By Jovan Krstevski
When the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface showed up for review, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. On paper, it read like someone had emptied the Vacheron bag of tricks into one case and hit shuffle. Perpetual calendar? Check. Retrograde date? Check. Openworked dial, platinum case and a big ol’ Maltese Cross motif thrown in for good measure. It had the markings of a greatest hits album, but I was curious to see if it played like a coherent piece or just a showboating compilation. Spoiler: it walks a fine line, but does so with a steady gait.
Case
Let’s kick things off with the case. Platinum with proportions of 41mm x 10.94mm. Now platinum is a funny material. It doesn’t exactly shout from the rooftops but it’s heavy, expensive and has this steely, under-the-radar gleam that quietly flexes on anyone who knows what they’re looking at. On the wrist, it sits snug and well balanced. Despite cramming in a whole calendar’s worth of complications, it never feels top-heavy or clunky. Credit where it’s due, they’ve kept it lean. The water resistance is a paltry 30 metres, but let’s not kid ourselves into thinking this watch is going anywhere near a swimming pool.
Dial
Here’s where things get a little wild. The dial is openworked, but not in a skeletonised-for-the-sake-of-it kind of way. You’ve got this layered look with transparent disks for the days, months and leap year indicator hovering above a mechanical skyline of satin-brushed components. It’s busy, for sure, but there’s a method to the madness. Then there’s the guilloché engraving underneath, forming a fragmented Maltese cross pattern that catches the light in all sorts of peculiar ways. Depending on the angle, it either looks like an abstract maze or a deeply intentional piece of dial art. The blued gold retrograde date hand at 12 o’clock swoops dramatically across the top half of the dial and flicks back on the first of the month like a mechanical rubber band. The moonphase sits at 6 o’clock, calm and classical among the controlled chaos above.
Movement
Inside, we’re looking at the calibre 2460 QPR31/270, a self-winding movement made in-house. It runs at 28,800 vph with a 40-hour power reserve. That reserve might leave some scratching their heads given the complexity involved, but in day-to-day use I didn’t find it to be a dealbreaker. Through the sapphire caseback you can see more traditional finishing, which feels like a subtle counterbalance to the sci-fi dial on the front.
Strap
It comes on a dark blue alligator strap that pairs nicely with the cooler tones of the platinum case. Supple and well crafted, no surprises there. It wears comfortably and feels neither too rigid nor overly soft. The blue might feel a bit predictable but it’s a safe pairing for a watch with this much going on up top.
Conclusion
So, what do we have here? A complicated, expressive watch that’s both buttoned-up and wildly intricate. It won’t be for everyone, nor should it be. At €124,000/£91,000 and limited to 370 pieces, it’s clearly aimed at the diehard VC crowd or those who appreciate the baroque intricacies of perpetual calendars done the Vacheron way. It doesn’t whisper, but it doesn’t quite shout either. Instead, it just sits there, ticking away, knowing full well that it doesn’t need to explain itself to anyone.
