It feels like the industry is in the process of an open-dialed moment.
From the success of the A Lange & Söhne Lumen line to the introduction of Patek’s new 5316/50P with sky-blue crystal watch dial, it’s looking like everyone is jumping aboard something that could be considered a newly repopularized trend.
For Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface, however , doing great open-dialed and open-worked movements just seems to be the status quo. Amidst all the craziness of Watches & Wonders, the release of their new Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface (what a mouthful) didn’t get the attention it deserved. It’s time to fix that.
A long time before starting a full-time career in the watch world, there was already no doubt in my mind that one of Vacheron Constantin’s greatest strengths has been making great technical watches informed by, but not wedded to, the brand’s history. For all the success of last year’s story of the 222 and the regarding the Overseas (like any luxury stainless-steel watch), I think people have lost sight associated with what Vacheron excels at.
Anyone who has been sure (rather than just hopeful) that Vacheron would release another 222 in steel at this Watches & Wonders doesn’t obtain the incredibly terrible miss that would have been from a marketing viewpoint. Sure, they’d immediately be sold out, but the yellow gold 222 has a waitlist that feels like it probably could pass on to my grandkids, and production numbers at “holy trinity” brands are already incredibly limited. So what would be the point? Instead, Vacheron went back to basics - or at least its basics -- by doing something complicated in the own way.
The new Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface (TTRDO for short) picks up not only in the actual realm of that complication’s achievement but in my opinion in another space where the brand excels: possibility of easy-reading. The Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface is my personal favorite openworked view when it comes to quick legibility and the new TTRDO follows inside footsteps, even if it’s not fully skeletonized. While Would normally start with the technicality first, it seems silly in order to skip over the open dial through which you can view everything else. Richard Mille Watches Replica
The openworked blue dial features a railroad track around the entirety of the switch and a guilloché segment from 8: 36 to 3: 24 on the call, into that the retrograde date display is set. The gold baton-style hour-markers sit on that railroad monitor and cruise over any kind of open parts of the face which, moreover railroad the path, fluted caseback, slim bezel, facetted Dauphine hands the actual traditional, well, Traditionnelle. The actual retrograde day is displayed with a hand painted of 18k blackened precious metal and a white arrow tip. But due to the open working on the watch dial, you can see the particular hand-brushed slate grey surface treatment on the upper portion of the dial plate. The most thoughtful touch is the hand-guilloché lower section of the platine that matches what little dial you see. It’s a harmony that tricks your eye into thinking there’s a full dial when there’s not really. The finishing flashes through grey to be able to brown depending on the light which keeps the view interesting, not that it needs help.
Looking closer and you get to the heart from the watch: typically the in-house, 242-component, Hallmark regarding Geneva-stamped 2162 R31 movement with peripheral rotor with regard to automatic gathering. The motion is 6. 25mm as well as features a pair of Vacheron’s signature complications, the retrograde time and tourbillon with running seconds marked on the tourbillon cage. While it’s certainly not fully openworked-back to front, there’s plenty to look at on the switch side and on the rear, where the NAC state grey finish gets Geneva stripes and a decent bit of anglage within the plates. The particular movement runs at a frequency of 18, 000vph, with an impressive 72-hour power reserve. At 41mm through only 11. 07mm thick, the walked round case and lugs of the 18 carat pink rare metal case wears incredibly nicely. So well I apparently left the watch comfortably on my arm and moved on to shooting other Vacheron watches in one of our many quick appointments at Timepieces & Miracles. It’s a mistake that I will not make again, though We definitely have no any qualms about keeping it for a longer time than intended especially when, in whatever the price eventually comes out to be, I’m confident I actually definitely wil be able to pick one up any time soon.