Vacheron Constantin :Everything you want to know about ADV News, Photos & Exclusive stories.

1. IWC Portugeiser Collection 
The Portugeiser collection, one of IWC’s most popular watch lines since 1930, has received significant updates – both in regards to its mechanicals, as well as its styling. The classic Portugeiser Chronograph nominated this year is one of my current favourite watches for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I love the clean design of the latest version of the chrono. With the dial featuring two sub-dials, paired with Arabic numerals, the design is free of any extra addenda and looks just right. I’m also quite partial to the steel version, which is simply gorgeous. And, with the introduction of an in-house movement – the 69355 caliber – the Portugeiser Chronograph is one of the hottest ‘affordable’ watches on the market right now.&nbsp;

<img alt="Louis Monet Memoris Superlight" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Louis-Monet-Memoris-Superlight.jpg" width="1000" />

2. Louis Monet Memoris Superlight 
While Louis Monet was the inventor of the Chronograph in 1816, the brand named in his honour claims to have reinvented the chronograph two centuries later. In the unique Memoris model, the brand has achieved this by disassociating the traditional movement and shifting the chronograph function to the front, while relegating the automatic winding mechanism to the back. This separation, along with the terrific blue and orange contrasting colours, paired with the titanium case in a dark finish give the design of the Memoris terrific visual appeal. And the benefit of this unique mechanism and construction is that every function of the chrono – start, stop and reset can be seen in its operation.&nbsp;

<img alt="Vacheron Constantin Overseas Ultra Thin Skeleton" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Vacheron-Constantin-Overseas-Ultra-Thin-Skeleton.jpg" width="1000" />

3. Vacheron Constantin&nbsp; 
Overseas Ultra-Thin Skeleton 
Overseas Perpetual from Vacheron is a range that I’ve admired for a long while now. This year, the range gets an even bigger attraction, with the Ultra-Thin Skeleton. Now, Vacheron has used skeleton dials in many forms in the past, but the final result of this design just makes the Overseas Perpetual more gorgeous than ever. The applied hour markers on the dial, paired with the floating white discs for the calendar indications, and a gold disc for the moon phase makes the watch a design classic already – and, of course, let’s not forget the skeleton design that lets you admire all its intricate architecture.&nbsp;

<img alt="Greubel Forsey Hand Made" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Greubel-Forsey-Hand-Made.jpg" width="1000" />

4. Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1 
While watchmaking used to be a purely handmade endeavour, with the advances in machinery and technology, modern watchmaking is much less so – with machines contributing to a large percentage of a watch’s creation. The Greubel Forsey Hand Made 1 changes that tradition, and goes back to a time when almost the entire watch was handmade. This means that this Tourbillon creation, with 272 individual components and 36 case parts, took an amazing 6,000 hours of work to develop. That’s over 10 years in man hours! Given the time required to create the Hand Made 1, only two or three pieces of this timepiece will be created each year.&nbsp;

<img alt="Romain Gauthier Insight Carbonium Edition" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Romain-Gauthier-Insight-Carbonium-Edition.jpg" width="1000" />

5. Romain Gauthier INSIGHT CARBONIUM® EDITION 
Featuring a stunningly detailed and skeletised design theme, the interesting part of this Romain Gauthier is the different materials used – the case and dial is made of aerospace-grade Carbonium, while the main plate and bridges are created using ultra-light titanium. However, what amplifies the beauty of this timepiece is the amount of time spent on making sure that every visible surface of the watch is finished to an exemplary level. In fact, just the task of decorating the entire timepiece by hand, or by hand-operated tools – including anglage, hand-frosting, circular graining, straight graining and snailing – takes over 350 hours of work!

Read More:

<a href="https://www.autox.com/horology/breitlings-latest-collection-the-premier-heritage-redefines-the-brands-dress-watch-line-up-111468/">Breitling’s latest collection - the Premier Heritage - redefines the brand’s dress watch line-up</a>

<a href="https://www.autox.com/horology/the-latest-edition-of-watches-and-wonders-produces-another-set-of-path-breaking-timepieces-111467/">The latest edition of Watches and Wonders produces another set of path-breaking timepieces</a>

Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) Awards

The Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) awards are among the most sought after design awards in the world of haute horology. With the contenders for the 2020 awards shortlisted, we pick five of the most striking designs of this year.

