Alexandre Ghotbi takes a rather in-depth look at the more than 100-year history behind the high-precision Vacheron Constantin Chronomètre Royal . . . which came up because of a conversation about “the Batman.” Find out what that means right here.
Since the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 is descended from a steel sports watch, and was an early inspiration for the Overseas collection, it might seem that launching the first new model in 37 years would lean heavily on the “sports” aspect of the watch. But design and aesthetic are clearly the motivating factor for Vacheron Constantin deciding to lead with a yellow gold edition, explains Joshua Munchow, one of many fans.
Vacheron Constantin enters into a partnership with the most famous museum in the world: the Louvre. The Métiers d’Art Tribute to Great Civilizations is a limited edition set of four pieces decorated with rare crafts and paying tribute to four great works of ancient art found in the museum.
Some watches are so perfect there isn’t a thing you want to be changed about them. For Martin Green, this was the case with the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Split-Seconds Chronograph Ultra-Thin Collection Excellence Platine. Apart from its name, which he thinks is decidedly too long. But a look through the display back more than makes up for that.
“Dress watches” were initially just “watches.” While their popularity may have dwindled over the years as more casual and sporty watches have taken off, many brands have stayed faithful to the concept of the dress watch as Martin Green highlights here with five beautiful examples from 2021.
Ask and ye shall receive, dear readers! Well, within reason. Quill & Pad reader and frequent commenter Greg has been after GaryG for a while to write a piece on his Vacheron Constantin Overseas Deep Stream Chronograph, most recently in response to Gary’s article on three “keepers” from his collection that don’t get a lot of wrist time. Gary didn’t include the Deep Stream on that list as it is a quite frequent wearer for him, but now its time in the spotlight has come.
It is now a tradition for watchmakers to observe Chinese New Year by creating beautiful, decorative, limited edition timepieces adorned with symbolic depictions of the appropriate sign of the Chinese zodiac – often using rare, artistic techniques paying tribute to the eastern calendar. The Year of the Tiger – which is the third animal in the 12-year zodiac cycle – begins on February 1, 2022. Elizabeth Doerr shares eight auspicious examples here.
Vacheron Constantin has recently released a watch that crosses the bridge between the worlds of watches and wine: a single-piece edition called Les Cabinotiers Grande Complication Bacchus. Ken Gargett understands that watch people find this as exciting as wine lovers might find the new vintage of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti’s Romanée-Conti.
The twelfth edition of Poland’s Watch of the Year by CH24.PL included all timepieces introduced in 2021 competing across six regular categories. Brands did not have to enter their watches; the shortlists were made by the jury. And the wonderful winners are . . .
As read by you, here are the top ten most viewed articles on Quill & Pad this past year. There are definitely a few surprises. Drum roll, please: in no particular order, our top ten most viewed articles of 2021 were . . .