Backstory
BY MICHAEL THOMPSON
REAR VIEWS OF NOTE
Vacheron Constantin
TRADITIONNELLE TOURBILLON
LAUNCHED IN BOTH ROSE GOLD AND PLATINUM this year at SIHH , the Traditionnelle Tourbillon is Vacheron Constantin ’ s first automatic tourbillon timepiece . I suppose with a superb manual-wind tourbillon caliber like the Caliber 2260 SQ with a two-week power reserve already in the collection , Vacheron Constantin ’ s incentive to reinvent the ( gear ) wheel was not strong . But with this launch , four years after that earlier debut , Vacheron Constantin again proves its horological mettle .
You can see the entire back of the Caliber 2160 inside this Traditionnelle Tourbillon because Vacheron Constantin has joined the small number of watch companies that have developed automatic movements wound with peripheral oscillating weights . The technical challenge presented decades ago in various attempts at manufacturing these rotors has apparently been overcome by brands such as Breguet , Audemars Piguet , Cartier , DeWitt and Carl F . Bucherer . It ’ s good to see that Vacheron Constantin has joined their ranks .
What this 22-karat gold peripheral rotor exposes is a beautifully designed and decorated ultra-slim 188-part movement endowed with an approximately 80-hour power reserve . The movement ’ s leisurely 2.5 Hz frequency ( 18,000 bph ) allows one to enjoy the to-andfro of the tourbillon .
And because no standard rotor blocks our view of the caliber ’ s highly decorated plates and bridges , we can focus on the exceptional level of traditional finishing visible through the sapphire crystal caseback . Note the elegant open-worked tourbillon carriage shaped like a Maltese cross , the shape that serves as an emblem for Vacheron Constantin . The bar of the tourbillon carriage is entirely hand-beveled ; an operation the brand says takes almost twelve hours for this component alone .
All this beauty allows the platinum Traditionnelle Tourbillon to simply display the hours and minutes with central hands , while the small seconds appear at 6 o ’ clock ( on the tourbillon ) framed by a sandblasted dial bearing the brand ’ s “ Pt950 ” inscription between 4 and 5 o ’ clock . Vacheron Constantin is making 25 Traditionnelle Tourbillons with platinum cases and 100 with pink gold cases .
THE ESSENTIALS
CASE 41mm x 10.4mm platinum ( also in pink gold )
MOVEMENT Caliber 2160 , self-winding with peripheral rotor , 31 mm ( 13½ ’’’) diameter , 5.65 mm thick , 80 hours of power reserve , 2.5 Hz ( 18,000 vibrations / hour ), 188 components , 30 jewels
PRICE $ 149,000 ( platinum ) and $ 118,000 ( rose gold )
130 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SPRING 2018 iWMAGAZINE . COM