By Jovan Krstevski
Wait… are we talking about the new Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Minute Repeater Tourbillon watch to be introduced for the much-awaited SIHH watch industry trade show in January 2017? Actually, this show begins “now” and we have our hands… mouth… err I don’t know about you but I’m full with this new VC watch. The fact that it’s introductory price is a whopping half grand well, you know what follows but truth be told, I admire this tourbillon. This 2017 VC model is a masterpiece, to say the least. Aesthetics alone, you’d be surprised with the nitty gritty details of the watch, I like it… I like it a lot.
The 44mm case (available in pink gold and platinum version) looks just fine and at 12mm, it doesn’t look fat at all. We can all see the hallmark of VC on the case which is a no-brainer for this exquisite timepiece such as the beautiful crown and the smooth lugs going very elegantly with any kind of strap but the brown leather is a win for the platinum version. What I’d rather talk about in detail is the beautiful dial of this tourbillon.
Now to the sweet spot, the dial is available on either silvered opaline/slate grey on the 950 platinum version and silvered opaline on the 18k pink gold version. If you know VC, well you must know about the hand-applied guilloché motif that is only available from Vacheron Constantin boutiques, they’re marvelous and a true work of art. The hands and the hour markers in 18k white or pink gold all enhance the dial whether functionality or style although the combination of the silvered dial with white gold hands on the platinum version looks more legible and meaner.
Powering the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Minute Repeater Tourbillon is the 2755 TMR caliber developed and manufactured exclusively by Vacheron Constantin. This hand-wound movement has 471 components and 40 jewels. It also sticks to VC tradition by operating at 18,000 vibrations per hour with a total power reserve of 58 hours. The tourbillon can be admired through the exhibition caseback while the mirror-polished piece on the front helps secure the Maltese cross-shaped tourbillon cage. Well if you look at it from the back, you’d definitely say it’s excitingly skeletonized but again for a businessman, well it’s just business as usual in the tradition of VC.
Talking more about the tourbillon, I just can’t help myself… more details are available at the caseback. There is the Geneva Seal and the usual thin anglage along with the edges of plates. I also like the refined Geneva striping looking like polished mirrored surfaces. The perlage on the base plate looks terrific too. The minute repeater mechanism, on the other hand, is quite hidden with only the gong visible at the caseback but that’s not a big issue here. How it works is simple; to use the function, the slider set onto the left side of the case is moved, winding up the repeater mechanism for the duration of the musical feature.
Moreover, being a VC prestige watch, it comes on a very nice presentation box complete with a resonator of the sound of “La Musique du Temps.” When the watch is placed here, it enhances the sound and harmony of the watch’s chiming mechanism. The pink gold is $490,900 a piece while the platinum is $546,600. For more info, please visit vacheron-constantin.com
