This occasion marks a new milestone for the F.P.Journe brand from which Manufacture established in the centre of Geneva produces 95% of its components. In a constant search for precision, the exclusive F.P.Journe movements have contributed to a significant improvement for the history of watchmaking. The brand’s motto: « Invenit et Fecit », placed on all its timepieces certify innovative and exclusive calibres, entirely invented and manufactured in-house in its Geneva, Switzerland, workshops.

Acclaimed by the public and professionals alike, F.P.Journe has garnered countless awards in the watchmaking community all over the world for his numerous groundbreaking timepieces. Most notably, he received the most coveted « Aiguille d’Or » 3 times at the Grand Prix d’horlogerie of Geneva, an unprecedented accomplishment matched by no others in the industry. The first for his Tourbillon Souverain with constant force device and dead beat second; the second for its exemplary Sonnerie Souveraine and its 10 patents; and the third for the Centigraphe Souverain, an unprecedented chronograph to the 100th of a second. F.P.Journe is imposing as the source of inspiration between the watchmaking techniques of yesterday and those of tomorrow.

As all other boutiques around the world, the tastefully designed Beijing Boutique offers a spacious and elegant atmosphere; presenting the complete collection of its precision chronometers, along with special Limited Series reserved exclusively for them, the Black Label line, and other Boutique Anniversary Editions. The Boutiques feature a salon, and a bar where collectors and watch aficionados of haute horologerie can meet and share their mutual passion, and a watch library with numerous books about watchmaking.

On the wall, large black and white pictures showing the Master and his watchmakers at work, let visitors peek into the silent and concentrated daily universe of these watch magicians. With this new prestigious Boutique, F.P.Journe is bringing finally the prestige of authentic high horology to Chinese collectors.

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Grand Opening F.P. Journe Boutique in Beijing

The great successes of Zinédine Zidane speak for themselves. The Frenchman of Algerian Kabyle Berber descent, born in Marseilles, has played for Bordeaux, Juventus Turin and Real Madrid. He was awarded the title of FIFA World Player of the Year on three occasions and World Sportsman of the Year in 1999, he won the Golden Ball several times, became Spanish Champion, European and World Champion and winner of the Intercontinental Cup: his career bears witness to unquestionable team spirit and great elegance, both on and off the field.

This combination is also embodied in the second special edition, which IWC Schaffhausen is dedicating to its sporting ambassador. With the Big Ingenieur Edition Zinédine Zidane, the Swiss watch manufacturer has created a highly individual timepiece with guaranteed robustness thanks to its solid Ingenieur case. The IWC-manufactured 51113 calibre movement similarly possesses exceptional stamina and exhibits the sophisticated technical approach that also characterized the footballer Zidane. A large spring barrel, supplied with energy by the highly efficient Pellaton automatic winding system, provides the Big Ingenieur with a power reserve of seven days.

The tireless movement measures a generous 37.8 millimetres in diameter and is accommodated inside a 45.5-millimetre stainless steel case, making the Big Ingenieur one of the most high-profile men’s watches from Schaffhausen. As a result, it is a perfect fit on the wrist of the1.85-metre-tall elite athlete, who is still in superb shape three years after the end of his active football career.

Whereas IWC Schaffhausen retained the colors of the French national team for the first Edition Zinédine Zidane, the new Big Ingenieur Edition Zinédine Zidane reflects the individual taste of the footballer. Accordingly, it features a dark brown dial. The Arabic numeral “10” stands out in a bright red colour. The engraved name of the former football star can be seen on the winding rotor through the transparent sapphire-glass back. The medallion also bears a figure “10” – the number which Zidane wore on his shirt in the French national team for many years and with which he led the “Équipe Tricolore” to numerous victories. And, of course, to the World Cup crown in 1998.

Two red numbers on the otherwise all-white chapter ring of the Big Ingenieur are a further reminder of this. The “27” and the “45” stand for the minutes of play in which Zidane scored arguably the two most important goals of his career. At the World Cup Final in 1998, which France won 3:0 against Brazil at the Stade de France in Paris, Zidane made sure of the half-time lead with two mighty headers in the 27th and 45th minutes and thus settled the final score.

