Vacheron Constantin introduces a host of new timepieces for 2024, including one Haute Joaillerie piece. These novelties include new variations of the Overseas, Traditionelle Tourbillon Chronograph, Patrimony Manual-Winding, Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date and Égérie Moon Phase, as well the Égérie The Pleats of Time concept watch and Haute Joaillerie Grand Lady Kalla.
Vacheron Constantin Novelties from Watches & Wonders 2024
The full list of novelties:
- Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph – Collection Excellence Platine
- Patrimony Manual-Winding
- Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date
- Égérie The Pleats of Time, A Concept Watch
- Égérie Moon Phase
- Overseas Chronograph, Dual Time, Date 41 mm, Date 35 mm with green dial
- Overseas Tourbillon in titanium
- Grand Lady Kalla
Press release information with commentary in italics
Commentary
Vacheron Constantin presents a balanced offering of men’s and women’s watches with a focus on new aesthetics. First unveiled in 2020, the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph now joins the Collection Excellence Platine. This means that the model gets a full platinum makeover – platinum case, platinum dial, platinum clasp, even braided silk and platinum thread for the stitches in the strap. Watches given the Collection Excellence Platine treatment emanate stealthy opulence, and the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph is no different.
The Patrimony Manual-Winding and Moon Phase Retrograde Date are the other two men’s dress watch novelties for this year, featuring a new dial colour dubbed ‘old-silver-tone’ by Vacheron Constantin. Indeed, this new colour resembles that of tarnished silver. It is warm and rich, the antithesis of the sterility one might find in a white dial. The dial contrasts wonderfully with the Moon Phase Retrograde’s white gold case and matches the olive-coloured leather strap to a tee. The same can be said of the Manual-Winding model except, here, an additional pink gold reference is also on offer. The pink gold case expectedly does not contrast but, rather, complements the old-silver-tone coloured dial. All three variants are immensely youthful and charming.
Of all the Vacheron Constantin novelties for this year thus far, it is arguably the Égérie The Pleats of Time, A Concept Watch that is the most unique. Born of the collaboration between Vacheron Constantin, haute couture designer Yiqing Yin and master perfumer Dominique Ropion, the Égérie The Pleats of Time, A Concept Watch is, unsurprisingly, a one-of-one piece unique. Its pleated mother-of-pearl dial in lilac is absolutely mesmerising to behold, liberated of hour markers for purity sake. But where it really stands out is in its gorgeous strap. Stunning and original, the strap is adorned with embroidery and mother-of-pearl shards. Then there’s also the fact that it is steeped in encapsulations of perfume, releasing fragrance randomly in step with wrist movements. Up until this year, a perfume-spritzing-strap would’ve sounded more like a fever dream than reality. The Égérie The Pleats of Time, A Concept Watch is certainly warming up to be the brand’s top novelty for 2024. What a shame that it is not for sale.
What is for sale though is the accompanying piece: the new Égérie Moon Phase. While the watch isn’t as whimsical as the concept watch, it is more appropriate for serial production, and does carry a similar aura thanks to the mother-of-pearl dial and pastel-coloured strap options.
There is also a bunch of pink gold Overseas models that are getting green dials – a first for the Overseas collection. While there’s nothing too exciting about this, it does offer more options to clients, which isn’t a bad thing. The four models that have received the green and gold makeover are the Chronograph, Dual Time, and Date models in 41 mm and 35 mm. It is a classic yet exotic colour combination that will bring even more vibrancy to the brand’s sportiest watch collection.
Perhaps more fascinating is the new Overseas Tourbillon in Titanium. Titanium watches are nothing new but they are pretty rare when it comes to Vacheron Constantin. This rarity combined with the allure of a tourbillon makes for a potent combination.
Last but not least is the haute joaillerie piece: the Grand Lady Kalla. While the watchmaking side of the Grand Lady Kalla isn’t too interesting, the design of the timepiece as a whole most certainly is. It comes in a multicomponent set that allows the owner to wear the Grand Lady Kalla four different ways, from wrist to neckline. It is a truly decadent piece even by high jewelry standards.
Press Release Information
Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph – Collection Excellence Platine
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 950 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 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. 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.
Like the case, the 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.
Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date & Patrimony Manual-Winding
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. 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 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.
Égérie The Pleats of Time, A Concept Watch & 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.
The Égérie The Pleats of Time, A Concept Watch 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. 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 has designed an exclusive strap adorned with exquisite artistic embroidery, in which mother-of-pearl shards are inlaid between silk threads. Invisible yet essential to the personality of this timepiece, a fragrance imagined by master perfumer Dominique Ropion is encapsulated in each component of the strap (lining, loop, embroidery, etc.). The perfume contained in the nanocapsules is released randomly, as the strap rubs against the skin and in step with wrist movements.
While the concept watch is not for sale, the new variation of the Égérie Moon Phase developed with Yiqing Yin is. 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. The watch retains all of 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.
Overseas with green dial
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.
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.
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 green calfskin leather strap or rubber strap, each with an interchangeable pin buckle.
Overseas Tourbillon in titanium
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. This resolutely adventurous watch is equally technical with its tourbillon majestically enthroned at 6 o’clock.
The elegance of the Overseas Tourbillon is enhanced by the 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.
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.
Grand Lady Kalla
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 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.
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.
