Vacheron Constantin @ The Harmony Collection

On the occasion of its 260^th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin unveiled the Harmony collection that was immediately regarded as a stellar collection. Designed as authentic watch sculptures featuring sophisticated technical content, the timepieces composing the range were housed in an unusual cushion-shaped case featuring pure, graphic lines. After the limited series supporting the launch of the collection, Vacheron Constantin is now introducing new references equipped with several in-house calibers and developed around the chronograph, tourbillon or dual-time complications. A remarkable Harmony complete calendar model, equipped with an unprecedented in-house movement, is joining the ranks of these precious mechanical timepieces, all certified by the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva.

The Maison Vacheron Constantin is the world’s oldest watch manufacturer engaged in uninterrupted activity since its creation in 1755. One of the brand’s first wrist chronographs, dating from 1928, inspired the cushion shape and the eminently contemporary design of the models composing the Harmony collection. Its generous cases with reinvented lines are particularly suited to housing medium and high complications and Grand Complication calibers. This year, Vacheron Constantin is introducing ten new references in the range, developed around a tourbillon monopusher chronograph, a monopusher chronograph with pulsimeter scale, a double-pusher chronograph, and a dual-time display. A brand-new 2460 QC caliber with a complete calendar – a complication much appreciated and eagerly anticipated by watchmaking enthusiasts is joining this collection characterised by a blend of aesthetic and technical refinement. The dual time and double-pusher chronograph small models also come in non-gemset versions, ensuring they are equally suited to men’s and women’s wrists.

The models now entering the standard collection are among others distinguished from the collection launch limited editions by anthracite-colored numerals (instead of the blue ones on the 260^th anniversary edition), a mellow opaline silvered dial, a new more contemporary font for the counters, a reworked burgundy colour and a railway-track minute circle. Like the most recent creations from the Manufacture, all these new models comply with the Hallmark of Geneva criteria guaranteeing their provenance, quality of execution and precision, durability and watchmaking mastery. 

The Harmony collection once again demonstrates the complete mastery achieved by Vacheron Constantin, which has always successfully combined the art of shapes with that of time measurement. A curved caseband, a square bezel and a round watch crystal meet and mingle in this elegant reinterpretation of the monopusher chronograph with pulsimeter scale presented in 1928 by the Manufacture. While the cushion shape had been chosen to highlight a chronograph caliber from the brand formerly used as a pocket watch, this same approach guided the creation of the models composing the Harmony collection. The inspiration stemming from the historical model is immediately perceptible, and yet each detail of the case has been infinitely rethought – including a study of its specific reflections in order to provide a unique and unprecedented shape combined with appreciable user friendliness.

In 2016, the Harmony collection welcomes a useful, technical and sophisticated horological complication: the complete calendar. The classic and elegant design of the cushion-shaped rose gold case strikes a perfect balance with the optimal readability of the dial indications. Around its rim, the date is indicated by a central hand which culminates in a burgundy crescent. The day and month, in the same deep red, appear through apertures in the upper half of the dial, while the lower half is devoted to displays of the moon phases and the age of the moon. These remarkably precise astronomical indications require adjustment only once every 122 years, instead of every three years for a conventional moon phase. An all-new self-winding movement, Caliber 2460 QC – entirely developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin – powers this complete calendar. Equipped with 308 components, it beats at a frequency of 4 Hz. A transparent sapphire crystal caseback provides an admirable view of its inner workings and its high-end finishing.