tourbillon is an example among many. It consists of rounding off the top of the rectangular steel bar with a file to create a gleaming barrel-vault along its upper length. The camber follows the shape of the bridge from its jewelled centre to its winged extremities. The entire operation involves grinding and smoothing the surface with a variety of stones and abrasive pastes and then buffing it to a high polish. To meet Vacheron Constantin's standards of finish, this job takes around 11 hours and is done entirely by hand, but it does signify a properly finished movement.
Such is the complexity and level of finish of this horological masterpiece, that it comprises no fewer than 457 parts in a movement only 9.60 mm thick. That explains why the production is limited to just 10 pieces.
Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2755" in platinum
Three of the greatest complications in the most complete expression of the watchmaking arts and crafts practiced by Vacheron Constantin
The Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2755" belongs to the super-complication category as a worthy heir of Vacheron Constantin's 250th anniversary masterpiece and as the ultimate demonstration of its unequalled skills. In fact, this incomparable timepiece harbours three of the most sophisticated complications in the universe of high-class watchmaking: the tourbillon, the perpetual calendar and the minute-repeater. Such a revelation of the quintessence of the watchmaker's art provides the most accomplished expression of that art and its three score of associated crafts that are in daily practice at Vacheron Constantin.
Heir to the Tour de l'Ile
As the descendant of the Tour de l'Ile watch, the exceptional and much noticed flagship watch of the brand's 250th anniversary in 2005, the Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2755", took three years of development and thousands of hours of work to get right. It is the most complicated model in Vacheron Constantin's current catalogue. Its movement consists of no fewer than 602 parts fitted into a diameter of 33.30 mm only 7.90 mm high. This feat of true prowess also delivers more than 55 hours of running time, indicated through the sapphire-crystal caseback.
An unprecedented strike governor
Among its three complications, the minute-repeater is undoubtedly the one handled in the most original way, as if yet another demonstration that Vacheron Constantin remains one of the world's most inventive manufacturers were strictly necessary. Caught between the desire to extend the frontiers of technical possibility and concern over the practical use of this multi-complication timepiece, Vacheron Constantin's engineers and watchmakers came up with an original device to regulate the repeater's chiming rate: a centripetal governor.
The role of this device is to steady the rate at which the hammers strike the gongs of a chiming watch to repeat the hours, quarters and minutes in a series of notes. Without a regulator, the spring-driven strike would come out in a rush of indiscernible notes.
The device developed by Vacheron Constantin goes further than the more traditional strike regulator - a noisy recoil escapement with a lever that is subject to wear.
During the development of the movement for the Tour de l'Ile anniversary watch of 2005, Vacheron Constantin's engineers and watchmak-ers sought to replace the strike's escapement governor with a totally silent system that would reduce wear. A centrifugal governor existed, essentially a flywheel with a pair of weights that moved away from the centre as it spun to slow the wheel by increasing its inertia. Nevertheless, true to the tradition of a brand whose motto recalls that it is always possible to do better, Vacheron Constantin's watchmakers preferred to steer their choice towards a centripetal strike governor.
This device has two weights shaped so as to act as a brake on the governor's rotating shaft, thus evening-out the energy released by the repeater's spring. To achieve this, it uses the opposite centrifugal and centripetal forces. When the governor spins, the centrifugal force pivots one end of the weights outwards so that the other end acts as a brake on the central shaft to bring the rotation and the strike to a steady rate. This original and undoubtedly unique device is quite silent. The enthusiast can satisfy his curiosity while marvelling at the spinning governor through the sapphire-crystal caseback.
In addition to its minute-repeater, the Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2755" features a tourbillon, which, apart from its function of equal-izing the effects of gravity on different positions of the balance, offers the visual attraction of an exposed mechanism that allows the beating heart of the watch to be observed. The perpetual calendar, which holds the future in its mechanical memory, tracks the meanderings of the Gregorian calendar without intervention apart from resetting the date every 400 years.
Following the lore of the great complications
Vacheron Constantin not only entirely developed the Calibre 2755; it was also manufactured in its workshops, apart from standard parts. Each component is made with a margin so that the specialists who assemble and adjust them can remove material to introduce the right amount of shake. This procedure, which is in perfect keeping with the tenets governing the design and manufacture of the great horological complications, ensures the best possible performance and makes each movement unique. Once assembled, the Calibre 2755 beats at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations an hour and has a power reserve of about 55 hours. The level of its finish can be appreciated in the painstakingly chamfered edges of the bridge plates adorned with Côtes de Genève, the circular graining on the baseplate and the rounding-off of the tourbillon bridge. The high-status Hallmark of Geneva on the movement denotes its compliance with the twelve requirements of this independent and legally sanctioned label of workmanship, provenance, accuracy, durability and watchmaking proficiency.
