The renowned watchmaker is celebrating its 260th anniversary with a series of limited-edition pieces. We examine the Harmony Chronograph, the first watch in the collection
Modern watchmaking is a study in contrasts, with the application of the latest technologies to the manufacture of mechanical movements that are firmly rooted in the past. Although numerous brands like to proclaim the year of their founding, the fact is that quite a few of them were dormant for decades, if not centuries. But Vacheron Constantin, one of today’s most prestigious, can lay claim to more than two centuries of continuous operation; founded in 1755, the Geneva manufacture is now celebrating its 260th anniversary.
To start the celebrations, Vacheron sought inspiration from its considerable archives. The first anniversary collection, titled Harmony, comprises seven watches showcasing the vast experience and capabilities of today’s manufacture, ranging from chronographs, to dual time watches and, of course, a tourbillon. We take a look at the first watch from the new collection, the Harmony Chronograph with Calibre 3300.
The design is directly inspired by a monopusher chronograph made by Vacheron Constantin when the manufacture was “only” 173 years old, in 1928. Today’s interpretation has been modernised, inside and out. The cushion-shaped case, in 18K 5N pink gold, is 42mm wide but only 12.81mm thick. The dial features a red pulsimetric scale, which was used by doctors to help them measure a patient’s heart rate. In this particular application, the scale is calibrated to 30 pulsations; that is, you start the chronograph as soon as you start counting the heartbeats and stop it once you’ve reached 30. The blue hand will then point to the heart rate, as usually indicated in beats per minute. Blue numerals complement the chronograph hand, with the subdial on the right measuring the elapsed minutes. The running seconds are on the left, with a pink gold hand, the same as the running hours and minutes. At the bottom of the dial, a power reserve indicator will keep track of the 3300 calibre’s remaining reserve. Although the watch will run for almost three days after being fully wound, it does require manual winding, and a power reserve indicator is helpful for keeping optimal time.
The beauty of the Harmony Chronograph belies much of the technical work that Vacheron Constantin’s watchmakers applied to the 3300 calibre. Particular attention was paid to the operation of the chronograph to ensure that whenever it’s activated, the feel of the pusher is very smooth and there is little resistance, not only at the start, but also with the stop and reset functions. The mechanical feedback from the manual winding has also been optimised and is particularly smooth, thanks to modern production technologies that allow for extremely precise manufacturing of the gears and wheels. The combination of all of the above, much of which will remain entirely invisible to the wearer, makes this timepiece special and particularly appealing to astute collectors.
The finishing itself leaves nothing to be desired. The entire collection bears the Geneva Seal, which has been updated in recent years to apply not only to the movement finishing, but also to the functions and finish of the entire watch. The standards themselves are too lengthy to describe in detail; suffice it so say, it requires a tremendous amount of hand finishing and consistency, which makes it the reserve of a few select brands. In addition, Vacheron Constantin has chosen to adorn its anniversary pieces with an engraved motif called “fleurisanne” that Jean-Marc Vacheron applied to the balance cock of his first pocket watch in 1755.
The Harmony Chronograph will be produced in a numbered series of 260 pieces. We look forward to presenting the watches in the collection over the coming months.
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