Vacheron Constantin Tour de l’Île: Celebrating 270 Years of Craft

Reading Time: 9 minutes

In 1755, when Jean-Marc Vacheron signed his first apprenticeship contract, it marked the beginning of a quest for excellence that continues to define Vacheron Constantin to this day. To mark 270 years of technical and aesthetic mastery, the Maison’s Les Cabinotiers workshop has created three single-piece edition timepieces paying homage to the Tour de l’Île, a historic Geneva landmark with deep ties to Vacheron Constantin. Set in elegant 40mm cases, each dial gives full rein to the artistic savoir-faire of the Métiers d’Art atelier.

A spirit and identity forged in Geneva

Set on a small island in the middle of the Rhône River, the Tour de l’Île (literal translation: tower of the island) is the remnant of a fortified castle built in the 13^th century to defend Geneva. Bridges linking the two sides of the Rhône via the island – just downstream from where the river flows out of Lake Geneva – have existed since pre-Roman times. Underlining the strategic importance of the crossing, the bridge was demolished by Julius Caesar and subsequently rebuilt several times over the centuries. As a major checkpoint on the route connecting northern and southern Europe, this link elevated Geneva to become a major crossroads for European trade, providing the foundation for the city’s early wealth.

In the 18^th century, the city of Geneva became a major workshop devoted to timekeeping instruments, jewellery making and the decoration of objets d’art. It had at its disposal a highly skilled workforce of craftsmen and their apprentices. The Vacheron family alone illustrates the importance of watchmaking in the local economy and society at the time. Jean Jacques Vacheron, a weaver and an immigrant to Geneva, had five sons, of whom four entered the Fabrique (a grouping of all the crafts associated with watchmaking). Jean, the eldest, became a skilled maker of watch cases. The second son, Jean-Etienne, made tools for watchmaking; and the fourth, Antoine, assembled watch cases. Jean-Marc, the youngest, became a master watchmaker and opened his own workshop in 1755.

By 1850, Geneva’s reputation was such that unscrupulous manufacturers elsewhere were increasingly producing counterfeits. In 1886, at the request of the Geneva Society of Watchmakers, the Grand Council of the Republic and Canton of Geneva created the Poinçon de Genève (Hallmark of Geneva) to protect the ‘Geneva’ designation of origin, this prestigious and demanding certification is a guarantee of origin, quality and excellence.

A treasured Geneva landmark today, the Tour de l’Île clock tower stands as a symbol not only of the city’s fortitude and resilience but also of Vacheron Constantin’s history. From 1843 the Maison installed its workshops in the tower and displayed its signage on the façade. The Maison moved to more spacious workshops in 1875, about 100 metres away on the Quai des Moulins, then opened its first boutique in the tower in 1906.

Inscribed on the dial of the clock on the Tour de l’Île, Geneva’s motto, Post Tenebras Lux (After Darkness, Light) dates back to the mid-16^th century, a period of great change for the city. The motto expresses the idea that even in the darkest time there is the possibility of a brighter future and is a powerful symbol of Geneva’s commitment to freedom, independence and progress. Engraved inside the officer-style case back of each watch, Geneva’s motto echoes the Maison’s unwavering quest for excellence.

Métiers d’art and art of finishing express the soul of Geneva

Celebrating the savoir-faire of Vacheron Constantin’s master artisans – engravers, enamellers and guillocheurs – the Tribute to the Tour de l’Île timepieces epitomise the Maison’s enduring commitment to craftsmanship, culture and the Arts. With its own Métiers d’Art workshop dedicated to preserving rare and historic decorative crafts, fostering their development and passing the legacy down through the generations, the Maison provides a sanctuary for artistic crafts that may otherwise vanish.

Capturing the spirit of Geneva, each of the three Tribute to the Tour de l’Île dials features a view of the tower inspired by an historic lithograph and reinterpreted by Vacheron Constantin’s designer. Miniaturised for a 33.6mm-diameter dial, yet faithful to every detail of the original image, the meticulously hand-crafted dials showcase several métiers d’art. One model features a miniature Grand Feu enamel painted dial in pastel shades that perfectly complement the 950-platinum case. The second piece, also cased in platinum, features a highly original combination of guilloché and Grand Feu enamel. The third piece displays a finely engraved 18K pink gold dial that matches its pink gold case.

For the new Tribute to the Tour de l’Île single-piece edition watches, Vacheron Constantin has chosen a simple display of hours and minutes in order to focus on the artistic beauty of the dials. At 40mmin diameter and 9.42mm thick, the sobriety and proportions of the finely crafted case epitomise the understated elegance that has been a hallmark of the Maison for 270 years. On the reverse side of the watch, an officer-style caseback reveals the beauty of the movement beneath a transparent sapphire crystal.

The mechanical elegance of the self-winding manufacture Calibre 2460 is enhanced by the finest of finishing, in the tradition of Haute Horlogerie inherited from the Age of Enlightenment. Perlage and Côtes de Genève on the bridges are complemented by a hand-guilloché 18K 5N pink gold winding rotor. Attesting to the quality of the craftsmanship, each watch bears the Poinçon de Genève (Geneva Hallmark) – a seal of excellence that guarantees both the watchmaking workmanship and the origins of the timepiece within the Canton of Geneva.

