Historiques American 21

The Les Historiques line was born out of the desire to highlight the richness of Vacheron Constantin’s heritage by reviving emblematic legendary models conveying the brand’s spirit and savoir-faire in contemporary reinterpretations.

So, following last year’s presentation of the reinterpretation of the Chronomètre Royal 1907 to celebrate that watch’s 100th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin is now presenting the Historiques American 1921. This timepiece is inspired by an avant-garde cushion-shaped wristwatch featuring a crown at one o’clock and produced in very limited numbers by the Geneva-based manufacture specifically for the American market during the Roaring Twenties.

Respecting the spirit of that era, Vacheron Constantin has once again returned to basics by combining creativity and historical accuracy. The new Historiques American 1921, therefore, pays homage to the bold style of the 1920’s.

Classically inspired, elegant, unpretentious but original, and a real dandy of a watch, this model features a case that is faithful to the original and still cushion-shaped, but now crafted in 18K pink gold and with a diameter of 40 mm. Its most distinguishing characteristic is the diagonal reading of the time, with the crown positioned at one o’clock like the original model.

The dial, with its sand-blasted finish, has 12 Arabic numerals painted in black and a minute-track, also painted in black. The Breguet hour and minute hands are in black oxidized 18K gold. The seconds-counter hand at 4 o’clock, however, is baton-shaped, though also in black oxidized 18K gold.

The case, featuring a slightly convex sapphire crystal, has a transparent back through which one can admire the exceptional finishing of the brand new manual-winding 4400 movement, developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin and stamped with the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva. The movement, which is 28 mm in diameter and 2.8 mm high, indicates hours and minutes, with the seconds on a subdial, and has a frequency of 28,800 vibrations / hour and a power reserve of around 65 hours.

Water-resistant to 3 bar, the approximate equivalent of 30 metres, this new model comes on a dark-brown, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, square-scaled alligator leather strap adorned with an 18K pink gold buckle in the shape of a half Maltese cross.

The production of the Historiques American 1921 will be limited. It should particularly appeal to connoisseurs and to enthusiasts of bold, classical Haute Horlogerie timepieces looking for watches that whet their curiosity due to the timelessness of their aesthetic and functional qualities.