Zidane was also personally involved in the colour scheme and individualization of the Big Ingenieur dedicated to him and limited to a worldwide edition of 500 watches. The limited-edition inscription, “ONE OUT OF 500”, is engraved on the side of the case at “9 o’clock”. A dark brown alligator leather strap, which is color-coordinated with the dial, ensures a comfortable fit on the wrist.

Big Ingenieur
Edition Zinédine Zidane
Ref. IW500508

Features
Watch with mechanical automatic movement and seven-day power reserve, Pellaton winding system, date display, power reserve display, central hacking seconds, balance with high-precision adjustment cams and Breguet spring, limited edition of 500 watches
Movement
Calibre         51113
Beats         28,800/h / 4 Hz
Jewels         42
Power reserve         7 days (168 h)
Winding         automatic

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Big Ingenieur Edition Zinédine Zidane

For 2010, Vacheron Constantin presents the Patrimony Traditionnelle “Calibre 2253” watch in the Collection Excellence Platine. This model features a major astronomical complication in terms of technical application. Entirely constructed by Vacheron Constantin’s engineering department and developed over several thousands of hours, the new Calibre 2253 provides information derived from Earth’s orbit around the sun, notably a perpetual calendar, the equation of time and the times of sunrise and sunset. It has a tourbillon escapement as well.

A power reserve of around 336 hours or 14 days

To celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2005, Vacheron Constantin introduced the Saint-Gervais watch. Its Calibre 2250 tourbillon movement with a perpetual calendar had the then exceptional running time of 250 hours from the energy stored in four mainspring barrels. The experience gained in making the Calibre 2250 was applied to the development of the Calibre 2253. The new movement benefited from the latest techniques deployed by the manufacturer’s technicians, engineers and watchmakers.

Despite supporting extra mechanical complexity, the Calibre 2253 exhibits a breathtaking amount of power reserve – some 336 hours or 14 days of running time drawn from two pairs of coupled barrels.  The power reserve is shown through the sapphire-crystal caseback.

The fascinating equation of time

The equation of time is probably the most fascinating complication in this outstanding model. Its purpose is to indicate the difference in minutes between the variable solar time shown by a sundial and the constant mean time of clocks and watches. For practical reasons, mankind has divided each year into 365 and a quarter days, each day into 24 hours, and the hours into 60 minutes each. However, because the Earth’s orbit is elliptical rather than circular, the time in relation to the sun varies daily. The noon zenith of the sun when it crosses the observer’s meridian seldom occurs at exactly 12 o’clock by his watch. In fact solar time and mean time coincide just four times a year – on April 15, June 14, September 1 and December 24. For the rest of the year, the difference between solar and mean time varies from minus 16 minutes to plus 16 minutes.

The oldest clock showing the equation of time was made by the mathematician Nikolaus Mercator in the 17th century. It enabled folk to covert the sun’s varying noon to the standard constant time shown on their watches. Since then, the rare instruments calculating the equation of time have been the work of extremely accomplished horologists.

Making this complication work does indeed call for particular skill. It depends on the equation cam, a waisted oval, shaped like a figure 8 and calculated according to the daily declination of the sun observed from a given spot. The cam rotates once a year while a hand following its contour indicates the equation of time at between 10 and 11 o’clock on the dial of the Patrimony Traditionnelle “Calibre 2253” timepiece of the Collection Excellence Platine.

When the sun rises and sinks

This timepiece displays another function seldom found in watches – the times of sunrise and sunset throughout the year at a given locality. This tricky complication also relies on a cam, the outline of which is calculated according to the latitude of the locality. It demonstrates both the skill of the manufacture’s engineers and watchmakers and Vacheron Constantin’s attention to its clients, for they can choose the place of the sunrises and sunsets. To this extent it’s a custom-made complication where the dials are paired at 8 o’clock and 4 o’clock on the face.

