A Journey Through Vacheron Constantin’s ‘Récits De Voyages’ Collection
Vacheron Constantin has made many kinds of watches during its 266 years in business, from ultra-complicated pocket watches to the classic 1970s 222 sports watch to contemporary favourites like the Overseas. While every Vacheron Constantin design reflects the brand’s mastery of traditional watchmaking crafts, their Les Cabinotiers are one-of-one pieces that take things to another level entirely. Distinguished by dials, cases, and other elements finished with many hours of painstaking work by the Maison’s most skilled engravers, enamelers, and gem-setters, they represent the pinnacle of traditional savoir-faire. The Récits de Voyages collection, the latest addition to Les Cabinotiers, puts these skills on display in elevated style.
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
Les Cabinotiers Grisaille High Jewellery – Dragon
The Récits de Voyages collection is dedicated to Vacheron Constantin’s discovery of the world and its wonders since 1755. In light of this, the Grisaille High Jewellery — Dragon pays tribute to the Maison’s ties to China dating back to the first half of the 19th century.
Just in time for the Year of the Dragon, the Maison’s master enameller used the monochromatic and highly challenging grisaille technique to create the mythical five-clawed imperial dragon on the dial. Completing this stunning piece unique is a 40 mm case in 18K white gold set with 146 baguette-cut diamonds, a crown adorned with a reverse-set brilliant-cut diamond, and a dark green alligator leather strap featuring a white gold pin buckle set with 16 baguette-cut diamonds.
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque
Similarly, the Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Arabesque and Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style reflect the Maison’s 19th-century ties with New York and the Mediterranean region, respectively. The arabesque piece features a case and dial hand-engraved with pointed arches, domes, and mashrabiyas (traditional latticed windows) inspired by the historic architecture of Egypt and Turkey, a process which took three months and required precise incisions as small as a tenth of a millimetre.
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style
Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style
The second piece, Les Cabinotiers Minute Repeater Tourbillon — Tribute to Art Deco Style, pays homage to the Art Deco architecture of New York City, with a first-of-its-kind dial that combines wood marquetry and champlevé enamel to stunning effect.
Featuring 110 individual miniature veneers cut from pearwood and tulipwood, the dial is accented by a ‘pearl’ minutes track with 11 facetted diamond hour-markers that become progressively slimmer as they approach 12 o’clock. Both pieces are powered by the manual-winding 2755 TMR movement, an in-house calibre that combines a chiming minute repeater with a Maltese cross-shaped tourbillon.
Les Cabinotiers — Memorable Places
Les Cabinotiers — Memorable Places
Les Cabinotiers — Memorable Places
Les Cabinotiers — Memorable Places
Les Cabinotiers — Memorable Places
Les Cabinotiers — Memorable Places
Les Cabinotiers — Memorable Places draws inspiration from historical illustrations of places of particular importance in Vacheron Constantin’s 19th century history. These strikingly realistic dials were created through micro-sculpting and engraving and required artisans to build a detailed three-dimensional image on precious metal plates less than a millimetre thick. The places depicted in this collection include La Tour de l’Île (Vacheron Constantin’s historical headquarters in Geneva), the entrance gate to Angkor Thom in Cambodia, the Temple of Confucius in Beijing, and the former Chinese imperial Old Summer Palace (all of which symbolize the Maison’s expansion into China in the early 1800s).
Like everything in Les Cabinotiers, the term “watches” seems woefully inadequate to describe the creations in the Récits de Voyages collection. Instead, it’s more accurate to consider them as ornate works of horological art that are designed to be cherished and admired for centuries to come.
