Among the consequences of the Watches & Wonders occasion being consigned to the digital sphere is this season’s most complicated wristwatch — according to current observations — and, really, Vacheron Constantin’s most complicated wristwatch ever, remains a two-dimensional proposition, locked in pixellated purgatory.
But no matter. Even viewed on screen, it’s apparent the one-of-a-kind Les Cabinotiers Grand Complication Split-Seconds Chronograph watches Tempo sounds a high note for one of the grande dames of fine watchmaking.
A mouthful of a name precipitates an even more mouthful of complications 24 in total. That, for the record, is four more than Patek Philippe’s Grandmaster Chime, 12 fewer than the ones claimed by Franck Muller’s Aeternitas Mega 4, and also 33 fewer compared to the 57 in Vacheron’s very own 57260 pocket watch, the planet’s most complicated timepiece.
The opinion becomes the lead protagonist in this season’s continuing pageant of all Vacheron’s Les Cabinotiers pieces, themed as”La Musique du Temps” because of the focus on chiming mechanisms. Les Cabinotiers is Vacheron’s bespoke division, where it both customises pieces for those of substantial fortune and generates unique, to-order grand complications for those of contributors past most comprehension.
About the Tempo’s record are a number of recherché astronomical purposes, including an equation of time (which measures the gap between time measured from the sun and mean time for a watch records it) and day and night span.
Rather smartly, the instance is said to be symmetrical (the eye should see this to be sure) and, since it comes with a quick strap system, is easily reversed so the wearer can select between the two dials across which all those functions are exhibited.
Additionally emerging into the light for the first time from Vacheron’s workshops are a pink-gold, blue-dialled variant of the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin worthy of Patrick Bateman; a skeletonised variant of the same watch that makes the aesthetic somewhat more riotous; and a tourbillon and monopusher chronograph-equipped grande complication known as the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph watches.
A final term for the latest iterations of the Fiftysix (full with newly contracted title ), now issued in”sepia brown”. These might not sit atop the counter among Vacheron’s assortment of fresh noodle that are fresh, but the”self-winding” and”full calendar” versions of Vacheron’s most accessible line — all things being relative — are almost certainly the most successful executions of the layout nonetheless.
The blue and gray dials were rather great, but also for pure louche indulgence, the combination of brown dials and pink-gold cases provides a rust-tinted throwback that should enthuse even the most casual of sartorialists.