Sound quality
This amazing calibre is fitted in a generously proportioned platinum case, 44 mm in diameter and designed to achieve the most remarkable quality of sound from the minute-repeater. The optimal tuning of the strike is made possible by the ingenious use of the blocks to which the chimes are attached. The rest of the exterior has also benefited from multiple refinements: dials available in silvered or slate finishes, and the folding clasp in 950 platinum with a half Maltese Cross. Noteworthy also is that the dial is shifted slightly off-centre to better display the tourbillon carriage.
Minute-repeater, tourbillon, perpetual calendar: bringing the three major complications together in a single timepiece remains a rare exercise in style and mastery. Its complexity severely limits the number of Patrimony Traditionnelle "Calibre 2755" platinum watches that can be produced.
Patrimony Traditionnelle Chronograph Perpetual Calendar
« Calibre 1141QP » in platinum
The rarest and most precious of metals for a legendary movement
Fine watchmaking has its quota of exemplary models that attract more than their share of collectors and fan the ardour of the true enthusiast. Only a few chronographs are worthy of belonging to this elite circle. Such factors as the configuration of the movement, its performance, reliability and finish inspire the awe in which they are held. The Vacheron Constantin Chronograph Perpetual Calendar "Calibre 1141QP" indubitably belongs among these legendary movements.
A fabled chronograph calibre
This jewel of the watchmaker's art that's only 7.40 mm thick is of the mechanical kind and wound by hand. It drives a column-wheel chronograph with a pivoting clutch as well as a perpetual calendar with moon phases. This outstanding mechanism has set the pace of some of the most exalted wrist-chronographs in the history of watchmaking and is regarded by all experts as the most technically and stylistically accomplished of its kind because of its extraordinary complexity and incomparable architecture.
To give it due honour, Vacheron Constantin this year presents it in a case commensurate with its status: a version in 950 platinum of the Patrimony Traditionnelle model that took its place from the outset among the reference masterpieces of the Geneva-based manufacturer.
The exterior of this superlative watch is equal to the movement it protects. The characteristic case in 950 platinum of the Patrimony Traditionnelle models obeys the conventions of elegant restraint. Its ample 43 mm diameter ensures that all the indications on the dial are clearly visible. The latter is available in an opaline silver finish with silvered subdials or in a velvety grey with snailed subdials in black rhodium. The varied hues recall the style of Vacheron Constantin's former chronographs, and those who take an interest will recognize a particular affinity with the chronographs of the 1940s.
Vibrating 18,000 times an hour, the Calibre 1141QP can draw on a power reserve of some 48 hours. In addition to the hours and minutes with the small seconds on the left, it indicates the elapsed time with the central chronograph seconds and a 30-minute counter on the right. In the perpetual calendar, the days, months and leap years are nicely arranged in apertures while the moon phases and dates hand are displayed at 6 o'clock.
The smiling or melancholy moons are engraved by hand on a plate of solid platinum with a black patina. Like all Vacheron Constantin movements, the Calibre 1141QP is distinguished by the detailed manual labour that goes into chamfering the bridge plates decorated in Côtes de Genève and by the circular graining of the baseplate, also done by hand. These noteworthy finishes and the movement's remarkable architecture can be appreciated through the sapphire-crystal caseback.