The tourbillon carriage, as always in the shape of the brand emblem, a Maltese Cross, rotates once a minute at 6 o’clock as a small seconds indication. The indications of the perpetual calendar are symmetrically laid out with the days, the months and the dates at 9, 12 and 3 o’clock respectively. The leap-year indicator makes a circumspect appearance on the upper right.  

An exceptional level of finish

The sophisticated finish of this watch is taken to the limits to match its complexity. As part of the Collection Excellence Platine this Patrimony Traditionnelle “Calibre 2253” unsurprisingly incorporates many elements in platinum, from its 43 mm case, water-resistant at a pressure of 3 bar or 30 meters, to its dial hallmarked “PT950”, its crown and its folding clasp in the shape of a halved Maltese Cross. There is one other most unusual, if not unique, horological feature: even the Dauphine hands that show the hours and minutes are fashioned in the same material – an incredible technical prowess. The decoration of the dial alternates silvered and frosted surfaces, with snailed chapters, circular-brushed subdials and diamond-polished filets. The applied hour markers and Maltese Cross are in white gold.

The Calibre 2253 movement also bears the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, which is an independent and legally sanctioned label of workmanship, origin, precision, resilience and competence. This seal of watchmaking perfection, among the oldest of professional labels, is reserved for a handful of Geneva manufacturers. It means that such decorative aspects of the movement as Côtes de Genève, circular graining, chamfering and straight graining of the steelwork are entirely done by hand.

The finish of the thin bridge that holds the tourbillon is an example among many. It consists of rounding off the top of the rectangular steel bar with a file to create a gleaming barrel-vault along its upper length. The camber follows the shape of the bridge from its jewelled centre to its winged extremities. The entire operation involves grinding and smoothing the surface with a variety of stones and abrasive pastes and then buffing it to a high polish. To meet Vacheron Constantin’s standards of finish, this job takes around 11 hours and is done entirely by hand, but it does signify a properly finished movement.

Such is the complexity and level of finish of this horological masterpiece, that it comprises no fewer than 457 parts in a movement only 9.60 mm thick. That explains why the production is limited to just 10 pieces.

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Platinum, the purest, rarest and most enduring of metals for the new major complications by Vacheron Constantin

Spread over 240 square metres, this new Breguet boutique’s contemporary design draws its inspiration from period Breguet timepieces such as those on display at the Breguet Museum in Paris. While it features a good number of artistic attributes, the style of the boutique matches to perfection that of The Swatch Art Peace Hotel. The cylindrical perimeter of the Breguet area adds its character to the Palace Hall, whose sharp angles on the ceiling and pillars contrasts with the cool perfection of the boutique. The interior space is enhanced with royal blue engraved glass representing the guilloché enamel of Empress Joséphine’s pocket watch. The sales areas are located behind airy walls of slim golden struts suggestive of a three-dimensionally guillochéed dial, one of the brand’s most typical features. The boutique’s lounge area features a special chandelier, a work of art created specially for The Swatch Art Peace Hotel.

The Breguet collections

To own a Breguet is to possess something exceptional. The company expresses its identity and philosophy through its ceaseless innovation and the timeless beauty of its watches. Their neat, trim design underscores Breguet signature features such as delicate engine-turned guilloché dials, striking blued-steel Breguet hands with hollow-circle tip and elegant caseband fluting.

Six product lines compose the Breguet collection:

The Classique models embody the essence of simple yet refined Breguet design. All precisely reflect the technical practices, the artistry and the traditional values of the Breguet brand.

The Marine line uses a contemporary idiom to express traditional Breguet values with modern, sport-spirited timepieces. Heirs to the clocks developed by the company’s founder for the Royal French Navy, Marine designs match the demands of today’s fast-paced life.

The Heritage models all share a tonneau case with curved profile. Curving the Breguet case and its elaborately guilloché dial proved a genuine challenge for the company’s teams of engineers, watchmakers and craftsmen.

