Raluca Michailov: This is a very big year for Vacheron Constantin. What can you tell us? What makes this year special for Vacheron?

Christian Selmoni: Obviously, it is a very important year for us as we are celebrating 270 years of High Watchmaking, and we are especially happy to be here at Watches and Wonders. As you know, we started this year with a bang – if I may say so – the launch of a Historiques 222 in stainless steel. And here at Watches and Wonders, our booth is based on our anniversary theme, which is The Quest. This represents the pursuit of excellence in every aspect of fine watchmaking – from design to technical expertise, not forgetting the decorative crafts. So, this year is both a celebration of our anniversary and a tribute to every aspect of our watchmaking artistry.

We came here, at Watches and Wonders, with some striking novelties. We have a spectacular timepiece, Les Cabinotiers Solaria. But, at the same time, we are presenting quite a lot of novelties within our two classic collections: Traditionnelle and Patrimony. Why these two lines? Because they each embody, in their own way, the classic, sophisticated style of Vacheron Constantin. That’s why I wanted to emphasise the new pieces in both collections. But rest assured, further novelties will be revealed later in the year, because as you know, Vacheron Constantin was founded on 17 September 1755… Stay tuned!

Wonderful! What has the feedback been so far about the 222 in steel?

To properly answer your question, I think we need to go back to 2022, when we made the decision to relaunch the 222. At the time, there were a number of internal discussions about which version of the 222 we should bring back. Naturally, the steel version was a strong candidate, because the steel ‘Jumbo’ version is the most sought-after model by collectors on the secondary market. However, we decided to launch the yellow gold version, which, as a matter of fact, was the most exclusive one in 1977. It was also a way for us to pay tribute to the flamboyant style of the 1970s – the yellow gold bracelet, complete with gilt tiles. That decision was something of a gamble, as yellow gold watches on yellow gold bracelets were not exactly the biggest trend in high watchmaking in 2022. But we received a fantastic welcome for the 222 in yellow gold. I made this long introduction to explain to you why we are only launching the stainless steel version in 2025 – it’s because we had such a great success with the yellow gold version that we didn’t want to risk creating frustration among our clients by introducing another metal colour too soon within the 222 capsule collection. So, it made perfect sense for us to wait until this anniversary year to release the steel 222 – a watch that has been highly anticipated. The feedback we’ve received so far has been truly excellent.

I’m sure. And what do you particularly think about the 222 in steel – creatively speaking?

We have the Overseas, our sporty chic collection, which is doing very well. I believe the Overseas is the perfect everyday companion in 2025 due to its versatility – the fact that you can change the bracelet in just a few seconds makes it a highly practical timepiece. In my view, it makes quite a perfect watch. As for the 222 – while others may still consider it a sporty chic watch, to me it’s more of a hyper-elegant timepiece in steel, with an integrated steel bracelet. I think the two watches are very different in that respect. I have the great privilege of wearing a 222 on my wrist, and to me, it truly feels like a second skin.

Really?

I absolutely love this timepiece, which is very discreet. It still retains some elements of sports watches – such as the use of steel, its robustness, and so on – but, for me, it feels more like a jewel on the wrist than a sports watch.

Moving on to this year’s novelties – can you speak about them a little?

Sure. There is one single-piece edition timepiece named Les Cabinotiers Solaria. The Solaria is a project which started about eight years ago, when we discussed it with our Master Watchmaker, and the idea behind the Solaria was to create an ultra-grand complication timepiece that would incorporate as many complications as possible in the most compact size. The result is quite phenomenal in the sense that, one year after Les Cabinotiers – The Berkley Grand Complication we are now setting a new world record – this time in the field of wristwatches – with 41 complications and 1,521 components in a movement that is just 36mm in diameter and 10.96mm thick. The Solaria is, in many ways, much more than that – in the sense that our Master Watchmaker truly reinvented some complications, as he was determined to push the boundaries of miniaturisation. There are 13 patents within this timepiece, and many of these relate to new solutions that save space and energy. After all, activating 1,521 components obviously requires a great deal of energy. That was one of the key challenges. Therefore, the Solaria, to me, represents the culmination of all Vacheron Constantin’s expertise in technical watchmaking within a single piece. It brings together all the classic ‘universes’ in terms of our Maison’s complications, including astronomical functions, chiming functions – it features a Westminster minute repeater – as well as stopwatches and split-seconds chronographs, in a nutshell. That is the essence of the Solaria. This timepiece on its own would take an entire week of explanations, which I don’t think we have (laughs).

I don’t think so. Though I would love to hear more details.

If we dive into other watches made for the anniversary – as I mentioned earlier, we decided to concentrate our efforts on our classic lines – Traditionnelle and Patrimony, because, at the end of the day, they are the expression of our classic watchmaking style. So, it makes perfect sense to celebrate 270 years through these classic collections.

