Focus: Vacheron Constantin

Fiftysix Tourbillon

CASE : 18K 5N polished pink gold, transparent sapphire crystal caseback, water-resistant to 30m

DIAMETER : 41mm

MOVEMENT : mechanical self-winding (Caliber 2160, 80h power reserve); 188 components, 22K gold rotor

FUNCTIONS : hours, minutes, tourbillon DIAL : opaline silvertoned, gold hands, numerals and hour-markers highlighted by a luminescent material

STRAP : brown Mississipiensis alligator leather with calf inner shell and tone-on-tone stitching, square scales, 18K 5N pink gold folding clasp

The Tourbillon beats to the Fiftysix tune

The tourbillon family welcomes a gifted newcomer with a musical flourish : marking the start of the back-to-work period, the birth of the Fiftysix Tourbillon was announced at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios, with which Vacheron Constantin will be cooperating (see page 94). The world’s oldest continuously operating watch manufacturer thereby ensures the longevity of its very reason for being – Fine Watchmaking – as well as confirming its pronounced affinities with music. Inspired by the reference 6073 created in 1956, the Fiftysix collection unveiled its first three models at the SIHH 2018, including a stainless steel self-winding version that represented a first for Vacheron Constantin. Connoisseurs will have noted the shape of the four lugs, each presenting one side of the Maltese Cross, in keeping with the original model. The Maison revisits its classics with an ultra-thin self-winding Manufacture movement, featuring refined manual finishing visible through the sapphire crystal back of the gold case. Its likewise gold peripheral rotor ensures a comfortable 80-hour power reserve. The omnipresent balance between technical and aesthetic elements reflects the serenity of the centuries-old brands still active today, whose work is naturally rewarded by the demanding Hallmark of Geneva.

Brice Lechevalier is editor-in-chief of GMT and Skippers, which he co-founded in 2000 and 2001 respectively. He has also been CEO of WorldTempus since it joined the GMT Publishing stable, of which he is director and joint shareholder. In 2012 he created the Geneva Watch Tour, and he has been an advisor to the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève since 2011. Also closely involved in sailing, he has published the magazine of the Société Nautique de Genève since 2003, and was one of the founders of the SUI Sailing Awards in 2009 and the Concours d’Elégance for motor boats at the Cannes Yachting Festival in 2015.

Review overview
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