IWC Portugieser Collection 
The Portugieser collection, one of IWC’s most popular watch lines, has received some significant updates – both in regards to its mechanics, as well as its styling. For instance, the collection is now moving to an in-house manufacture movement, which is a serious upgrade when it comes to the watchmaking world.&nbsp;

The Portugieser Yatch Club Moon &amp; Tide (Pink Gold with Blue Dial) is a particularly attractive new offering in the range. The Yacht Club range is a sub-brand in the Portugieser line-up, and this latest edition looks absolutely stunning with its clean design and terrific details. Not only does the Pink Gold case work perfectly with the shiny Blue dial, but the red detailing on the sub-dials and the seconds hand add a terrific design element to the whole watch. And while most of us don’t need to keep the knowledge of high and low tides readily available, the unique design, paired with the moon phase display, certainly makes for a strikingly eye-catching piece.&nbsp;

The classic Portugieser Chronograph (Steel with Blue dial) is one of my current favourite watches for a variety of reasons. Firstly, I love the clean design of the latest version of the chrono. With the dial featuring two sub-dials placed vertically, paired with Arabian numerals, the design is free of any extra addenda – such as a date window or a bezel – and, as a result, looks just right. I’m also quite partial to the steel version, which is simply gorgeous. Add to this the introduction of an in-house movement – the caliber 69355 – and, for me at least, it makes the Portugieser Chronograph one of the hottest ‘affordable’ watches on the market right now.

<img alt="Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra Thin" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Vacheron-Constantin-Overseas-Perpetual-Calendar-Ultra-Thin.jpg" width="1000" />

Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin 
Before I tell you about the latest versions of VC’s Overseas range, I have a confession to make, the Overseas Perpetual Ultra-Thin collection is something that I’ve had eyes on for a long while. Of course, it’s completely unaffordable for me, but the elegant design of the watch, the beautiful contrast between the Pink Gold case and the Blue (or even the Silver dial) makes it one of those Holy Grail watches that I would love to own. &nbsp;

Now, confessions aside, let’s get back to business. I’ve written about the Overseas Perpetual in the past too, but at Watches &amp; Wonders, VC launched two new versions of the timepiece that are more than worth a mention. Firstly, the traditional Ultra-Thin now gets a new metal and dial combo – Pink Gold and Blue Lacquer dial – which looks absolutely stunning. And if that combination wasn’t good enough as is, the watch also comes with the option of three straps – Pink Gold bracelet, Leather and Rubber – which you can easily swap yourself to suit your look. And, at just 8.1mm thick, with a 41.5mm dial, this is a perpetual calendar you can flaunt every day.&nbsp;

The other, bigger, attraction to the Overseas Perpetual range is the latest Ultra-Thin Skeleton, which takes the stunning design and detailing of the Overseas Perpetual a step further, with an even more desirable dial design. Now Vacheron has used skeleton dials in many forms in the past, but this execution just makes the Overseas Perpetual look all the more stunning. The applied hour markers on the dial, paired with the floating white discs for the calendar indications, and a gold one for the moon phase, and, of course, the skeleton design letting you look through the architecture just makes the watch a design classic already. I would love to own one, if it weren’t for the small matter of the $115,000 (₹87 Lakh) price tag, which puts it slightly out of my budget…

<img alt="Lange S Hne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Lange-S-hne-Zeitwerk-Minute-Repeater.jpg" width="1000" />

A. Lange &amp; Söhne Zeitwerk Minute Repeater 
The Zetiwerk collection is one of the many designs that make A. Lange &amp; Söhne the brand it is today. With its large dial, dual-digital display, and that absolutely unmistakable design, it’s quite simply a watch that you’ll never forget once you’ve had the good fortune of laying your eyes on one. This Minute Repeater version is the halo model of the Zeitwerk line-up, which makes it even more desirable. For this year, this particular model is offered with a Blue dial, something that has not been offered before. And, given its halo positioning, Lange is only going to produce 30 pieces, each priced at close to half-a-million euros…

