Watches and Wonders Edit: Vacheron Constantin’s key complication for 2023, the retrograde day-date features in the Swiss watchmaker’s Overseas, Patrimony and Traditionnelle models

May 2 , 2023

Vacheron Constantin’s Patrimony Retrograde Day-date stands out from the crowd. Photos: Vacheron Constantin

Under Richemont Group and part of the unofficial ‘Swiss trinity’ of watchmaking alongside Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin is known for its history of horological excellence

This year, the luxury watch brand introduced show-stopping pieces sure to delight collectors, from the Overseas with moonphase to the Traditionnelle tourbillon retrograde date openface

Richemont group Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin scarcely needs an introduction. Boasting a continuous history of horological excellence that dates back to the 18th century, Vacheron Constantin is part of the unofficial “Swiss trinity” of watchmaking alongside Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe.

It was therefore no surprise that at this year’s Watches and Wonders, Vacheron Constantin introduced show-stopping models that any serious collector or enthusiast of watchmaking would be happy to add to their collections. The maison’s stellar pieces were drawn from several key collections but all featured the retrograde day-date complication.

Usually the day-date complication is a small, rotating dial that shows the relevant details through a window in the dial’s face. However, the retrograde version of this complication has hands that sweep resplendently across the face to indicate day and date, snapping back to the beginning every week or month.

The Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Retrograde Day-Date features a complication that’s a challenge to create.

It is a complication from a time gone by and is monumentally difficult to execute. Style and heritage director Christian Selmoni says that the first time Vacheron Constantin wrestled with the complication was in 1935. The house was tasked with an order from Madrid to take the retrograde hand, then exclusive to the pocket watch, to a wrist piece. That order took five years to meet, giving us the Don Pancho reference 3620, the first wristwatch to feature the complication. It took another 66 years – until 2006 – before the house was able to introduce a double retrograde day-date with the reference 86020.

This year, Vacheron Constantin chose three of its most stunning canvases for such an eye-catching complication – the Overseas, Patrimony and Traditionnelle. The Patrimony Retrograde Day-Date walks the delicate balance between an overwhelmingly stark dial with retrograde day-date indices and hands, and the understated elegance of a dress watch, above in a salmon sunburst dial set with 18k white gold hour and minute markers, all housed within a 950 platinum case.

Vacheron Constantin Overseas moon phase retrograde date. Photo: Vacheron Constantin

The Overseas – which also saw the landmark release of a “panda” chronograph earlier this year – gets a retrograde date complication for the first time and even adds a moonphase. The sporty-chic styling of the Overseas – it’s a direct descendant from the firmly 1970s design of the 222 – gives collectors a stylistically different option to the elegant Patrimony, making retrograde hands appropriate for all occasions.

Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle tourbillon retrograde date openface. Photo: Handout

The Traditionnelle tourbillon retrograde date openface is the most intricate of the three, sporting the retrograde date hand with a tourbillon at six, the carriage styled with the brand’s signature Maltese cross. The detail in the watch’s 242-component Calibre 2162 R31 is a sight to behold, thrust into the spotlight by the sapphire openwork dial and exhibition caseback.

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