TECHNICAL DATA
Reference Collection Excellence Platine
Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2253
88172/000P-9495
Limited edition of 10 numbered pieces
Movement
2253, developed and crafted by Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva, Mechanical, manual-winding
Diameter 32.00 mm, Thickness 9.60 mm, 30 jewels, 18,000 vph, 457 parts
Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds on tourbillon, Perpetual calendar, Equation of time, sunset and sunrise (Ephemeris to the localization chosen by the client), Power reserve on the caseback
Power reserve
More than 300 hours (14 days) - 4 main springs, coupled two by two
Case
950 platinum, Diameter: 43 mm, Convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on one side, Open-worked screwed-down back
Water-resistance
3 bar, equivalent to 30 metres
Dial
Sand-blasted finish, special "PT950" marking at 4.30
12 hour-markers and Maltese Cross in 18-carat white gold
Black painted minute-track
Strap
Dark blue alligator leather, hand-stitched with platinum thread
Clasp
950 platinum folding clasp
Polished half Maltese Cross
TECHNICAL DATA
Reference
Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755
80172/000P-9505 and 80172/000P-9589
Movement
2755, developed and crafted by Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva
Mechanical, manual-winding
Movement thickness 7.90 mm
Movement diameter 33.30 mm
40 jewels
18,000 vph
Indications
Minute repeater
Tourbillon
Hours, minutes, seconds on tourbillon
Perpetual calendar
Power reserve on the caseback
Power reserve
More than 55 hours
Case
950 platinum
Diameter: 44 mm
Convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on one side Open-worked back secured with screws, sapphire crystal
Water-resistance
None
Dial
Silvered or dark grey opaline
Finely snailed counters with diamond-polished fillets
Black or white painted minute-track
Strap
Dark blue or black, hand-stitched alligator leather
Clasp
950 platinum folding clasp
Polished half Maltese Cross
TECHNICAL DATA
References
Patrimony Traditionnelle Chronograph Perpetual Calendar
47292/000P-9510 and 47292/000P-9590
Movement
1141 QP
Mechanical, manual-winding
Movement thickness 7.40 mm
Movement diameter 27.00 mm
21 jewels
18,000 vph
Indications
Hours, minutes
Small seconds at 9 o'clock
Column-wheel chronograph
30-minute counter at 3 o'clock
Centre chronograph hand
Perpetual calendar and precision moon-phases at 6 o'clock
Power reserve
More than 45 hours
Case
950 platinum
Diameter: 43 mm
Convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside
Screwed-down exhibition back with transparent sapphire crystal
Water-resistance
3 bar, equivalent to 30 metres
Dial
Silvered or dark grey opaline
Two finely snailed counter at 3 and 9 o'clock
Black or white painted minute-track
Strap
Black hand-stitched, saddle-finish,
square-shape scales alligator leather
Clasp
950 platinum folding-clasp
Polished half Maltese Cross
TECHNICAL DATA
Reference
Patrimony Traditionnelle Chronograph
47192/000G-9504
Movement
1141
Mechanical, manual-winding
Movement thickness 5.60 mm
Movement diameter 27.00 mm
21 jewels
18,000 vph
Indications
Hours, minutes
Small seconds at 9 o'clock
Column-wheel chronograph
30-minute counter at 3 o'clock
Centre chronograph hand
Power reserve
More than 40 hours
Case
18-carat white gold
Diameter: 42 mm
Convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside
Screwed-down exhibition back with transparent sapphire crystal
Water-resistance
3 bar, equivalent to 30 metres
Dial
Silvered brushed
Two finely snailed counters at 3 and 9 o'clock
Black painted minute-track
Strap
Black hand-stitched, saddle-finish
square-scaled alligator leather
Clasp
18-carat white gold folding clasp
Polished half Maltese Cross
TECHNICAL DATA
Reference
Patrimony Traditionnelle Manuel
82172/000G-9383
Movement
4400, developed and crafted by Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva
Mechanical, manual-winding
Movement thickness 2.80 mm
Movement diameter 28.50 mm
21 jewels
28,800 vph
Indications
Hours, minutes
Small seconds at 6 o'clock
Power reserve
More than 60 hours
Case
18-carat white gold
Diameter: 38.00 mm
Convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inside
Screwed-down exhibition back with transparent sapphire crystal
Water-resistance
3 bar, equivalent to 30 metres
Dial
Silvered opaline
Finely snailed counter at 6 o'clock
Black painted minute-track
Strap
Black hand-stitched, saddle-finish
square-shape scales alligator leather
Clasp
Buckle in 18-carat white gold
Polished half Maltese Cross
TECHNICAL DATA
Reference
Patrimony Contemporaine retrograde day and date
86020/000G-9508
Movement
2460 R31 R7
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva
Mechanical, self-winding
Movement thickness 5.40 mm
Movement diameter 25.60 mm
27 jewels
Frequency 28,800 vibrations/hour
Functions
Hours, minutes
Date and day with retrograde hands
Power reserve
More than 40 hours
Case
18-carat white gold
Diameter: 42.50 mm
Convex sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on one side
Water-resistance
3 bar, equivalent to 30 metres
Dial
Silver opaline
Beaded external minute-track
Mirror-effect polished Maltese Cross
Strap
Black hand-stitched alligator leather
Clasp
18-carat white gold folding clasp
Polished half Maltese Cross
Retail is TBD
Source: Vacheron Constantin