<img alt="Herm S Arceau L Heure De La Lune" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Herm-s-Arceau-L-Heure-De-La-Lune.jpg" width="1000" />

Hermès Arceau L’Heure De La Lune 
The Hermès Arceau L’Heure De La Lune debuted a year ago, and I still remember when I first saw pictures of the watch. With its unique dial, where two discs displaying the time and date hover above two discs showing the moon phases in both the northern and southern hemisphere, it was a completely unique design, and one that I found absolutely stunning at first sight. Using an in-house Hermès movement, the watch has now been introduced with five more dial options. Out of these, two are traditional dials, while the other three are made out of Meteorite. Yes, actual Meteorite! But my favourite version here is the Blue Lapis Lazuli dial with the Rose Gold case, which I think looks absolutely other-worldly. And, if you haven’t noticed yet, this year, Blue Paired with Gold seems to be the big design theme in the watchmaking world.

<img alt="Jaeger LeCoultre Master Control Geographic" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Jaeger-LeCoultre-Master-Control-Geographic.jpg" width="1000" />

Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Geographic 
The Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Control Geographic is a further enhancement of the design characteristics of the Master Control line, and it fits nicely on the more complicated end of the spectrum. This new version has an updated dial and, best of all, a new movement. With its signature blue hands and functional crown-operated city indicator, the brand has again housed a bunch of complications into a visually attractive and familiar dial layout. At 40mm, and less than 11mm thick, this is an eminently wearable watch. The ability of this timepiece to track two time zones is a highly desirable feature, and its signature layout makes it a very unique watch.

<img alt="Panerai Luminor Marina" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/08/Panerai-Luminor-Marina.jpg" width="1000" />

Panerai Luminor Marina ‘70 Years of Luminor’ Collection 
Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the patent granted for the ‘Luminor’ – for a new luminous material that could be used on watch dials – Panerai has released a trio of new models to celebrate this landmark feat. With all of them measuring 44mm, these new pieces have the familiar look of the Luminar Marina family. The three versions are offered in different materials – Titanium, Carbotech and Fibratech – out of which I think it is the PAM 1119 Fibratech that looks the best, with its lightweight, yet super tough, material.

Read More:

<a href="https://www.autox.com/horology/auction-of-the-watches-owned-by-steve-mcqueen-paul-newman-and-others-111475/">Auction of the watches owned by Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and others</a>

<a href="https://www.autox.com/horology/a-couple-of-beautifully-elegant-iwcs-111477/">A couple of beautifully elegant IWCs</a>

The Swiss watch industry during the Covid pandemic

The Swiss watch industry might have taken a battering during the Covid pandemic, and the resultant global lockdown, but these watchmakers bravely continue producing some amazing timepieces. We take a look at some of the best watches showcased at the recently held Watches & Wonders (digital) expo.

2019 begins with some absolutely stunning launches at SIHH 2019, one of the biggest events in the world of watchmaking. We bring you the first of our three-part series on outstanding watches introduced at this year’s event. So, let’s look at some of the technological marvels of the year so far.

JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER GRANDE TRADITION GYROTOURBILLON WESTMINSTER PERPETUEL

<img alt="Jaeger Lecoul Tre" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/09/Jaeger-Lecoul-Tre.jpg" width="1000" />

Well, that name certainly is a mouthful! But yet another piece of haute horologie by this highly vaunted brand, the Westminster features lots of complications. Firstly, this is not your regular ‘minute repeater,’ rather, as the name reflects, the minute repeater in this piece plays the Westminster carillon – the melody made famous by the Big Ben in London. But that’s not all, the Westminster also features the multi-axis Gyroturbillon the brand is famous for – a mechanism that in itself is fabulous in its complexity. And, to top things off, it features a perpetual calendar complication. One gorgeous design, three stunning complications and a brand name to be reckoned with, what’s not to love about this timepiece.

