BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
Have you lately been wanting to pamper yourself with a luxury chronograph in steel? If the answer is yes, we have just the news for you. Vacheron Constantin has just released a stainless-steel version of the beautiful Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955. Introduced in Pink gold and Platinum back in 2015 this watch became an instant success for its faithful vintage-inspired looks but was a distant dream for many collectors due to its steep price courtesy of the precious metal construction. The new stainless-steel version keeps the retro vibe intact and is meant to convert that dream into reality by making the watch significantly cheaper and a better overall value.
While we are just talking about a material change, the use of stainless steel comes with its own set of merits and demerits. It is more resistant to water and less prone to scratches as compared to precious metals, making it a more practical choice. Further to that, it is also cost-effective. But on the contrary, it is less exclusive and is also bereft of the additional reassuring heft which comes with precious metal. The choice of material aside, the case on this watch remains the same as the 2015 version. This implies that it is still 38.5mm wide and 10mm tall making it a great dress watch. And of course, it still looks like a work of art especially because of those elegant teardrop-shaped lugs.
Akin to the case the dial on the Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 Steel remains largely unchanged. The balanced bi-compact layout applied indices with Roman numerals at 12 and 6 and a tachometer scale all combine to create a highly legible and classic looking dial. But there are a few subtle differences as well. Firstly, the dial now has a dual-tone character which is because the central section and the tachometer scale presented in opal one silver whereas the minute track is now white. Furthermore, the printed minute markings are now red in color which adds a wee of visual enthusiasm to give the watch a slightly casual character.
The Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 is a beautiful watch not only from the outside but inside and to realize this all you need to do is flip the watch over to reveal the good looking Calibre 1142. This is a hand-wound chronograph movement with a column wheel that operates at a frequency of 3 Hz and provides an autonomy of 48 hours. The movement has been exceptionally decorated and comes Geneva seal that stands for some of the highest standards in quality and timekeeping.
The Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955 in steel hits all the right notes and makes this stunning watch more approachable than ever. The watch would come attached to a highly contrasting brown calfskin strap and would retail for EUR 41,600 which is around 14k cheaper than the Gold and 30k cheaper than the Platinum version.
Visit Vacheron Constantin here.
