Nocturnal Time: The Sydney Model Joins The Metiers d'Art Villes Lumiere Collection by Vacheron Constantin

The Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières - Sydney Model

The Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières series is an invitation to go on a nocturnal adventure over creatively thriving cities. On dials coated with an enamelled foundation in rich hues, an assortment of powders produces a small scene of these huge metropolis areas as seen from above. Classic grand feu champlevé enamelling is combined with hand-applied precious powder for the first time in the history of Haute Horlogerie.

The remarkable realism of these clocks offers up whole new artistic and creative frontiers, where old abilities are continually nourished by new inspirations.

The Maison has envisioned a glittering meeting between two outstanding arts: grand feu champlevé enamelling, a technique handed down for over three centuries by the craftsmen of Vacheron Constantin, and hand-applied precious powder, a technique perfected by Japanese guest artist Yoko Imai.

This one-of-a-kind technology has been used to the dial of a watch in which gold, pearl, platinum, and diamond powder are painstakingly distilled one by one, imbuing the enamel with remarkable brilliance. The dazzling spots of light, positioned with the utmost accuracy, depict these expansive and grand metropolitan landscapes.

These realistic highways, rivers, and iconic monuments are illuminated by dazzling light effects. The mechanical Manufacture movement of the Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières timepieces is adorned with Haute Horlogerie finishing methods. Following the first models devoted to the midnight charm of Geneva, Paris, New York, Beijing, and Tokyo, this night-flight through time continues with Sydney.

A talent for creative skills that endures

The Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières line continues the Vacheron Constantin legacy of creative craftsmanship. In 1755, the very first known watch created by the Maison's creator, Jean-Marc Vacheron, had intricately carved arabesque patterns. Since then, for over three centuries, gemsetters, enamellers, guillocheurs, and engravers have been nurturing and handing down these incredibly uncommon types of talent. Now, as in the past, and in tandem with subsequent innovations, their virtuosity has given birth to watchmaking marvels.

These decorative methods have developed the tendency of repeating one another, merging their techniques with art and inventiveness on watch dials and often adopting the spirit of lesser-known and unexpected arts like as illumination, Japanese lacquer, glyptics, and gemstone cloisonné effects. In accordance with this history, the Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières collection allows Vacheron Constantin to explore new, inventive, and modern expressive terrain for artistic crafts.

Aerial perspective

Vacheron Constantin has painted the nighttime panoramas of notable towns recognised for their aesthetic impact. Individually placing precious powder particles requires considerable skill, and doing so on the surface of a watch necessitates determining an appropriate height for each city in order to express the emotional effect of its metropolitan contours in a genuine manner. Yoko Imai's small tableaus closely depict the actual "light cartography" of cities, with its many types of light, such as dynamic neighbourhoods and even traffic congestion! This highly detailed work on each city's layout required many weeks of study and experimentation with different foundation materials.

Grand feu enamelling

The Vacheron Constantin Master Enameller explored the possibilities of champlevé for each dial in order to accentuate the contours of the towns, parks, and stretches of water. After manually hollowing out the gold dial according to the selected outlines, he added successive layers of transparent coloured enamels. The dial is burned at an exceptionally high temperature of 850°C between each coating. The powdered glass combined with coloured oxides is heated, altered, and finally vitrified – with the possibility that the dial would break or faults will appear – during these essential and delicate steps, which are directed by adroit intuition and managed by a rigorous discipline gained over time. With the Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières series, the Master Enameller has taken on the added difficulty of mixing softly transparent and dark hues to replicate the unique nighttime ambiance.

Luminous rain

Vacheron Constantin asked the Japanese artist Yoko Imai to collaborate with the craftsman of enamelling. Educated by the greatest Japanese masters, she has established her own creative technique: precious powder-inspired calligraphy on canvas. For Vacheron Constantin, she has modified this technique to create a captivating chiaroscuro effect on the enamel of a watch face. To assure an accurate replication of the city lights, her nimble hands are directed by total skill, steadfast focus, and a unique sensibility.

The application of precious powders inherits a key idea from the art of calligraphy: the pursuit of equilibrium and purity. Using a small stylus and a technology that is tightly guarded, powder particles are individually adhered using a technique that remains a closely guarded secret. There is no space for anything random or extraneous, since the tableau's luminescent enchantment is contingent on this meticulous approach: each element is precisely positioned in its proper location, and there is no room for anything arbitrary or superfluous.

Each powder speck is thus selected based on its size and shimmer, and then worked on from many angles and with different forms of light in order to achieve more luminosity and realism. First, little gold particles provide the dazzling background. The diamond and platinum powders are then applied sequentially to produce bright and dark effects, which are accented with pearl spangles. Their variable luminosity enables the direction and size of the luminous regions to be adjusted in order to provide life and warmth to the dial. On the enamel base, between the high gold ridges, there are tens of thousands of sparkling spangles. The precious powder particles, which vary in hue and degree of brightness, interact with each other and with the dark hues of the grand feu enamelled backdrop. The composition's luminosity is more intense in the dial's centre and progressively diminishes towards the dial's outside borders.