Designed in the nineteen fifties for the French naval air arm, contemporary civilian versions of the Type XX chronograph have joined the Breguet collection; they came fitted with the famed flyback function and equipped with a self-winding mechanical movement. Their sportiness and assertive personality soon made an impression on demanding consumers looking for an original, technically authentic timepiece.

Inspired by the first wristwatch, designed by Breguet for Caroline Murat, the Reine de Naples line combines to perfection aesthetic refinement and precision. Its elegantly feminine character evokes jewellery at its finest.

In a voyage through time, the Tradition Breguet line salutes the brand’s past achievements with designs inspired by antique and period models. Their uncluttered design positions the movement
above the mainplate to allow easy observation of its intricate beauty while the watch is on the
wrist.

You can visit and view Breguet watches online at www.breguet.com

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NEW BREGUET BOUTIQUE, THE SWATCH ART PEACE HOTEL – SHANGHAI

An emblematic timepiece that will significantly mark the research on precision made by master watchmaker François-Paul Journe. This unique watch represents one of the wildest challenges ever in the field of the mechanical watch! Utilizing the natural resonance phenomenon, this exceptional mechanism revolutionized the classic standards of watch-making by offering an unequaled precision for a wristwatch.

The first applications of the resonance phenomenon in horological science date back to the 18th century, by French master watchmaker Antide Janvier (†1840). He observed the negative effects of these waves on clocks and then conducted his own research on ways of using this phenomenon in the operating of regulators.

In 2004, F.P.Journe introduced a second version for the Chronomètre à Résonance with the introduction of the first movement ever made in 18K rose gold, a specification that would from then on apply to all the precision chronometers of the brand.

2010 – F.P.Journe offers a new face to the renowned Chronomètre a Résonance, acclaimed by collectors and professionals of the brand worldwide. In an ultimate quest for precision, the dial at 9h now offers a time indication of 24 hours, defining precisely the hours of day and those of night. The dial at 3h in silver guilloche indicates the local time but can also be used for the same time zone.

Hardly a small modification for the subtle 18K rose gold mechanism with its two perfectly synchronised beating mechanical hearts that are revealed through a sapphire crystal case-back: there is now a different gear transmission making the hands turn in 24 hours instead of 12 hours.

The new Chronomètre a Résonance is imbued with a profoundly poetic depth, and remains, 10 years later, the most precise mechanical watch of contemporary watch making.

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10 YEARS FOR THE CHRONOMETRE A RESONANCE

The PanoMaticLunar XL presents the classic lines and look of the PanoMatic XL models in an understated, eloquent form. Set within the galvanized matt gray dial are the characteristic off-center hour/minute and subsidiary seconds dials, finely milled and galvanized in the same dark gray hue. The elegant moon phase display presents a shining silver moon and stars against a fine-grained silver sky.

Applied white gold Arabic numerals indicating hour 12 are framed by white gold hour markers and white gold hour, minute and seconds hands. Enhancing the minimalist design is the visually compelling panorama date display, whose white numerals on a dark gray ground present the date without the need for a double window. The 42mm stainless steel case offers both polished and satin-finished surfaces and is held securely in place by a finely-worked gray alligator strap.

At the heart of the new PanoMaticLunar XL is the Caliber 90-02 automatic movement. Its finely finished elements, the three-quarter plate, swan-neck fine adjustment, Glashütte ribbing and sunburst decoration, characteristic of the fine art of mechanical watch making at Glashütte Original, are clearly visible through a sapphire crystal case back.

PanoMaticLunar XL Technical Data Sheet

References: 90.02.36.12.05 Case Diameter: 42 mm
Height: 12.5 mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Waterproof up to: 3 ATM
Glass: Sapphire crystal, on both sides anti-reflective
Bottom: Sapphire crystal, inside anti-reflective
Movement: Calibre 90-02
Dimensions: Diameter: 32.6 mm, Height: 7 mm
Balance: screw balance with 18 weighted gold screws
Oscillating frequency: 28.800 A/h
Power reserve: 40 hours (+/- 5%)
Balance spring: flat spring
Shock protection: Incabloc
Additional details: Automatic movement, dial grey, hour, minute and small second decentralized, panorama date, moon phase silver/silver, second stop, exquisitely finished movement, polished steel parts, beveled edges, blued screws, Glashütte three-quarter plate with stripe finish, balance bridge hand-engraved, eccentric positioned and skeletonized rotor with Glashütte stripe finish, rotor with 21-ct gold oscillation weight, Duplex swan-neck fine adjustment.

