Vacheron Constantin

The new Vacheron Constantin 57260: "World's most complicated watch"

 

Here we are finally.


After 8 years of development and several months of teasing, Vacheron Constantin has unveiled today its "world's most complicated watch", a special command from a collector to the brand's Ateliers Cabinotiers department. As you certainly remember, this department is taking care of special orders from clients.







This new 57260 reference is a pocket watch housing 57 complications. Quite an outstanding achievement.

More than a title, this watch looks gorgeous and stunning in terms of watchmaking mastery: it is a 98 x 50 mm white gold case protecting the 3750 caliber and its 2826 parts.



Here is the official video:

I had a look at the details from Vacheron (detailed at the end of this post) and it is just technically amazing.

This being said, on the aesthetical level, the watch looks absolutely marvelous: the colors combinations, the numerous printings which don't look to busy regarding the huge number of information needed etc... I can't imagine the time needed to place everything on the dial, the fonts sizes, colors etc...

This watch has been designed with a very fine taste in a world where today it is not always so.


We can only thank Vacheron Constantin for the courageous project, its watchmakers for their talent and the happy collector for its decision.

This may be a landmark in watchmaking and I guess we will hear and read very much from this incredible timepiece in the future.


Speechless and excited.


Cheers, Mark


 

 

 

 

 

Here is the list of the different 57 functions:

Time Functions

1.      Regulator-type hours, minutes and seconds for solar meantime

2.      Visible spherical armillary tourbillon regulator with spherical balance spring

3.      Armillary sphere tourbillon

4.      12-hour second time zone hours and minutes

5.      Indication for 24 world cities for world-time

6.      Day and night indication for the 12-hour world-time

 

Perpetual Calendar Functions

7.      Gregorian perpetual calendar

8.      Gregorian days of the week

9.      Gregorian months

10. Gregorian retrograde date

11. Leap-year indication and four year cycle

12. Number of the day of the week (ISO 8601 calendar)

13. Indication for the number of the week within the year (ISO 8601 

      calendar)

 

Hebraic Perpetual Calendar Functions

     14. Hebraic perpetual calendar with 19-year cycle

     15. Hebrew name of the day

     16. Hebrew name of the month

     17. Hebrew date indication

     18. Hebrew secular calendar

     19. Hebrew century, decade and year

     20. Indication for the number of months in the Hebraic calendar year  

           (12 or 13 months)

     21. Indication for the Golden Number with 19-year cycle

 

Functions of the Astronomic Calendar

     22. Indications for the seasons, equinoxes, solstices and signs of the      

           zodiac with “sun” hand

     23. The sky chart (calibrated for the city of the owner)

     24. Sidereal time hours

     25. Sidereal time minutes

     26. Hours of sunrise (calibrated for the city of the owner)

     27. Hours of sunset (calibrated for the city of the owner)

     28. Equation of time

     29. Length of the day (calibrated for the city of the owner)

     30. Length of the night (calibrated for the city of the owner)

 

Lunar Calendar Function

     31. Phases and age of the moon, one correction every 1027 years

    

Religious Calendar Function

    32. Indication for the date of Yom Kippur

 

Functions of the 3 column-wheel Chronograph

    33. Retrograde fifths of a second chronograph (1 column wheel)

    34. Retrograde fifths of a second rattrapante chronograph (1 column wheel)

    35. 12-hour counter (1 column wheel)

    36. 60-minute counter

 

Alarm Functions

    37. Progressive alarm with single gong and hammer striking

    38. Alarm strike / silence indicator

    39. Choice of normal alarm or carillon striking alarm indicator

    40. Alarm mechanism coupled to the carillon striking mechanism

    41. Alarm striking with choice of grande or petite sonnerie

    42. Alarm power-reserve indication

 

Westminster Carillon Striking Functions

    43. Carillon Westminster chiming with 5 gongs and 5 hammers

    44. Grande sonnerie passing strike

    45. Petite sonnerie passing strike

    46. Minute repeating

    47. Night silence feature (between 22.00 and 08.00 hours – hours chosen by the client)

    48. System to disengage the striking barrel when fully wound

    49. Indication for grande or petite sonnerie modes

    50. Indication for silence / striking / night modes

 

Further functions

    51. Power-reserve indication for the going train

    52. Power-reserve indication for the striking train

    53. Winding crown position indicator

    54. Locking mechanism for the striking

    55. Winding system for the double barrels

    56. Hand-setting system with two positions and two directions

    57. Concealed flush-fit winding crown for the alarm mechanism

PS: Credit goes to Alex and THL for the pictures and details. Thank you.

This message has been edited by Mark in Paris on 2015-09-17 15:11:48