The caseback bezel of each watch is engraved with Vacheron Constantin’s 270^th anniversary emblem. As with every single-piece edition produced by the Les Cabinotiers workshop, the caseback is also engraved with the inscriptions ‘Pièce unique’, ‘Les Cabinotiers’, and ‘AC’ – for Atelier Cabinotiers.

Les Cabinotiers: manifesting the Maison’s quest for excellence

Specialised in the creation of single-piece edition models, Les Cabinotiers is the highest expression of Vacheron Constantin’s quest for excellence. A team of highly skilled women and men – craftsmen as well as watchmakers – Les Cabinotiers has the freedom to create single-edition pieces for which they can develop new technical ideas or explore and evolve the decorative crafts in new directions.

The Les Cabinotiers workshop perpetuates the legacy of the Maison’s 18th-century forebears while embodying Vacheron Constantin’s spirit of innovation and continuing to expand its watchmaking capabilities. Whether grand complication timepieces or watches focused on artistic expression, the master watchmakers and artisans of Les Cabinotiers create timepieces that contribute to advancing horology.

The name Les Cabinotiers is a reference to Geneva’s most gifted artisans of the 18th century (watchmakers, engravers, enamellers, jewellers, lapidaries, etc.) who plied their trade in workshops known as cabinets, located on the upper levels to benefit from the best natural light for the longest part of the day.

Connecting the past with the future of watchmaking, the three Tribute to the Tour de l’Île pieces continue a golden legacy of Vacheron Constantin watches inspired by this Geneva landmark. They include a series of 1920s pocket watches with engraved cases, a 1994 pocket watch with an enamelled case, and the famous Tour de l’Île wristwatch created to mark the Maison’s 250^th anniversary in 2005, featuring 16 complications – the world’s most complicated wristwatch at the time.

Les Cabinotiers Tribute to the Tour de l’Île – Grand Feu miniature enamelling

Complemented by a platinum 950 case, the Grand Feu enamel dial features a miniature enamel-painted reinterpretation of a lithograph drawn by Jean DuBois (1789–1849) and printed by Spengler & Cie. It captures the view of the tower with the richly detailed tableau of the Place de Bel-Air in the foreground, faithful to the monochrome original in every detail but rendered in pastel-coloured enamel.

Employing the Geneva technique of miniature enamelling – developed in the city from the 18^th century onwards – the dial required one month of meticulous hand craftsmanship to complete. The first challenge was to test pigment colours (which can often change in unpredictable ways when fired) to ensure that, in the finished work, they would correspond as closely as possible to the designer’s drawings.

The enamelling itself is a demanding process that begins with the application of a fondant – a white enamel undercoat – to the 18K white gold dial to create a perfectly smooth surface. Then, the image is painted in multiple layers, using an extremely fine brush. Finally, the master enameller applies several layers of translucent enamel to protect the work and add brilliance and depth. Throughout this extremely delicate process, each layer must be fired at more than 800°C before applying the next layer. These firings are essential and require great mastery, with careful attention given to maintaining optimal temperatures, which helps prevent the formation of bubbles or cracks, shrinkage of the enamel or alteration of the colours.

Les Cabinotiers Tribute to the Tour de l’Île – Figurative guilloché and Grand Feu miniature enamelling

The dial of this watch reinterprets an early 20^th-century illustration produced by Charnaux – a photographic workshop and postcard publisher initially located on the Place de Bel-Air, immediately across the river from the Tour de l’Île.

In adapting the illustration for the dial, Vacheron Constantin rendered the surrounding buildings as simple black line drawings to focus the eye on the tower and emphasise its strength and presence. This has been translated to the 18K 5N yellow gold dial in a subtle union of hand-guillochage and Grand Feu enamel against the soft texture and matte finish of the sandblasted background – the latter chosen to amplify the sense of perspective captured in the image. For the master guillocheur, working on the uneven texture of the sandblasted plate added greater technical difficulty to the work and required even more than usual precision. Resulting from multiple intersecting skills, this dial is the product of approximately 16 hours of meticulous guilloché work and 40 hours of miniature Grand Feu enamelling.

On the dial, the fine black lines of the buildings are hand-guilloché. Every detail, even the most minute, is faithfully reproduced. A wide variety of guilloché patterns is used to differentiate parts of the buildings and enhance the sense of depth and architectural perspective. To create figurative drawings with guillochage – a signature technique from Vacheron Constantin’s guillocheur – required the development of new guilloché motifs from scratch.

As of 1780, the date of the Maison’s oldest watch to feature a guilloché pattern, Vacheron Constantin began decorating its timepieces with a wide variety of guilloché motifs. Even today, these patterns engraved on the various metal bases are entirely hand-crafted. The machine is merely an extension of the human touch.