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PanoMaticLunar XL Less is more

The Swiss watchmaking company IWC Schaffhausen celebrated its new Portuguese watch collection on the occasion of the SIHH in Geneva amidst a setting inspired by typical yacht design features. Prominent guests joined invited business partners for the “IWC Dinner” at the Espace Sécheron, where they were enthused by the premiere of the IWC product film starring Hollywood actor Jean Reno.

More then 600 invited guests, including prominent personalities such as Zinédine Zidane, Boris Becker and Luís Figo, gathered for the cocktail reception hosted by IWC at the Espace Sécheron in an nautical ambiance. Also mingling with the guests, alongside best-selling author Paulo Coelho and Hollywood star Jean Reno, were Arsène Wenger, Alain Sutter and Tim Jefferies, who were visibly at their ease in the relaxed atmosphere. Various installations, attended by specialists, echoed the central theme of the evening: the fascination of matters both nautical and navigational. Here a meteorologist gave an introduction to the secrets and perils of forecasting the weather, followed by an expert who explained the significance and function of the sextant. One authority contrasted and compared modern and antique cartography and explored the intricacies of longitude and latitude, which to this day retain their relevance as coordinate systems for accurate ositioning.

Film premiere with Jean Reno
The high point of the evening was the film premiere with Jean Reno: IWC, together with French actor and director Didier Flamand and Swiss production company Condor Films, has produced a short film for the relaunch of its Portuguese watches, which makes the origins and the fascination of navigation the centre of attention. “The Spirit of Navigation” is a mystical work full of poetry, a philosophical commemoration of the scientists, seafarers and astronomers of days long gone by. Hollywood actor Jean Reno moves through time and space as a protagonist in the midst of a magical production, acquaints the viewer with the art of navigation, which originated some 6,000 years ago, and recounts the development of early nautical instruments. Various levels, cinematic special effects and montages establish a link to the newly released Portuguese watches, the icons of IWC, which utilize the precise, sophisticated and elegant navigational instruments as their role model. After an exquisite dinner, it was the turn of Nils Landgren, one of the most successful European jazz musicians, and his band “Funk Unit”, to take the spotlight. This virtuoso trombonist not only swept spiritedly across the stage, but also managed to enthral the audience with his solos alternating subtly between various styles.

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IWC celebrated the relaunch of its Portuguese family with a film starring Jean Reno at the SIHH Watch Fair

To honor the achievements of the thirteen 2009 Nobel Prize Laureates, the Nobel Watch Company will present an exclusively designed watch to U.S. President Barack Obama and the other twelve 2009 honorees.

In November, Nobel Watch announced it was awarding President Obama with his watch as the winner of Nobel Peace Prize. Shortly thereafter, the company received so many requests it was decided to expand their gesture to all thirteen Nobel winners.

Mr. Izzy Genuth, President of the U.S.-based Nobel Watch, remarked, “We were both surprised and touched by this outpouring of support, this is a very proud moment for our small company. Therefore, we have planned to establish an annual presentation to all Nobel Prize winners in the years to come.”

Registered notifications have been forwarded to all thirteen winners across the globe from China, Germany, Canada, Israel and the U.S., advising them of their impending gift. It is Mr. Genuth’s plan to personally award the Nobel Watch to all laureates or appoint an ambassador of the company to perform the ceremony.

The Swiss-made Nobel watch selected by Mr. Genuth has a distinctive, patented “waving crystal” unique in the all the world and will be engraved on the case with the winners’ name, award and date. “I could think of no better watch for those who have achieved the pinnacle of innovative excellence in their professions,” concluded Mr. Genuth.

