It is both a watch and a piece of jewelry, the new model from Vacheron Constantin. The Swiss Maison is enriching the Traditionnelle collection with a High Jewelry model with tourbillon, powered by the ultra-thin caliber 2160 and enhanced by the extraordinary mastery of invisible gem-setting. Lugs, caseband, bezel, buckle, crown, dial: all the components of the case are set with baguette-cut diamonds, for a Traditionnelle tourbillon timepiece that reflects Vacheron Constantin’s approach to fine watchmaking.
The Traditionnelle tourbillon High Jewelry watch is entirely set with baguette-cut diamonds. The tourbillon regulator fitted to the ultra-thin movement serves as the visual fulcrum for the gem-setting that adorns the dial and opens like a sparkling corolla. The composition is completed by the inclined inner ring of the bezel and the bezel itself, which are also adorned with diamonds, like the crown, lugs, case and buckle.
For this new model in the collection, invisible setting was chosen, which highlights the particular nature of the decoration. Invented at the beginning of the 20th century, this technique consists of setting perfectly calibrated stones, so as to hide the metal claws that serve as a support. Master jewelers create T-shaped channels, while the gems are grooved on each side of the culet, the facet at the bottom of the stone. The diamonds are then slid one by one between the channels to form a pavé without visible joints.
For the setting to be perfect, the gems must be cut with absolute precision. This is a major challenge for this watch: the radiant setting plane requires different calibrations of the baguette-cut diamonds, whose size increases as one moves away from the tourbillon. The same difficulty is encountered on the lugs, with their trapezoidal baguette-cut diamonds, and on the case middle, which has been specifically researched and cut to allow the gems to be positioned vertically. The crown also features invisible setting, both on the edge and on the front: there, the diamonds have been cut to fit between the polished flanks of the Maltese cross. In total, this Traditionnelle Haute Joaillerie tourbillon is adorned with over 300 diamonds (approximately 27.11 carats), set with rare mastery.
The timepiece, fitted with a dark grey alligator leather strap with tone-on-tone stitching, has a diameter of 41 mm, making it suitable for any wrist, in part because it is very thin (12.46 mm), thanks to the calibre 2160, the first self-winding tourbillon movement developed by the Maison. Calibre 2160 stands out for the elegance of its skeletonised cage in the shape of a Maltese cross, the emblem of the Manufacture, and for its very reduced thickness: just 5.65 mm with a total of 188 components and an 80-hour power reserve. The constant rhythm of its mechanism, beating at a moderate frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), can be admired through the sapphire crystal caseback, in particular thanks to the peripheral gold oscillating weight featuring a Clous de Paris guilloché motif and serving to reduce the overall thickness.
The same quest for perfection characterizes the finishing of the movement, which features a circular-grained plate on the dial side and hand-beveled bridges adorned with Côtes de Genève on the back. The wheel train is distinguished by its circular satin finish, while the screws are chamfered and polished. Inspired by the emblem of the Maison, the tourbillon, with the small seconds indication via a blackened screw, boasts exceptional finishes on all its components, such as the rounding, entirely done by hand to meet the criteria required by Vacheron Constantin, which consists of filing the tourbillon bar to obtain a conical and semi-cylindrical shape.
Founded in 1755, Vacheron Constantin is the oldest watchmaking Manufacture in the world, having been in continuous operation for almost 270 years, within which generations of master watchmakers continue to perpetuate a precious heritage of knowledge and stylistic refinement, founded on the transmission of watchmaking excellence and the art of Belle Haute Horlogerie.
