Vacheron Constantin

Review of a rare piece: the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Ultra-thin 1731 Minute Repeater

 

Gentlemen,

I had the rare opportunity to handle the rare Vacheron Constantin "Patrimony Ultra-thin 1731", before summer (thus before the Watches & Wonders new announcements) and thought it deserved to have an article. I've been caught up by the Watches & Wonders event and the release of new versions of this watch. Indeed, the rose gold I'm talking about in this thread was the only version available until lately.





BACKGROUND

The "1731" name has been chosen in tribute to the birth date of Jean-Marc Vacheron, the founder of the brand.

This reference is the only Minute Repeater available in today's catalogue with the triple complications Traditionnelle Calibre 2755 (Tourbillon, Perpetual Calendar, Minute Repeater).





THE WATCH

This beautiful watch is a "member" of the Patrimony line-up (before known as "Contemporaine") and is the reference 30110/000R-9793. It was unveiled in late 2013.





Most of the time, the Tourbillon and Minute Repeater complications are housed in thicker cases, especially with multi-complications models. It is thus very interesting to find only one of these highly complicated features in a very thin one. It is the latest heir of the first VC Minute Repeater created in 1810.





The Patrimony is a very thin watch with a larger size than the Traditionnelle family. Here, the movement is housed in a 41 x 8.09 mm case. The very elegant and pure design of the whole case is enhancing the thinness effect of the watch. Hence, the MR's activation flange is more nicely integrated in the case than what I'm used to seeing in other MR models.










Needless to say, this Minute Repeater timepiece is one of the thinnest in today's market with 8.09mm (just behind the Hybris Mechanica 11 which is 2 1/10 of a millimeter thinner). Thus, it remains very discreet on the wrist.

The dial is very pure and elegant with its very specific minute cabochons markers and partly sandblasted "baton" hands, a finishing decoration we usually see on Vacheron's dauphine hands.





The small crown has always been a nice addition to this contemporary case.





The alternate applied Stick and Triangular markers participate to make this dial beautiful. If they had been smaller I think the dial would have looked to important.


CALIBER & SOUND EXPERIENCE

As you can expect from such a masterpiece, this manual winding caliber is stamped with the "Poinçon de Genève" (Geneva hallmark) and is beautifully decorated. This movement is showing its very appealing shapes in a 32.8 mm width and of course its impressive 3.90 mm thinness. It is beating at 21.600 vph with a quite impressive 65h power reserve for such a thin and complicated piece.

The finishing and decorating style of the movement is very very beautiful and is worth of the brand's past. We can notice a very fine bevelling and very nice bridges' shape.





Well, many things can go wrong when dealing with a Minute Repeater melody: the speed regularity (too fast or not enough so), the tone (more or less in tune) etc...

Furthermore, because of being housed in such a thin case, I was afraid the complication did not ring loud enough.

However, here, this is what really impressed me in this watch: it sounds fantastic, a very crystal sound and not too loud.

Only three watchmakers are in charge of creating these exceptional timepieces at Vacheron Constantin.

On the contrary to more classical anchor regulators, this MR complication is equipped with a flying regulator which is more silent. This mechanism works with two flyweights which help slowing down the regulator when going too fast.





The seals are missing so that the sound spreads more efficiently through the case and movement. So, no swimming pool.

What is interesting to learn is that each MR watch which leaves the manufacture is beforehand recorded to ensure keeping the same sound in the future when the watch is serviced.

As explained earlier and when dealing with very thin calibers, the thinness is a very difficult challenge to deal with as it implies a hard time adjusting the strength and resistance of all the movement's parts (axles, pinions, bridges, levers etc...).






CONCLUSION

I was very happy to be able to observe this watch and it was quite an experience concerning this rare and romantic complication: for the sound but also for the unusual proportions for a Minute Repeater.

It is not the kind of watch you'll be seeing very easily but if you can, take the time to have a look at it.

I'll be curious to know how you "feel" it?

Cheers, Mark



- I'd like to thank the Parisian Vacheron Constantin Boutique of the Rue de la Paix in Paris for their welcome and allowing me to admire and discover this rare piece -







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This message has been edited by Mark in Paris on 2015-10-28 09:59:11