Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers series pays homage this year to the fulcrums of scientific transformation, realising two unique double-sided watches with deeply poetic resonance: one salutes Ptolemy’s geocentric vision, the other honours Copernican heliocentrism. With each piece powered by the formidable Calibre 3600, these works probe the far reaches of horological craftsmanship. They stand as twin celebratory gestures in the Maison’s 270th anniversary collection, their complexity and artistic energy advancing the tradition of grand astronomical watchmaking to thrilling new heights.
The dials, grained in the chosen precious metal (white gold for Ptolemy and 5N pink gold for Copernicus) become canvases for astronomical artistry. Vacheron Constantin’s metiers d’art atelier imposes no constraints upon imagination here; the front face of the watches reveals a panoramic experience of time, with three temporal regimes elegantly intertwined. Civil time and solar time are both read through openworked central hands, while the infamous equation of time is displayed by a minute hand tipped with a golden ‘sun’, positioning itself ahead or behind the civil hand as the Earth’s elliptical orbit and axis inclination dictate true solar days. This running equation of time, presented via a cam-driven mechanism, allows for simultaneous instantaneous readings. Sidereal time, the measure against the firmament’s steadfast stars, finds its place upon the verso of each watch, where two sapphire disc, one fixed and adorned with constellations, the other mobile, execute a celestial ballet that brings the entire sky into synchrony with the watch’s mood of cosmic reverence.
The astronomical mastery does not halt with the dials’ temporal precision. The front is alive with an array of complications: perpetual calendar windows display the passage of months, leap years and serpentine-dated days; the moon phase is engineered as a duet of discs, one transparent and laser-engraved, another shading the day and night, attaining a precision correction interval of 122 years. Around this ingenious moon phase, the age of the moon is clearly indicated. The lower half of the dial charts the lengths of day and night, sunrise and sunset timing on crisply graduated scales, while a rotating annual disc at four o’clock presents the solstices, equinoxes, seasons, and the full zodiac spectacle. An unusually rare tide gauge rounds out the ensemble with both amplitude and three-dimensional Sun-Earth-Moon alignment, underpinning the true tidal cycle with mechanical intelligence.
The movement, Calibre 3600, is the proud result of five years’ development, a masterclass in miniaturisation and organisation. At a svelte 8.7 mm thickness, the calibre hosts 514 components and supports 23 astronomical complications, a complex choreography of horological engineering. Civil, solar and sidereal times each rely on distinct gear trains, with sidereal time calculated on the back via the synchronised movement of sapphire discs. The perpetual calendar is preprogrammed until 2100, the tide gauge is precisely controlled, and the power reserve is set at an astounding three weeks, courtesy of six barrels meticulously linked in series. The one-minute tourbillon, visible on the reverse, is formed as a Maltese cross in keeping with the house’s historic emblem, suspended by asymmetrical bars and devoted to the continual struggle against gravity’s effect on timekeeping. Every concealed component is finished to the highest standards, in line with Geneva Hallmark requirements, ensuring excellence is not simply external.
The case, a striking double-sided vessel of sculptural ambition, brings the ancient concepts of universe to tangible life. Homage to Ptolemy is enacted through hand-engraved representations of his geocentric cosmos, with planets orbiting the polished relief globe of Earth, ellipses traced in drypoint. These ellipses stretch across bezel and lugs without visual interruption, the hollows between them meticulously hollowed out atop a minute champlevé plane, later chased to create a sandblasted contrast against shining planetary paths. Each planet is subtly domed, textured and polished, gifting the case an extraordinary perception of depth and realism.
The Copernican piece, conversely, conjures the Sun at the crown’s heart, its radiance beaming out into orbiting planets. The engraver’s challenge is evident in the geometry of planetary arcs, many of which extend beyond the case frame and must be drawn across curved surfaces with bespoke tools. The champlevé engraving is exquisitely shallow, measuring tenths of a millimetre at its boldest, a showcase of patience and finesse in both symmetry and finish. Paths of planets are polished in relief over a finely chased background, resulting in a tactile and visual richness without parallel. Across both models, the cases are finished at an uncompromising level, the white gold or 5N pink gold exterior orchestrated into a continuous astronomical narrative.
The Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication watches signal a crescendo for Vacheron Constantin’s artistry at its 270th anniversary. These pieces stand for technical daring and artistic depth, with Calibre 3600’s 23 complications achieving almost poetic fluidity in the display and integration of astronomical functions. The visual impact of the hand-engraved cases with each requiring 240 hours of dedicated labour reflects a Maison where the quest for knowledge, artistry and technical perfection is embraced unabated. Inspired by the words of François Constantin: “do better if possible, and that is always possible”, these horological marvels prove that boundaries exist only to be surpassed. They are, unequivocally, artifacts that unite mechanical exception, creative ingenuity and enduring cultural resonance, ensuring Vacheron Constantin’s legacy is both preserved and perpetually renewed.
QUESTIONS TO CHRISTIAN SELMONI, DIRECTOR OF STYLE & HERITAGE
What do these two Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication watches represent in the world of Vacheron Constantin?
The launch of the Celestia in 2017 followed two years after that of the Reference 57260, a legendary pocket watch celebrating Vacheron Constantin’s 260th anniversary. The aim was to create a wristwatch that brought together all of the Maison’s expertise in astronomical functions, not only in terms of complications but also miniaturization. It took five years of development to achieve this. In this sense, the Celestia watch, with its 23 complications integrated into the 8.7 mm-thick Calibre 3600, set a new milestone in the long story linking Vacheron Constantin to astronomy and won the award for Mechanical Exception at the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève 2017. This technical mastery, confirmed by the Geneva Hallmark, is the foundation on which the new 2025 Les Cabinotiers ‘La Quête’ series, a collection dedicated to astronomy, is based.
What role do the métiers d’art play in these creations?
The artistic crafts are as essential to all Les Cabinotiers watches as the technical challenges. The vision here is bold: to give both watches a historical, even philosophical dimension by illustrating two major scientific theories that have marked the evolution of astronomical observations. As it was impossible to alter the dials, the focus was on engraving the case, lugs, bezel and crown. The Maison’s master engraver succeeded in representing these two cosmologies with the Sun, Earth and planets on a small surface, barely 13 millimetres high.
What were the greatest challenges presented by this project?
From a technical standpoint, the main challenge is to combine multiple complications in a small space while ensuring a harmonious layout and optimal readability. This is especially true given that these pieces feature rare functions, such as a tide gauge coupled with Earth-Moon-Sun positioning, which is fundamental to the tidal cycle. Such a high level of mechanical complexity, with more than 500 integrated components, makes the decoration, finishing and assembly stages particularly complex. As these are double-sided watches with a celestial map, the movement remains hidden, with the exception of the opening on the tourbillon. However, all components, even those that are invisible, are finished to the standards of fine watchmaking, which follows an initial dry assembly of the calibre to ensure that it is functioning properly. Final assembly and adjustment take place at the end of a process that takes weeks of work.
From an artistic and aesthetic point of view, the difficulty lies in the minuscule depth of the champlevé engraving, which is measured in tenths of a millimetre. Added to this are the finishes used to create the contrasts essential for the perception of the patterns. The second challenge for the engraver is to respect the overall geometry, creating equidistant ellipses and circles, despite the angles and breaks in the lines between the case, the lugs and the bezel.
