Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

TRADITIONNELLE TOURBILLON PERPETUAL CALENDAR

A NEW MANUFACTURE CALIBRE MARKS THE MAISON’S 270TH ANNIVERSARY 

Under embargo until 1 April 2025, 00:01 CET

A tribute to Geneva’s Haute Horlogerie tradition dating back to the 18th century in a platinum limited edition of 127 pieces.

A new self-winding manufacture calibre combining a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar.

A 270th anniversary watch featuring a Maltese cross-inspired hand-guilloché pattern on the dial, a classic ‘côte unique’ finish on the bridges and a discreet anniversary emblem engraved on the calibre.

Me 127-piece limited edition Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar celebrates 270 years of watchmaking creativity by combining the complexity of a new calibre with the refined elegance of a signature hand-guilloché dial.

A CONNOISSEURS’ WATCH

With a classic allure, a fluted and stepped case, dauphine hands, and a chemin de fer minutes track, Vacheron Constantin’s Traditionnelle collection embodies the heritage of 18th-century Genevan Haute Horlogerie. It is particularly appreciated by connoisseurs of classical Haute Horlogerie for both its aesthetic codes and its technical prowess.

On its 270th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin pays tribute to fine craftsmanship and the transmission of savoir- faire with the new Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, a limited edition of 127 pieces. With its timeless proportions and crisp profile, the 42mm case is sculpted from 950 platinum. Mis noble metal, renowned for its enduring brilliance, is also used for the folding buckle.

Me timeless elegance of the new Traditionelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar is largely due to its slim case, made possible by manufacture Calibre 2162 QP/270, measuring a mere 6.55mm. Visible through the caseback is a peripheral oscillating weight. A technical choice that serves to maintain the slimness of the calibre, it ensures a 72-hour power reserve.

A NEW MANUFACTURE CALIBRE

Me new manufacture Calibre 2162 QP/270 honours this dedication to elegance by integrating, within a very slim profile, two Haute Horlogerie complications that are challenging in both design and execution: the tourbillon regulator, which compensates for gravity’s effects on the balance-spring’s isochronism, and the perpetual calendar displaying the day, date, month and year, taking account of leap years and requiring no manual adjustment before the year 2100.

To combine these two complications in a self-winding mechanism while minimising thickness, the Maison’s watchmakers turned to the 2018 Traditionelle self-winding tourbillon Calibre 2160. Steadfastly committed to optimising the Maison’s complicated calibres, Vacheron Constantin’s R&D teams have continually redesigned this movement to accommodate additional complications without compromising the Maison’s requirement for thinness.

Calibre 2162 QP beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), a relatively slow tempo generally found in historic pocket watches. Me advantage of this frequency is that it provides ample opportunity to enjoy the tourbillon’s mechanical choreography, surrounded by the traditional architecture of the perpetual calendar. Mis new mechanism features a patented secure drive system for the perpetual calendar functions. Manks to a flexible driving finger-piece on the wheel, this enables perpetual calendar functions to be adjusted both clockwise and counterclockwise without any risk of damaging the movement.

In 2005, the Maison’s 250th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin launched the Saint-Gervais reference: driven by a manual manufacture calibre with tourbillon regulator and perpetual calendar coupled with four barrels, the watch featured a remarkable 250-hour power reserve. Me Maison has now reunited these two Haute Horlogerie complications in a brand- new self-winding calibre.

A 270TH ANNIVERSARY SIGNATURE TIMEPIECE

Me Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar reflects the stylistic codes that have shaped the Traditionnelle collection. Me classic aesthetic is enriched by the sophisticated, hand- guilloché decoration on the gold dial – a signature motif that distinguishes the limited editions presented to celebrate Vacheron Constantin’s 270th anniversary.

Me motif was imagined by Vacheron Constantin’s guillocheur who devoted many hours to the creative process, drawing on the Maison’s rich heritage, including the distinctive design that graces the dial of the Reference 6068, launched in 1955 for the Maison’s bicentenary. Inspired by the Maltese cross, Vacheron Constantin’s emblem since 1880, this finely hand-guilloché motif symbolises the constant quest for precision and excellence. While enhancing the watches with a contemporary refinement, it creates eye-catching light effects with every movement of the wearer’s wrist.

Me peripheral rotor also allows a clear view of the calibre, which features a discreet 270th anniversary engraving and a special ‘côte unique’ finish on the bridges. Mis subtle finish is an eloquent expression of Vacheron Constantin’s signature understatement. While it looks deceptively simple, its execution – in a combination of carefully controlled machining technique and manual gestures – demands great precision and skill. Me result is the kind of refinement that takes a second and third look to appreciate and will be most evident to the connoisseur and initiated collector.

Used by Vacheron Constantin more than a century ago, the ‘côte unique’ technique was rediscovered only in 2021 while reproducing the Historiques American 1921 watch. Me process took more than 500 hours to perfect, requiring precise adjustment for each of the 270th anniversary calibres in order to achieve the perfectly aligned visual effect. Mis unfailing precision in the revival of an historic technique reflects the Maison’s dedication to maintaining and sharing its artisans’ savoir-faire with future generations.

QUESTIONS FOR CHRISTIAN SELMONI, STYLE & HERITAGE DIRECTOR

In what way does the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar illustrate Vacheron Constantin’s expertise and values?

It showcases the art of watchmaking that Vacheron Constantin has been cultivating since 1755 and embodies the quest for excellence that has been passed down through the generations. This is illustrated both technically and stylistically. Combining two sophisticated complications – a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar – within thinner dimensions, the new self-winding Calibre 2162 QP results from optimising a technical savoir-faire acquired over centuries. While we constantly evolve in order to firmly embed our creations in their own time, this is always based on our deep respect for traditional know-how and craftsmanship. As a testament to the Maison’s ability to continually reinvent itself while remaining faithful to its traditions, the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar strikes the right balance between our aesthetic and technical heritage and the new history that we are currently writing.

How does the signature guilloché pattern on the dial of this 270th anniversary watch reflect this encounter between tradition and modernity?

Mis unmistakable motif, while inspired by traditional know-how, is very contemporary. To create it, we challenged the Maison’s guillocheur to reinterpret the historic Maltese Cross emblem. Guilloché is an ancient decorative technique that our master artisan exercises using late-19th-century machines. While he has mastered a wide repertoire of classic guilloché patterns such as barleycorn, rice-grain, flinqué and Clou de Paris or hobnail, the invention of a motif as complex and contemporary as this was a daring undertaking. 

What place does the perpetual calendar occupy in Vacheron Constantin’s history?

When it comes to horological complications, Vacheron Constantin has always excelled in several areas: chiming watches, chronographs, special displays, and astronomical watches – of which perpetual calendars are a prime example. Me first perpetual calendar watches appeared in the late 1800s, a century after the function was invented by Momas Mudge. To the best of our knowledge, an 1884 perpetual calendar observatory watch in our private collection is the oldest perpetual calendar made by Vacheron Constantin.

How has Vacheron Constantin evolved the complication for the 21st century?

Some of our recent perpetual calendar creations have truly pushed watchmaking’s technical boundaries. In 2017, the Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600 – with its 23 essentially astronomical complications – established a new benchmark for modern astronomical watches. In 2019, the Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar revolutionised watchmaking with its user-controlled dual frequency and 65-day power reserve. In 2024, Les Cabinotiers Me Berkley Grand Complication extended the limits of complexity with its 63 complications, including a world first: a Chinese perpetual calendar combined with a Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar, as well as a Gregorian perpetual calendar. Me perpetual calendar is a complication firmly anchored in our history that we enjoy revisiting on a regular basis.