Vacheron Constantin has released its 2019 Les Cabinotiers collection ‘La Musique du Temps’, consisting of eight ‘one of a kind’ chiming models.
The maison’s first record of a chiming watch dates back to 1806 and a gold pocket watch with minute repeater registered by the founder’s grandson Jacques-Barthélemy, which was filed in the very first production register kept in the company’s archives.
Since then, sonnerie or repeater watches have been an integral part of the company’s proud heritage.
The collection was unveiled in Singapore this weekend and the chimes on the watches have been recorded at Abbey Road Studios to be kept in perpetuity.
One of the highlights is the Minute Repeater Tourbillon Four Seasons, consisting of four watches that represent spring, summer, autumn and winter with carp swimming across their dials in colours emblematic of the seasons.
The dials have been engraved using bas-relief, each one taking no less than 60 hours just for engraving before colour is applied using the enamel champlevé technique.
Each of the watches is equipped with the 2755 TMR calibre, which regulates the striking mechanism by means of a one-minute tourbillon with a rotating carriage serving to neutralise the effects of the Earth’s gravity.
The manual-winding movement, with a 58-hour power reserve discreetly indicated on the back, beats at a rate of 2.5Hz (18,000 a/h), a low frequency typical of traditional watchmaking.
