Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon – Tribute to Art Deco style

Quick specs Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon – Tribute to Art Deco style
Price: on request
Size: 45 mm
Reference: 9860C/000J-090C – limited to one piece

Vacheron Constantin introduces a number of new and unique Les Cabinotiers like this Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon – Tribute to Art Deco style. Which is part of their Récits de Voyages, in English “Travel Stories”. With the rich history of Vacheron Constantin there are lots of travelling stories to tell, from exploring new markets to designing new time pieces. For now, it means that VC releases a limited series of models that refer to Vacheron Constantin’s ongoing discoveries.

This Armillary tourbillon tells the story about the brand’s expanding business. Like the United States, where the brand opens their first office in 1832, in New York. In the 1920s it is all about art deco in New York, a new style of design that comes back in buildings, furniture, art, fashion and more. This particular style is recognizable for its symmetrical, geometric, streamlined designs and this is what you see on the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon.

The Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon has a power reserve of 58 hours

That is why VC calls this Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon a tribute to Art Deco style. Look at the three engraved bridges that are adorned with motifs that could be found on New York’s skyscrapers in those days. You can see it through the case back. Furthermore, on the front, you can see a sculpted black plate and bridges with the use of bas-relief. And a radiating pattern with contrasting dark iron colors in Art Deco ornamentation style.

The watch is executed in a 45-millimeter yellow gold case, with decoration on the band, and with an open-worked dial. The main time features a bi-retrograde design located on the right part of the watch. It is furnished with Roman numerals for the hour markers and Arabic numerals for the minute markers. It has hour and minute hands made of grade 5 titanium that moves on the semi-circular track. The tourbillon is positioned on the left side near 9 o’clock where you can also find the small seconds.

What is an armillary tourbillon?

Inside is the hand-wound Vacheron Constantin caliber 1990 with a power reserve of 58 hours. It drives the instantaneous bi-retrograde display of the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon. And this in-house movement has a bi-axial tourbillon with spherical balance-spring, which is housed under a sapphire bubble. It is called an armillary tourbillon as it has the shape and looks of an open-worked sphere.

An armillary is a moving sphere with a planetary wheel, a model of objects in the sky presented by a framework of rings. The armillary Vacheron Constantin refers to with their tourbillon is the one that was created by Antide Janvier. He was a watchmaker and astronomer by appointment to King Louis XVI and created this spherical framework somewhere in the late 1700s. Which has nothing to do with Art Deco, or New York, but everything with travel. Although it’s closer to space travel than discovering new worlds. But does that matter when you look at this master piece?