VACHERON CONSTANTIN TRADITIONNELLE TWIN BEAT PERPETUAL CALENDAR

<img alt="Vacheron Constantin" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/09/Vacheron-Constantin.jpg" width="1000" />

The Traditonnelle Twin Beat from Vacheron Constantin solves one of the biggest problems that Perpetual Calendars – the most useful of all complications, according to the watchmaker, and I agree – face in the real world. If your Perpetual Calendar runs out of energy, resetting it to the correct time and date can be quite a ‘complicated’ process, so much so that it might even need to go for a service to be reset by the watchmaker. Now, as a solution to this rather frustrating problem, Vacheron Constantin has come up with a watch, for the first time in the world, with a standby mode that has a power reserve of 65 days. The watch features two oscillators running at different frequencies – 5Hz and 1.2Hz. This means that when you’re wearing the watch regularly, it runs on 5Hz, but when you know that the watch will not be in use for a few days, or maybe more, you can choose the 1.2Hz mode. So, yes, the Traditionnelle can be stored for over 2 months and will still run impeccably when you switch it back to the normal, 5Hz, mode. A true ground-breaking innovation in the world of watchmaking! And, yes – with its delightfully quirky looks and insane attention to detail – it’s a gorgeous watch.

HERMES ARCEAU L’HEURE DE LA LUNE

<img alt="Hermes" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/09/Hermes.jpg" width="1000" />

I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I were to admit that this is one of the most gorgeous and coolest watches that I’ve ever laid eyes on. The Arceau L’Heure De La Lune features two static mother of pearl moons, with two dials floating above them that rotate around the dial every 59 days – covering and uncovering the moons to show the exact moon phase in both the northern and southern hemisphere simultaneously. Additionally, one of the two dials shows the time, while the other shows the date. Needless to say, to achieve this complication, Hermès had to manufacture an additional module for which it has a patent pending. But, set against a starry background, those gorgeous moons and the lacquer dials make for a stunning overall design – making the Arceau L’Heure De La Lune already one of my favourite timepieces of the year.

A. LANGE &amp; SOHNE RICHARD LANGE JUMPING SECONDS

<img alt="A Lange Sohne" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/09/A-Lange-Sohne.jpg" width="1000" />

Lange showed off a redesigned version of the Richard Lange Jumping Seconds, which has been in this German watchmaker’s range since 2016. The striking new dial of this Richard Lange Jumping Seconds sets it apart. The main aim of this watch is precision time keeping, and to ensure that it fulfils its quest perfectly it’s powered by a constant force escapement for the jumping seconds complication known as a remontoire d’égalité. But the highlight of this new timepiece is clearly the dial finished in black, red and white. The largest register features the jumping seconds function of course, while the hour and minutes registers are offset from the centre and smaller. Needless to say, from a brand deeply rooted in tradition, the Jumping Seconds, with this aggressive colour scheme, is quite a looker.

F. P. JOURNE TOURBILLON SOUVERAIN VERTICAL

<img alt="F P Journe" height="510" src="/uploads/2022/09/F-P-Journe.jpg" width="1000" />

A testament to the design and technical proficiency that the brand is capable of, the clue to the speciality of this new timepiece lies in the name ‘Tourbillon Souverain Vertical.’ F.P. Journe has, in this piece, changed the traditional horizontal positioning of the Tourbillon and made it vertical – so that the Tourbillon is in the vertical plane whether when your arm is flat on a desk or resting on your side. This increases the accuracy of the watch and allows the Tourbillon to function optimally. And, of course, the design of watch – with an impressive dial and a polished ring around the Tourbillon – is an additional highlight.

Read More:

<a href="https://www.autox.com/horology/tag-heuers-collection-for-petrolheads-111511/">Tag Heuer's Collection for Petrolheads</a>

<a href="https://www.autox.com/horology/singer-reimagines-wrist-watch-with-track1-111519/">Singer reimagines wrist watch with Track1</a>

2019 begins with some absolutely stunning watch launches at SIHH 2019

2019 begins with some absolutely stunning launches at SIHH 2019, one of the biggest events in the world of watchmaking. We bring you the first of our three-part series on outstanding watches introduced at this year’s event.

Vacheron Constantin

Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) Awards

The Swiss watch industry during the Covid pandemic

2019 begins with some absolutely stunning watch launches at SIHH 2019

Recent Posts