Each dial is really one-of-a-kind, since it has been handcrafted for more than three months and is the result of a fusion of creative crafts.

The cities of Geneva, Paris, New York, Beijing, Tokyo, and Sydney are illuminated at night

The flyover starts in Geneva, famed for having fostered the art of miniature painting on enamel and serving as the birthplace of technical and valuable timepieces. Vacheron Constantin was founded in the St-Gervais neighbourhood, where the cabinotiers had their workshops, in the centre of the city.

Next comes Paris, the "City of Light" par excellence, a favourite among artists, philosophers, and authors, and renowned for its incomparable elegance. The gold-engraved aerial image of the capital follows the history of prominent monuments such as the Place de l'Étoile and the Champs-Elysées, the River, and the Eiffel Tower, famous for its light displays.

The voyage continues with New York City, the city that never sleeps, a symbol of dreams and vivacity where everything is possible. Reproducing it strains the process of adding precious powders to its extreme boundaries, depicting it from the greatest possible vantage point. Tens of thousands of precious dots scattered throughout the big feu enamel illuminate the dazzling contours of Manhattan Island, Central Park, the Hudson River, and Brooklyn.

Eventually, Beijing's dazzling allure comes on the horizon. As seen from above, the dazzling radiance of the Imperial City hints at its many splendours that attest to its illustrious history. The less brilliantly illuminated and more mysterious Forbidden City is surrounded by the more vivid halos of some monuments, landmarks, and especially lively streets. The Meridian Gate, the Gate of Heavenly Peace, and Tian'anmen Square may be discerned on this enamel and precious powders-crafted map.

The lights of Tokyo illuminate the dial base, which has a darker colour for the metropolis and a blue hue for Tokyo Bay, with valuable dazzling accents. The Ginza luxury retail area, the landmark Tokyo Tower, the Kasumiga-seki and Nagatcho political hub, the Rainbow Bridge, and the ultra-trendy Roppongi neighbourhood are adorned with gold accents. This bright nighttime map conveys the harmonising vitality that characterises the Japanese city. Water and soil, technology and history: startling opposites combine to produce an alchemist's concoction that is perfectly balanced.

Eventually, Sydney's lights illuminate the blue-tinged night. Grand feu champlevé enamel depicts the deep blue waves of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by emerald-green parks and gardens. Its brightness highlights the city's contours, highlighting the position of iconic monuments such as the Opera House, Walsh Bay, and Harbour Bridge. The gold dust boats skimming over enamelled water, the sidewalks, and the activity hubs are decked with valuable spangles, a testament to the nightlife of the Australian metropolitan area.

Horological excellence

The watches of the Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières series have the Hallmark of Geneva, a symbol of accuracy and dependability provided by a neutral and impartial organisation. Vacheron Constantin's mechanical self-winding Caliber 2460 SC powers the hour, minute, and second displays. Visible through the glass caseback, the 22-carat gold oscillating weight has a motif inspired by the Maltese cross, the distinctive insignia of Vacheron Constantin. Bevelling, circular-graining, and polishing exemplify the greatest watchmaking techniques that have been applied to the finishes of all visible and concealed components. The movement is protected by a white gold casing of exceptional quality.

The Métiers d'Art Villes Lumières series is a horological and artistic production in accordance with Vacheron Constantin's most enduring traditions. Its arresting dials, like real tiny tableaus, give a fresh perspective of intriguing places and of watchmaking itself, which is ceaselessly inspired and continually recreated.

TECHNICAL DATA - Métiers d’Art Villes Lumières

Reference

86222/000G-B101 – Geneva

86222/000G-B104 – Paris

86222/000G-B105 – New York

86222/000G-B107 – Beijing

86222/000G-B106 – Tokyo

86222/000G-B916 - Sydney

Calibre

2460 S

Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin

Mechanical, self-winding

26.2 mm (11¼’’’) diameter, 3.6 mm thick

Approximately 40 hours of power reserve

4 Hz (28,800 vibrations per hour)

182 components

27 jewels             

Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece

Indications

Hours, minutes, and center seconds

Case

18K white gold40 mm diameter, 8.9 mm thick

Transparent sapphire crystal caseback

Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 meters)

Dial

18K gold dial with grand feu champlevé & translucent enamel and powder of precious stones (diamonds, pearl) & precious metal (gold, platinum) filled by hand

Strap

Black Mississippiensis alligator leather with

alligator inner shell, large square scales 

Buckle

18K white gold buckle

The name of the city is engraved on the back of the timepiece.

Available in Vacheron Constantin Boutiques only.