A Closer Look At The Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface
If you’re eager to begin the New Year with a clean slate and a new watch, then look no further than Vacheron Constantine’s two new takes on the classic calendar watch.
The Traditionnelle Complete Calendar rings in the new year with a contemporary, three-part, openface dial and modern galvanic finishes. Whether you choose the pink or white gold versions, they look like something a boardroom baron would wear, although not as a stealth-wealth accoutrement but rather as a projection of their power.
However, these two timepieces also have a sense of vulnerability, with the exquisitely finished components visible through the open-worked face and sapphire caseback.
Let’s take a look!
Mechanical Marvel
A triple calendar timepiece – one that indicates the date, day, and month, and, on these models, moonphase – is the kind of complication that separates the moutons from the chevres, as the French say. For the Traditionelle Complete Calendar, Vacheron Constantin drew on its history of high watchmaking to create the calibre that powers these watches – the 2460 QCL/2.
An evolution of the first self-winding movement entirely designed and developed by Vacheron Constantin – the Calibre 2450 – the high beat, self-winding Calibre 2460 QCL/2 is composed of 312 components.
This calibre features a stop-seconds mechanism, beats at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour, and has a respectable 40-hour power reserve. So, while you would probably want to wear this watch every day, we would suggest investing in a good winder for weekends because resetting a calendar can be a pain.
Plus, in addition to its triple calendar indications, it provides a precision moonphase display requiring only one correction every 122 years.
Transparency
With all of this magic happening inside, why would you want to hide it? That is why a sapphire case back reveals not only the technical brilliance of the Calibre 2460 QCL/2 but also all of the fine finishes we demand from an haute horlogerie movement.
There are traditional touches such as a circular-grained main plate, chamfered bridges, and Côtes de Genève engravings. But the mainplate and bridges are highlighted by an anthracite NAC treatment to add a more futuristic flourish to the finishing.
Not to be outdone, the new Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface’s artistry can also be admired from the dial side.
A three-part dial overlooks a sapphire aperture-type display of the days and months. This display is surrounded by a slate grey, opaline flange to which a central hand indicates the date. Meanwhile, the upper part of the dial features a slate grey guilloché decoration and applied gold hour-markers. Finally, the moonphase disc is also protected by a translucent sapphire window.
These details require decades of experience from Vacheron’s craftspeople, but the almost airy way they are presented makes these two new Traditionelle models feel very avant-garde.
New Year, New Calendar
At the end of the day, Vacheron Constantin’s two new Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface watches are not trying to change executive timepieces. They are more of a reflection of how executives have changed.
The 41mm white or pink gold cases find a balance between such classic attributes of the collection – such as the stepped round case and lugs, the fluted case back, the slim bezel, the railway minute-track, the bi-facetted Dauphine-type hands, and the gold baton-style hour-markers – with a much more modern design approach presented on a grey alligator leather strap.
The Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface is available now and is priced at $47,300. For more information, visit the Vacheron Constantin website.
(All images © Vacheron Constantin)