Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Tribute To Great Explorers – Vasco da Gama

The long journey that took him from Portugal to the coasts of India was one of the most important 15th century discoveries. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1469 –1524), who left his native country in 1497, was the first to travel from Europe and Asia by sea, following an epic and often hellish journey across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. After circumnavigating the southern tip of Africa, his fleet of four ships sailed along the coast as far as Kenya before embarking on a crossing towards the Indies, which he reached in 1498.

The sea route taken by its crew is finely traced in red enamel on the dial, each detail of which is a very faithful reproduction of the map appearing in the Miller Atlas. The gaze will naturally be drawn to a ship from Vasco da Gama's fleet in the dial centre, sails billowing on a stormy sea; or to the circumference of the wind rose and the continents enhanced with gold-coloured enamel powder.