The craft of figurative drawing by guillochage was developed by the Maison’s own master guillocheur. The technique, which calls for great dexterity, is created by the alternating use of two hand-operated guilloché machines: one to engrave straight lines; and the other to make curves and circles. By combining these two techniques it becomes possible to create detailed illustrations entirely different from traditional geometric and abstract guilloché decoration, transforming the craft into a figurative art form in its own right.

At the centre of the dial, the famous Tour de l’Île is painted in Grand Feu miniature enamel, standing out proudly from the surrounding buildings. To maximise the richness, depth and clarity of colour, multiple layers have been added sequentially: a base layer of white fondant to create a smooth surface, then multiple layers of colour topped by two layers of transparent fondant enamel to add brilliance and depth. The piece was fired at more than 800°C after every layer – a total of nine steps – requiring rare skill to mitigate all the risks inherent in such a demanding process.

Les Cabinotiers Tribute to the Tour de l’Île – Engraving

Inspired by an engraving of the Tour de l’Île and the bridges over the Rhône made in 1822 by Pierre Escuyer (1749-1834), the 18K 5N pink gold dial plate of this model precisely matches the case material. The dial is engraved in bas-relief, a technique in which the engraver draws an outline of the desired motif then carefully carves away the surrounding metal so that the motif is slightly raised from the surface, creating a subtle trompe l’oeil effect.

Creating this miniature work on a plate barely one millimetre thick is a feat by the master engraver. Working from an initial sketch, the work is meticulous: each perspective line, drawn with extreme precision, converges towards the vanishing point, breathing dynamism into the composition. The bas-relief technique then brings the scene to life. By carving into the material, the engraver brings out the volumes and contrasts. The dome atop the bell tower, for example, stands out sharply thanks to the depth sculpted around it.

The finishing work requires dexterity. Chiselling adds depth to the darker areas, such as the trees and windows, while polishing makes the roofs and facades gleam. A subtle satin finish gives the clouds an almost palpable impression of volume. At this minuscule scale, faithfully reproducing the details of the original engraving – the pedestrians on the bridge, the rooster perched on the weather vane – is a tour de force. This hand-engraved masterpiece required more than 140 hours of work.

LES CABINOTIERS TRIBUTE TO THE TOUR DE L’ÎLE – GRAND FEU MINIATURE ENAMELLING

Reference
2400C/000P-418C

Calibre
2460
Developed and crafted by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding
26.2 mm in diameter, 3.6 mm thick
Approximately 40-hour power reserve
4 Hz (28,800 vibrations/hour)
182 components
27 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Indications
Hours, minutes

Case
Platinum 950, polished
40 mm in diameter, 9.42 mm thick
Officer and transparent sapphire crystal caseback engraved with the motto “Post Tenebras Lux”
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 metres)

Dial
18K white gold, hand-crafted Grand Feu enamel with miniature-painting technique, depicting the Tour de l’Île in Geneva
18K white gold hour and minute hands, leaf-shaped, polished

Strap
Brown Mississippiensis alligator leather, square scales, tone-on-tone stitching

Buckle
Platinum 950 pin buckle, polished
Half Maltese cross-shaped

Case & accessories
Les Cabinotiers model

Engravings

‘Pièce unique’, ‘Les Cabinotiers’ and the ‘AC’ coat of arms, and a Maltese cross with the number 270 on the back of the watch

Single-piece edition

LES CABINOTIERS TRIBUTE TO THE TOUR DE L’ÎLE – FIGURATIVE GUILLOCHÉ AND GRAND FEU MINIATURE ENAMELLING

Reference
2400C/000P-420C

Indications

Hours, minutes

Dial
18K 3N yellow gold, sandblasted, hand guilloché, hand-crafted Grand Feu enamel with miniature-painting technique, depicting the Tour de l’Île in Geneva
18K white gold hour and minute hands, leaf-shaped, polished

Strap
Brown Mississippiensis alligator leather, square scales, tone-on-tone stitching

Buckle
Platinum 950 pin buckle, polished
Half Maltese cross-shaped

Case & accessories
Les Cabinotiers model

Engravings
‘Pièce unique’, ‘Les Cabinotiers’ and the ‘AC’ coat of arms, and a Maltese cross with the number 270 on the back of the watch

Single-piece edition

LES CABINOTIERS TRIBUTE TO THE TOUR DE L’ÎLE – ENGRAVING

Reference
2400C/000R-412C

Indications
Hours, minutes

Case
18K 5N pink gold, polished
40 mm in diameter, 9.42 mm thick
Officer and transparent sapphire crystal caseback engraved with the motto “Post Tenebras Lux”
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 metres)

Dial
18K 5N pink gold, hand-engraved with the bas-relief technique, depicting the Tour de l’Île in Geneva
18K 5N pink gold hour and minute hands, leaf-shaped, polished

Strap
Brown Mississippiensis alligator leather, square scales, tone-on-tone stitching

Buckle
18K 5N pink gold pin buckle, polished
Half Maltese cross-shaped

Case & accessories
Les Cabinotiers model

Engravings
‘Pièce unique’, ‘Les Cabinotiers’ and the ‘AC’ coat of arms, and a Maltese cross with the number 270 on the back of the watch

Single-piece edition