Latest news with #Donguy
South China Morning Post
05-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Style Edit: Vacheron Constantin marks its 270th anniversary with new Patrimony and Traditionnelle models, all with a Maltese cross motif on the dial and côte unique finishing
This year, Vacheron Constantin wowed visitors to Watches and Wonders in Geneva with a stunning booth dedicated to the storied maison's 270th anniversary. Central to the celebrations was the brand's emblem since 1880, the Maltese cross, which serves as the central design motif for a stellar line-up of anniversary releases across the collections. Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date. Photo: Handout 'These two collections epitomise the understated elegance of the watches created by Vacheron Constantin over the last 270 years,' says product and innovation director Sandrine Donguy. 'These classic collections are elevated by signature complications, including the retrograde date display; and subtle details, such as the Patrimony's domed dial and the Traditionnelle's fluted caseback. These unexpected twists give each piece a distinctive character, making it a natural decision to honour these timeless designs.' Advertisement All the latest anniversary additions to these two collections include a Maltese cross, uniquely designed for each dial and carefully placed to account for complication displays. Sapphire casebacks reveal 'côte unique' finishing, which was only rediscovered in 2021 while reproducing the Historiques American 1921. The brand's artisans spent more than 500 hours perfecting the technique, now on full display in this year's releases. Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Manual-Winding. Photo: Handout 'We wanted the limited editions to illustrate the 270th anniversary with the movements as well as the dial,' says Donguy. 'The finish is both technical and decorative, with the bridges appearing to form a continuous and harmonious line. Perpetuating ancestral skills, preserving knowledge and passing it on are key values that define Vacheron Constantin 's history.' The Traditionnelle collection is known for combining exceptional technical standards and aesthetics, evoking Geneva's 18th century high horology, seen in details such as stepped lugs, fluted casebacks, slender bezels, a railway-type minutes track and dauphine-style hands. Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Moon Phase. Photo: Handout This year, the collection sees two celebratory editions of the Manual-Winding and Moon Phase. The latter is presented in a stunning diamond-set pink gold 36mm case and is limited to 270 pieces, driven by the manufacture calibre 1410 AS/270 and showing time, power reserve indication, small seconds and moon phase on a mother-of-pearl dial. Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Manual-Winding. Photo: Handout The Manual-Winding sees limited edition runs of 370 pieces each in 950 platinum and 18k 5N pink gold, both in a 38mm case and complete with the calibre 4400 AS/270; and a 270-piece run in a 33mm diamond-set pink gold version with the calibre 1440/270.
New York Times
01-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Vacheron Constantin Puts a Record on the Wrist
Vacheron Constantin's record-breaking run continues. Having cornered the record for the world's most complicated pocket watch last year with the Les Cabinotiers Berkley Grand Complication and its 63 functions, the luxury Swiss watchmaker has now set a benchmark for the world's most complicated wristwatch: the Les Cabinotiers Solaria Grand Complication, with 41 functions. The one-of-a-kind watch, which the brand said took eight years to develop and had 13 patents, was not commissioned by a private client. Instead, it was created for Vacheron's 270th anniversary, this year. 'We always have one or two projects like Solaria in our minds and some are stopped because of various factors, but the idea is always to demonstrate our excellence in high craftsmanship and watchmaking,' said Sandrine Donguy, Vacheron Constantin's product and innovation director. What are the Solaria's complications? As well as regular indications such as the time and date, and recognized high-end watchmaking functions such as a perpetual calendar, a split-seconds chronograph (which can time two events simultaneously) and five chiming functions, it has 14 astronomical functions, five of which Vacheron has said are appearing in a watch for the first time. Four of those track the sun, hence the watch's name, while the fifth shows the hours until a particular star appears in the sky. 'It's like a little telescope on the wrist,' Ms. Donguy said. The watch, she added, was made possible by the technological advances of artificial intelligence-powered manufacturing that can produce tiny components to microscopic tolerances. 'The ingenuity of this project was in combining high complications with miniaturization, which allowed us to have these tiny components,' she said, noting that the company had worked to tolerances of a tenth of a millimeter. As a result, Vacheron has squeezed the watch's 1,521 components into a 45 millimeter white gold case that is slightly less than 15 millimeters thick. Indications are displayed on both sides of the watch, allowing Vacheron to preserve its typical clean dial aesthetic. Manufacturing and ergonomic challenges have meant that watches with large numbers of complications are few and far between. Patek Philippe's best effort has been its Grandmaster Chime with 20 complications. The most complicated watch before the Solaria is thought to have been Franck Muller's $2.7 million Aeternitas Mega 4, with 36 complications. How much further can Vacheron go? 'Sometimes, industry is not mature enough to allow us to go further,' Ms. Donguy said. 'But I will come back to humanity's quest always to look further. What about a display that looks up from the moon, that looks at the sun from a different angle? The possibilities are endless.'