Before introducing this timepiece (Ed’s Note: the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar), I’d like to explain the concept behind the anniversary in terms of both design and technical codes. All the novelties in the Traditionnelle and Patrimony collections will be limited editions, and they will share several design elements. The most apparent of these will be the pattern featured on all the watches. As you know, we love our guilloché and decorated dials. So, our senior designer has been working together with our Master Guillocheur and the idea was to create a pattern that would begin with the Maltese Cross, our emblem. Typically, when you think of a guilloché dial, you might think of patterns like Clous de Paris, Vieux Pannier, or Grand Orge – all very traditional patterns. Instead, we have chosen a very modern, very interesting pattern which starts from a Maltese Cross and radiates all across the dial. All the new anniversary watches in both collections will also feature a dedicated finish on the movements. So, instead of the usual Geneva stripes, we now have what we call the ‘côte unique’ or ‘unique stripe’. This is a form of decoration that we used to have in the 1920s on some of our movements. In fact, it was a somewhat forgotten craft that we rediscovered in 2021, when we made the American 1921 Pièce unique model with it. At first glance, it might appear to be a simple decoration. However, it is actually a highly sophisticated one. In a nutshell, it is a very large Geneva stripe pattern, which is applied in the same way, but depending on how the light is touching the surface, the stripes appear to be moving. Additionally, this decoration allows us to highlight the beauty of hand bevelling, chamfering, and so on. This is something very noticeable and will be evident on all the classic watches for this year. Finally, we also have a kind of secret signature – a 270 logo – which, depending on the watch, will be placed on the dial, the movement or the caseback. We’ll do 127 pieces of this brand-new automatic tourbillon with a perpetual calendar – a new addition to the Traditionnelle line-up. The base movement is our automatic tourbillon, to which we’ve added a new perpetual calendar. This perpetual calendar includes a patented feature that allows you to make corrections in both directions, thanks to a flexible finger. We’ve also worked hard to ensure the case remains a reasonable thickness, which was made possible thanks to the fact that, when we developed our automatic tourbillon, our engineers immediately considered adding some complications to it. In fact, part of the perpetual calendar is integrated into the base movement. This model will be available in platinum.

And then no more.

And then no more in this version. Potentially, we might carry on with the rose gold or whatever.

So a different iteration. I like it very much. I think it’s the perfect anniversary watch. It’s so understated.

It’s a classic perpetual calendar on a tourbillon movement. It’s something we didn’t yet have in our collection, so I think it’s a truly exciting addition.

Now, shall we go on to the next one? We are still in the Traditionnelle collection. I’m sure you remember the Twin Beat from 2019. With the Twin Beat, we began creating openworked dials, which is something that we absolutely love, as it represents a modern expression of our classic style. Openworked dials allow our clients to admire the complexity and beauty of the movement and the hand-finished details. So we have come up with three openworked watches in the Traditionnelle collection for the anniversary. All of them are crafted from platinum, and each will be a limited edition of 370 pieces. First, we have the triple calendar with moon phases in platinum (Ed’s Note: the Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface) – a model already known in the collection, but not previously available in platinum, and of course, without the signature dial.

Will you be keeping this guilloché pattern afterwards?

No, not at all. It’s only for the anniversary, and after that you won’t see it anymore. We’ll make sure these signatures remain exclusive to the anniversary. That is highly important. The next piece (Ed’s Note: Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface) features two complications that are very close to our heart – it’s our self-winding tourbillon with a 31-day retrograde date. As you know, the retrograde function is a technical signature of Vacheron Constantin, so it made perfect sense for us to create a limited edition of this self-winding tourbillon with a retrograde date. We’ve also incorporated the peripheral rotor, which never hides the cage of the tourbillon – a very chic technical solution. You can also see the finishing very well, with the côte unique visible on the movement.

The next one (Ed’s Note: Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface) features a new movement. It’s a new perpetual calendar within the Traditionnelle line-up – distinct from the Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar. This model is equipped with a perpetual calendar and a retrograde date. In my opinion, it’s a remarkable piece, particularly due to the complexity of the openworked dial. The use of sapphire crystal in the main dial is significant, as readability is essential for a perpetual calendar. This is why you’ll find such precise engraving on the sapphire crystal, along with meticulous inking of the functions. This brand-new perpetual calendar will be part of the anniversary series.

Lovely! What other anniversary pieces have you prepared?

Since our anniversary is not solely dedicated to complication enthusiasts, but to all of our clients, I believe the next model makes perfect sense. We’re still within the Traditionnelle collection, but this time we have a 38mm manual-winding model – the most traditional piece in the Traditionnelle range, in my opinion: the Traditionnelle Manual-Winding 270th Anniversary. A watch that I really love, because the proportions are just right – it’s 38mm across, the small seconds display is perfectly positioned, and the 270th anniversary pattern is really amazing. So, this piece is crafted in platinum, limited to 370 pieces, and there’s also a version in rose gold. It’s a wonderful addition.

The dial is so Art Deco.

Yes, you are right. It is an accidental Art Deco effect. But it’s true, and I absolutely love it. We really appreciate this concept of classic with a twist. The guilloché pattern that starts between the numbers 7 and 8, which resembles a sunray pattern, is particularly striking – it is really surprising, and very creative. Not to mention that it looks beautiful when the light plays on it. In fact, so far, I think this is my favourite. The combination is fantastic, and there’s something special about this one.

Yes, maybe it sounds silly, but I can feel it. It is something really special.

Yes, there is something, I don’t know what. I think it is the purity of everything. And the white metal also adds even more purity.

Moving on to the next models: Traditionnelle Moon Phase 36mm (with a 40-hour power reserve and precision moon phases) and Traditionnelle Manual-Winding 33mm. Both follow the same design codes, featuring a natural mother-of-pearl dial with a machine-engraved pattern.

But the colour is amazing. It’s not grey, it’s not pink, it’s not purple… Wow!

Yes, it is a very nice addition. Love it! Both are limited editions of 270 pieces.

Now, let’s move on to the Patrimony collection. In this collection, we’ve kept the size at 42.5mm, so as to offer a larger model compared to the rest of the Traditionnelle collection: Patrimony Moon Phase Retrograde Date 42.5mm. It is available in white and rose gold, with 270 pieces of each.

And finally, we have two 270th anniversary editions of the self-winding 40mm model in the Patrimony collection – one in white gold and the other in rose gold. Each is limited to 370 pieces. It was highly important for us to address our novelties specifically to our community of clients, rather than solely focusing on creating spectacular, highly complicated watches.

Yes, but at the same time perfect simplicity is the hardest thing to do, ever. It’s like a Michelin dish, in a way.

I agree.

Thank you, Christian!

My pleasure.