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Lot Essay
The rarity and importance of this outstanding complicated watch by Vacheron Constantin should not be underestimated. It is, to the best of our knowledge the only example of its type known publicly. Its stunning design, complexity and finish brings to mind one of the founding philosophies of the company: “the quest for the perfect balance between technical prowess, the mark of the true master watchmaker, and aesthetic excellence, elevating fine craftsmanship to the realms of art and virtuoso design.”
The design and materials used in the making of this watch indeed demonstrate aesthetic excellence. The minimalist platinum case, silvered dial with applied white gold Breguet numerals and white gold Breguet hands give the watch a captivating monochrome white appearance which makes the ‘pop’ of colour from the rich blue moon phases all the more striking. Of course this watch also displays an unusual and impressive combination of complications. What immediately catches the eye is the single linear aperture for the calendar which displays the days of the week, the date and the months together in-line. This type of calendar display was only used by Vacheron Constantin on very rare occasions including for some of their most complicated watches. In order to position the calendar mechanism to display in-line, the watchmaker would have faced quite a challenge and the under dial work is made and fitted to very fine tolerances; the date wheel extends almost to the edges of both the central arbour and subsidiary seconds arbour. A small subsidiary running seconds is positioned below the calendar aperture and above, below 12 o’clock is the moon phase aperture displaying the blue enamel night sky with gold moon and stars. The moon phase is cleverly combined with a power reserve indicator, the hand fixed at the centre corresponds to the scale on the edge of the moon phase aperture to indicate to the user the amount of power remaining before the watch should be wound.
According to Vacheron Constantin, the present watch was made in 1932. This period between 1929 and 1935 was one of the most challenging for world economies and indeed Vacheron Constantin laid off their entire workforce at one point during this time. However, paradoxically, it was also the period when Vacheron Constantin produced their most exceptional complicated watches including: the Grande Complication for King Fouad I of Egypt in 1929 (with days of the week and date in-line calendar); a highly complicated watch for Henry Graves Jr. in 1932 and the Grande Complication for King Farouk of Egypt in 1934. It is fascinating to think that the present watch was made at the same time as some of Vacheron Constantin’s most astonishingly complicated watches and provides a background to the creation of this splendid platinum calendar watch.
Only two other Vacheron Constantin watches appear to have been made with this exact configuration of complications. Those two watches, dated 1929, have different case types and are known only from Vacheron Constantin archive photographs.
The design and materials used in the making of this watch indeed demonstrate aesthetic excellence. The minimalist platinum case, silvered dial with applied white gold Breguet numerals and white gold Breguet hands give the watch a captivating monochrome white appearance which makes the ‘pop’ of colour from the rich blue moon phases all the more striking. Of course this watch also displays an unusual and impressive combination of complications. What immediately catches the eye is the single linear aperture for the calendar which displays the days of the week, the date and the months together in-line. This type of calendar display was only used by Vacheron Constantin on very rare occasions including for some of their most complicated watches. In order to position the calendar mechanism to display in-line, the watchmaker would have faced quite a challenge and the under dial work is made and fitted to very fine tolerances; the date wheel extends almost to the edges of both the central arbour and subsidiary seconds arbour. A small subsidiary running seconds is positioned below the calendar aperture and above, below 12 o’clock is the moon phase aperture displaying the blue enamel night sky with gold moon and stars. The moon phase is cleverly combined with a power reserve indicator, the hand fixed at the centre corresponds to the scale on the edge of the moon phase aperture to indicate to the user the amount of power remaining before the watch should be wound.
According to Vacheron Constantin, the present watch was made in 1932. This period between 1929 and 1935 was one of the most challenging for world economies and indeed Vacheron Constantin laid off their entire workforce at one point during this time. However, paradoxically, it was also the period when Vacheron Constantin produced their most exceptional complicated watches including: the Grande Complication for King Fouad I of Egypt in 1929 (with days of the week and date in-line calendar); a highly complicated watch for Henry Graves Jr. in 1932 and the Grande Complication for King Farouk of Egypt in 1934. It is fascinating to think that the present watch was made at the same time as some of Vacheron Constantin’s most astonishingly complicated watches and provides a background to the creation of this splendid platinum calendar watch.
Only two other Vacheron Constantin watches appear to have been made with this exact configuration of complications. Those two watches, dated 1929, have different case types and are known only from Vacheron Constantin archive photographs.