This announcement marks a milestone for the watch company whose tag line, “I didn’t get the Nobel Prize, but I got a Nobel Watch,” may have to change to “I won the Nobel Prize and I got a Nobel Watch.”

About Nobel Watch Co.
Nobel Watch Co. is a U.S. company that specializes in the manufacture and distribution of Swiss-made steel and ceramic timepieces, retailing from $295 and up. Nobel Watches have the reputation for superb design and performance. The brand uses scratch-resistant sapphire crystals and covers its watches with a two-year buckle-to-buckle service warranty. The Nobel team offers its customers the best possible value, quality and service.

Nobel has created watches with the “Law & Order” logo imprinted on the dial for the cast members of the NBC TV show. Jerry Orbach and Benjamin Bratt were honored by the watch brand for their performance in the series, and thereafter, the entire cast received a watch. Nobel Watch Co. has presented many others with its timepieces, including the New York Yankees coaches, President Bill Clinton (while he was campaigning for President with the slogan “Time for Change”) and Mario Cuomo.

For more information, contact Nobel International Corporation, 2025 Richmond Avenue, Staten Island, New York, NY 10314, 212-785-2040; 1-800-NOBEL-95, email nobel(at)nobelwatch.com or visit www.nobelwatch.com and www.nobelswisswatch.com.

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A Nobel Watch for All Nobel Prize Winners

With the launch of the Glashütte Original Pocket Watch No. 1, the established manufactory harkens back to this epoch and presents a timelessly elegant pocket watch with quarter-hour repetition, which comes in a worldwide limited edition of 25 pieces. This timepiece in rose gold captivates with its high standard of watchmaking, its innovative construction and aesthetic design. A historical watch by Julius Assmann, a famous pioneer of the Glashütte watchmaking industry, served as the model.

One particularly striking feature of this watch is the quarter-hour repetition, which announces the quarter hours and hours acoustically. Using one tone, the repetition first of all indicates the previous hours, and then, by means of a second and higher tone, the quarter hours which have elapsed since the full hour.

To operate the repetition, a slide is located on the case at 6 o’clock. This is moved by hand in the direction of 9 o’clock, thereby tightening the mainspring. When the final point of the winding has been reached the signal mechanism is activated automatically. The progress of the signal mechanism is regulated by a centrifugal governor visible on the wheel train side. The beating of the two hammers is made audible by means of two gongs of different lengths, which are passed around the piece beneath the wheel train.

Two blued steel hands dominate the dial: the slender minute hand and the hour hand in classic “poire” form turn on the central axis, while the second hand is located underneath the polished eye in a sub-dial area. The classic display is enclosed by a minute ring which, along with the black Roman numerals, stands out in clear contrast to the enamelled dial.

The watch is wound via the crown and the time is set using a two-level yoke winding mechanism. This is designed so that at the moment of winding the crown, the balance wheel is halted and the eccentric second hand jumps to “zero”.

The newly designed hand-wound calibre 84-01 from Glashütte Original permits a precise time display. A doubly non-reflecting sapphire crystal protects the calibre and gives an unobstructed view of the exquisitely decorated piece. With three quarter plate, screwed gold chatons, hand-engraved balance cock and swan-neck fine adjustment, it is a high point of the art of Glashütte watchmaking. This elegant timepiece has a power reserve of 36 hours.

Two hinged lids of polished rose gold protect the watch on both sides, with the name of the watch as well as the serial numbering from 1 to 25 artistically engraved by hand on the bottom of the rear lid. Worn on a robust chain of rose gold in a special waistcoat pocket, the new Glashütte Original Pocket Watch No. 1 is set to become a luxury accessory for today’s refined gentleman.

This special model will be available as of April 2010 when it will be officially presented during BASELWORLD 2010 (18 – 25 March).

