appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Gaynor Thomas

Vacheron Constantin wears the weight of its 260-year history lightly. As CEO Louis Ferla says, “The challenge when you have a long history is that you must improve and progress so you are still relevant to your clients.” He notes that the huge volume of information so freely available today means some clients are truly knowledgeable.
What does a US$420,000 watch look like? 3 vintage Vacheron Constantin timepieces to impress your friends
“They want more from us so we have to constantly innovate.” With every new concept, the brand asks the questions: “Is it a true innovation? Is it in line with our DNA? Can we apply it in a way that is commercially viable?”

These innovations can be spectacular. “One thing that is quite amazing,” says Ferla, “is that we are the oldest watchmaker, having made watches continuously since 1755, yet we are also a very innovative watchmaker.
“I just have to look back over the last few years – in 2015 we did Ref 57260 with 57 complications, still the most complicated watch ever made, then Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600, which won the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie in 2017.”
Now there is Les Cabinotiers Grand Complication Phoenix, which Ferla notes is “an evolution of the research on Ref 57260” and which was eight years in incubation. The movement is highly complex and the case is heavily engraved.
One thing that is quite amazing, is that we are the oldest watchmaker, having made watches continuously since 1755, yet we are also a very innovative watchmaker
Louis Ferla, CEO
Like it or not, you cannot be indifferent, Furla says. “It is unique and powerful, both from a technical point of view and from the level of the artistry. For us, it pushes the limit.”
Such watches never see the inside of a watch store and are known to the general public only through the media. Much more immediately recognisable are the collections which have been augmented by new options with arresting shades of blue and a sunburst effect for the dial. “For the Patrimony collection, it is Majestic Blue; for Fiftysix, it is the opaline Petrol Blue. We worked hard to find the right blue for each, to replicate, and then standardise it.”

Other stand-out innovations include the Overseas Tourbillon, with the blue sunburst dial but with the novel feature for a sports watch of three band options – stainless steel, rubber and alligator – which the wearer can change. There is even a do-it-yourself extension link.
Vacheron Constantin launches Fiftysix collection with stylish celebration
Energy-saving has been on the minds of Vacheron Constantin designers working on the Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar. “How to translate energy-saving into a watch?” Ferla asks. “A perpetual calendar requires a lot of energy, and a laborious resetting if it runs down, so the logic was to create a standby mode, to run at lower power, extending the reserve power from four days to 65 days.” This was achieved with dual oscillators that can be seen through the semi-transparent dial.

“Over the past few years we have really developed Les Cabinotiers,” says Ferla. These are named for the workshops of 18th-century Geneva watchmakers. “They are unique pieces of haute horlogerie, including bespoke pieces and the Métiers d’Art. As well as being unique, they must have something outstanding. These are more than watches, they are works of art, and the craftsmen who work on them are not artisans but artists.
SIHH and Baselworld unite behind April 2020 dates – making life easier for visitors
“They help us push the boundaries from a technical point of view with complicated movements and help us from a craftsman’s point of view with their enamelling, engraving and marquetry. It is really an area where we can produce some of the best watches in the world, where we can push the boundaries and thus create new limits for ourselves,” Ferla says.
With Les Cabinotiers, Vacheron Constantin continues to challenge itself, technically, aesthetically and artistically, constantly seeking out new pinnacles of achievement.
Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter


Watches and Wonders 2021 in-person salon may be no more due to Covid-19, but organisers say the show must go on(line), with brands like Rolex and Patek Philippe invited to go digital instead

Watches & Wonders 2020 highlights: Cartier, Panerai, Hermès and more launch daring luxury timepieces at Geneva’s first digital-only fair

Baselworld 2021? As Rolex, Patek Philippe, Tudor, Chopard and Chanel quit, can the world’s biggest watch fair survive?

How Bulgari, Jaeger-LeCoultre and others are rediscovering the forgotten skills of watchmaking

SIHH

SIHH 2019: How Vacheron Constantin stays relevant – 260 years after it was founded

Vacheron Constantin’s Fiftysix Complete Calendar Moonphase watch with the new Petro Blue dial.

Vacheron Constantin extends the Overseas series with a tourbillon reference.

Vacheron Constantin's Fiftysix Complete Calendar Moonphase watch with the new Petro Blue dial.

Vacheron Constantin's Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar watch.

SIHH 2019: IWC’s Spitfire and Top Gun timepieces reach for the sky

IWC's Spitfire collection draws inspiration from the iconic fighter plane.

IWC's Pilot's Watch Chronograph TOP GUN.

Pilot's Watch UTC Spitfire Edition by IWC

Big Pilot's Watch Perpetual Calendar Spitfire watch in bronze with a green dial.

SIHH and Baselworld unite behind April 2020 dates – making life easier for visitors

This year’s edition of SIHH attracted over 23,000 visitors from around the world.

SIHH 2019 attracted more than 23,000 visitors from around the world.

Hugh Jackman and Lawrence Wong get into the mood at Montblanc’s SIHH launch party

Brand ambassador Hugh Jackman checks out some novelties at the Montblanc Booth Experience at SIHH 2019.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 14: Saul Nanni at SIHH Montblanc booth on January 14, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images For Montblanc )

Lawrence Wong at SIHH 2019 | FOR STYLE USE ONLY

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 14: Davide Cerrato, Hugh Jackman and Nicolas Baretzki attend the Montblanc Conference at SIHH, at Palexpo on January 14, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images For Montblanc )

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 14:Sveva Alviti at SIHH Montblanc booth on January 14, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images For Montblanc )

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 14: Isabeli Fontana at SIHH on January 14, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images For Montblanc )

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 14: Blanda Eggenschweile at the Montblanc exhibit in SIHH on January 14, 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo by Julien M. Hekimian/Getty Images For Montblanc )

SIHH 2019: How Vacheron Constantin stays relevant – 260 years after it was founded

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Brand is aware of the constant need to innovate to maintain its cutting edge

Brand is aware of the constant need to innovate to maintain its cutting edge