Vacheron Constantin is the Maison I return to when I want a reminder that watchmaking can do more than satisfy a list of specifications. Even within the so‑called Holy Trinity, it’s the brand that has consistently bridged engineering with measured restraint. That view formed at the wrist: after living with the archetypes—Royal Oak, Nautilus, Overseas—I still think Vacheron builds the most convincing ultra‑thin skeleton perpetual calendars today.
The Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin Skeleton remains the piece that made a point for me: pared to a slim profile and opened up, the movement stops reading like machinery and starts reading like a studied composition. Some will argue its calibre is a legacy of an earlier era. Perhaps. But in that format, it presents as a resolved object—one of those watches that underlines the idea that a timepiece can be a work of art without compromising what it needs to do.
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin Skeleton in 18k white gold.
That habit of pitching ideas through objects is worth remembering as the brand marks 270 years since its founding. To coincide with this big anniversary, Vacheron Constantin has shown two interconnected creations that make the same argument in different scales. One is a monumental astronomical clock whose automaton doesn’t just decorate the time; it reads it. The other is a double‑sided wristwatch that translates the concept to wearable dimensions, complete with a choice of how you want time to appear. Read together, they suggest a Maison comfortable placing invention in public view and on the wrist simultaneously.
The clock: La Quête du Temps Astronomical Clock With Automaton
La Quête du Temps is built as a three‑part instrument—dome, astronomical clock, and base. It is the outcome of seven years of work and a broad collaboration that brought Vacheron’s teams together with automatier François Junod, clock specialist L’Épée 1839, and astronomers from the Geneva Observatory. The tally is stark: 6,293 mechanical components, of which 2,370 belong to the clock calibre and 3,923 to the automaton. The clock carries a whopping 23 horological complications.
If the numbers serve as context, the idea is clearer still: the automaton is designed as a complication in its own right. A bronze “Astronomer” figure stands under a glass dome, and when activated, it performs a set sequence that ends with the figure indicating the current time by pointing to hour and minute scales suspended within the dome. Those scales are deliberately set out of sequence. The performance is set to sound from a purpose‑built “music machine” combining a metallophone and Wah‑Wah tubes. A mechanical memory ensures the activation of the automaton can be on demand or pre‑programmed up to 24 hours ahead.
The dome sets the tone for the whole object. Its celestial vault recreates the sky over Geneva on September 17th 1755, the moment Vacheron was founded. The clock section is laid out to be read intuitively despite the density. On the front, the composition centres on a tourbillon at 12 o’clock, its cage formed as the Maltese Cross and viewed through a magnifier, with a diamond‑set bezel framing the aperture. The clock is also a perpetual calendar, featuring day, month and sunrise and sunset indicators for Geneva. Out at the periphery, broad semi‑circles indicate retrograde hours and minutes.
Rock crystal is used as a structural language across the object, so that when the automaton runs, you can actually see the mechanism animate. Inside the lapis lazuli, decorative hard‑stone cabochons stand in for the planets, with mother‑of‑pearl naming them. The Astronomer is cast in bronze and hand‑engraved with constellations set with 122 diamonds.
This clock will be shown as the centrepiece of the Louvre’s “Mécaniques d’Art” exhibition from September 17th to November 12th 2025, presented alongside historic clocks and automata from the museum’s collection.
Vacheron Constantin La Quête du Temps pricing and availability
The La Quête du Temps clock is not for sale and will be exhibited at the Louvre’s “Mécaniques d’Art” exhibition from September 17th to November 12th 2025.
The watch: Métiers d’Art ‘Tribute to the Quest of Time’
The companion wristwatch takes the core image—time indicated by a human figure—and renders it as a double‑sided white gold timepiece driven by a new hand‑wound movement, the calibre 3670. The movement beats at 5 Hz with a 144‑hour power reserve. The case measures 43mm in diameter and 13.58mm in thickness with a water‑resistance rating of 30 metres; the watch is limited to 20 pieces and carries the Poinçon de Genève.
On the front, a figure stands before a Geneva‑1755 sky chart and uses its arms as hands: retrograde hours sweep a left arc; retrograde minutes sweep a right arc. There are two display modes: in “active”, the arms behave like conventional hands and track time continuously; in “standby”, the figure rests neutrally until a pusher at 10 o’clock is pressed, at which point the arms jump to the current time.
The movement’s architecture addresses a common bi‑retrograde problem: keeping two independent retrogrades coordinated. One of the watch’s patent applications concerns a governing system that synchronises the returns—so at 11:59, hours and minutes snap back together to 12:00. The other notable patents cover the sequential dual power‑reserve and the coupling of a 3D moon with an age‑of‑the‑moon ring that co‑rotates.
The aesthetic brief combines traditional métiers with protective construction. The dial is double‑layer sapphire: the gradient and 1755 sky map are metallised on the underside of the top crystal, and a second sapphire plate below protects the decoration. The figure is titanium with a gold‑tone PVD treatment and hand‑applied patina. The arcs for hour and minute scales are 18K white gold with an opaline finish; 27 applied markers are in 18K 3N yellow gold. The 3D moon is titanium, hand‑engraved and finished bi-coloured to distinguish light and dark sides.
On the reverse, the sky chart tracks constellations in real time and displays the sidereal day, with a precision quoted as one day of variation in 9,130 years. The movement is circular-grained—front and back—to reduce reflections through the clear dials and make the indications easier to read.
Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art ‘Tribute to the Quest of Time’ pricing and availability
The new Métiers d’Art ‘Tribute to the Quest of Time’ is limited to only 20 pieces, and is available now for purchase. Price: on request
Brand
Vacheron Constantin
Model
Métiers d’Art ‘Tribute to the Quest of Time’
Case Dimensions
43mm (D) x 13.58mm (T)
Case Material
18k white gold
Water Resistance
30 metres
Crystal(s)
Sapphire front and back
Dial
Double sapphire with applied three-dimensional titanium figure featuring golden treatment and sandblasted patina finish
Strap
Dark blue alligator leather strap
Movement
Calibre 3670, in-house, manually-wound, Geneva Seal
Power Reserve
144 hours
Functions
Double retrograde hours and minutes; 3D moon phase and age of the moon; sky chart; sidereal day; double retrograde power reserve
Availability
From September 2025
Price
On request