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The rediscovery of a way of life

The world’s thinnest mechanical movements are developed in Vacheron Constantin’s historical L’Ile premises. Within this impressive legacy, one particular hand-wound movement continues to attract the attention of specialists and collectors. Work on its development began in 1952 in L’Ile (the building on the Rhone River ‘island’ that has housed Vacheron Constantin’s historical premises since 1875) and it was presented for the brand bicentenary celebrations in 1955 under the name Calibre 1003 considered as the most beautiful at this time.

Its 9-lignes or 21.05 mm diameter and 1.64 mm thickness have made it the world’s smallest mechanical manual-winding movement on the market. By way of comparison, this micromechanical masterpiece composed of 120 parts is about the size of a small Swiss 20-centime coin.

This now legendary calibre (of which the excellence was to be confirmed by the subsequent orders placed by other great names in fine watchmaking) was used to equip three round watches that set a new record as the world’s thinnest watches measuring just 4.54 mm thick. These three timepieces have forever imprinted on people’s minds the image of the archetypal Vacheron Constantin watch: round, classic, ultra-thin and extremely reliable.

In 2010, Vacheron Constantin has chosen to pay tribute to this legendary calibre by housing it within a reinterpretation of one of those three watches: the “Historique Ultra-fine 1955”, currently the world’s thinnest hand-wound watch measuring just 4.10 mm thick to date.

The development of Calibre 1120 began in 1966 and production began at the end of 1967. It too attracted the notice of specialists and collectors and was ordered by other great names in fine watchmaking. In 2010, Vacheron Constantin has also chosen to pay tribute to this equally legendary calibre by housing it within a reinterpretation of the vintage ultra-thin watches: the model now called “Historique Ultra-fine 1968”.

These two timepieces will find their natural place within the “Historiques” collection, specifically created to bring back to life the various designs and movements that have shaped the finest hours of Vacheron Constantin.

A collection composed of watches intended for watchmaking collectors, connoisseurs and devotees, for those with a taste for discreet and elegant models, as well as purists. It features models such as the Chronomètre Royal 1907 presented in 2007 to mark the 100th anniversary of the original, and the amazingly daring Historique American 1921 model reinterpreted in 2008 and which was named “Watch of the Year” in October 2009 in Geneva.

TECHNICAL DATA
Reference    Historique Ultra-fine 1955
33155/000R-9588

The World’s thinnest mechanical hand-wound watch
measuring just 4.10 mm thick to date

Movement    1003
Rebuilt in 18-carat gold for its 55th anniversary in 2010
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva

Mechanical, manual-winding

The thinnest in the world at just 1.64 mm thick

Thickness of movement    1.64 mm

Diameter of movement    20.80 mm

Jewels    18 jewels

Frequency    18’000 vibrations/hour

Indications    Hours, minutes

Power reserve    More than 30 hours

Case    18 carat 4N rose gold
Diameter: 36.00 mm. Thickness: 4.1 mm

Water resistance    3 bar, equivalent to 30 meters

Dial    18 carat gold, silvered opaline
Mirror-polished Maltese Cross and indexes

Strap    Black hand-stitched, saddle-finished
Square-shape scales alligator leather.

Clasp    Buckle in 18 carat 4N rose gold, polished half Maltese Cross

TECHNICAL DATA
Reference    Historique Ultra-fine 1968
43043/000R-9592

Movement    1120, Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva

Energy    Mechanical, self-winding

Height of movement    2.45 mm

Diameter of movement    28.00 mm

Jewels    36 jewels

Frequency    19’800 vibrations/hour

Indications    Hours, minutes

Power reserve    More than 40 hours

Case    18 carat 4N rose gold
Square-shaped 35.2 x 35.2 mm, thickness: 5.5 mm

Water resistance    3 bar, equivalent to 30 meters

Dial    Silvered, 18 carat black finished indexes
Mirror-polished Maltese Cross

Strap    Black hand-stitched, saddle-finished
Square-shape scales alligator leather.

Clasp    Buckle in 18 carat 4N rose gold
Polished half Maltese Cross

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The ultra-thin heritage of Vacheron Constantin