TIMELESS LEGACY

Celebrating 270 uninterrupted years is an extraordinary achievement. Vacheron Constantin marks this milestone with exceptional releases.

- By CANDICE CHAN

At 270, Vacheron Constantin-the oldest watchmaker in continuous operation-has moved forward by doing, revising, and doing again in the spirit of François Constantin's 1819 quote: "Do better if possible, and that is always possible." The pay-off is breadth and a living workshop: grand complications, tourbillons, astronomical displays, chiming watches, openworked and ultra-thin calibres, and the decorative arts of guilloche, enamelling, engraving, and gem-setting. As its reach widened, it absorbed advancing aesthetics and techniques without losing its signature. It also refined the mechanics for precision and clean complications integration. Often out in front with world firsts, it is a house working at the top of its game.

MASTER OF COMPLICATIONS

Following last year's Berkley Grand Complication pocket watch, which features 63 functions, Vacheron Constantin sets a new world record with the Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication, a unique creation boasting 41 functions.

Developed over eight years and protected by 13 patents, it contains 1,521 components housed in a white gold case measuring 45mm by 14.99mm.

This double-sided watch represents the latest achievement in the maison's lineage of grand complications and reflects a longstanding fascination with the solar system.

A unique feature of the calibre 3655 is its display of civil, solar, and sidereal time simultaneously, each with a dedicated gear train.

On the front, civil time is prominently presented in hours, minutes, world time, and a second time zone. On the back, a rotating star chart shows sidereal time. The watch tracks solar time through the equation of time with a counter at 6 o'clock.