Cover Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in white gold with a burgundy lacquer dial and white gold bracelet
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in white gold with a burgundy lacquer dial and white gold bracelet
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Marking 270 years of watchmaking, Vacheron Constantin unveils creations that favour continuity over novelty, each reinterpreting heritage with quiet authority. From the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin to the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Celestial, these latest releases showcase craftsmanship, understated innovation, and enduring style
Anniversaries often invite retrospection, but for Vacheron Constantin, which is celebrating 270 years of watchmaking this year, the moment feels less like looking back than continuing a conversation already centuries in the making. Since 1755, the Swiss luxury watch manufacture has held the rare distinction of being in unbroken operation, its workshop lights never dimmed by war, crisis or fashion’s fickleness. That continuity is not just corporate luck; it is proof that restraint, refinement and relevance can endure far longer than novelty for novelty’s sake.
This year’s releases from the brand reflect that philosophy, with the 2025 novelties being not a torrent of experiments but a handful of precise, deliberate statements. Standing at the fore among them: the two new iterations of the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin, a cosmopolitan companion that has been reimagined in fresh colours; the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface in platinum, which pares two house signatures down to their essentials; and the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Celestial, a series that translates the night sky into guilloché and gems. Different in purpose yet united by intent, these watches matter less for novelty than for the enduring values they embody.
In case you missed it: 270 years of time, craft and vision: Vacheron Constantin’s enduring quest
Above Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in white gold with a burgundy lacquer dial and white gold bracelet
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in white gold with a burgundy lacquer dial and white gold bracelet
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Everyday Companion
The Overseas line has always been Vacheron Constantin’s gesture to a global lifestyle—its watches practical enough to travel and elegant enough to wear anywhere. Over the years, it has expanded to include various different models, from simple time‑and‑date watches to chronographs and tourbillons. The Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin joined the family in 2016 as a showcase of technical prowess, its calibre just 4.05mm thick within a case standing at scarcely more than 8mm tall. That substance remains intact with the 2025 iterations, with the updates confined to the dial—changes that are surface‑level, but far from superficial.
Two fresh interpretations subtly refine the model’s presence. One pairs pink gold with a sunburst satin‑finished dial in the same metal, even extending the tone‑on‑tone aesthetic to the moon‑phase disc, with only a blue minutes track offering contrast. The other sets a cool white gold case against a rich burgundy lacquer dial with a matching moon‑phase disc, its depth balanced by crisp white numerals and indexes.
Above Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in white gold with a burgundy lacquer dial and white gold bracelet
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in white gold with a burgundy lacquer dial and white gold bracelet
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Both references feature a 41.5mm case and come with three strap options: a bracelet in a matching metal and two textured rubber ones—in white and dark blue for the pink gold version; and in burgundy and white for the white gold one, to either echo the dial or soften the palette. Switching between them takes seconds thanks to Vacheron Constantin’s interchangeable strap system, underscoring the watches’ versatility: refined on gold, relaxed on rubber.
The design remains instantly recognisable with its Maltese cross‑inspired bezel, a brand emblem since 1880. Born in the spirit of exploration, the Overseas has always expressed the brand’s openness to the world, a philosophy in place since 1755. Inside, the Calibre 1120 QP/1 handles the intricacies of civil time with ease, displaying the days, dates, months, leap years and moon phases in perfect balance, requiring no corrections until 2100. Through the transparent sapphire back, the 22K gold rotor—engraved with a compass rose—spins as a quiet nod to travel.
Above Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in pink gold with a matching dial and bracelet
Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra‑Thin in pink gold with a matching dial and bracelet
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Look Within
Another standout is the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface Ref. 6010T/000P‑H055, which looks inward to the Vacheron Constantin archives. Retrograde hands and open‑worked dials are two of the brand’s signatures, and here, they are brought together in a platinum timepiece produced in a limited run of 370 pieces.
The open‑face approach is not skeletonisation. It does not strip the movement bare but reveals just enough: the arc of the retrograde date across the upper dial, the tourbillon at six o’clock, the blued hand that snaps back to the start of the date arc at month’s end. Beneath, the Calibre 2162 R31/270 ticks at a slow 18,000 vibrations per hour, with a peripheral rotor allowing an unbroken view of its architecture. When it comes to finishing, the bridges are decorated with a rare “côte unique” motif revived from early‑20th‑century pieces, while the dial features a guilloché pattern inspired by the Maltese cross emblem.
Together, these elements make the watch a stunning exercise in architecture: open spaces, visible structures, light moving across layers of metal. This is watchmaking in its most transparent form—not clamouring for novelty, but revealing familiar signatures with a fresh perspective.
Above The clear sapphire crystal caseback of the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface shows off the “côte unique” finish on the bridges of the Calibre 2162 R31/270
The clear sapphire crystal caseback of the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface shows off the “côte unique” finish on the bridges of the Calibre 2162 R31/270
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When Stars Align
In its 270 years, Vacheron Constantin has also come to be well known for its métiers d’art timepieces. This year’s Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Celestial is a poetic series of 12 watches dedicated to the zodiac constellations. Each features a hand‑guilloché figure representing a zodiac sign—such as a lion for Leo and scales for Libra—set against a blue dial, with the associated constellation picked out in diamonds. Around the bezel, baguette‑cut sapphires form a continuous halo, channel‑set such that the stones appear to float.
Achieving such artistry is meticulous work. Just one guilloché figure requires some 16 hours of engraving, each line angled differently to create depth. Setting the 96 sapphires around the case takes approximately another 27 hours. The result is a dial that reads less like an ordinary watch face than a mesmerising map of the heavens.
Above The Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface in platinum (pictured left) and the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Celestial – Leo
The Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface in platinum (pictured left) and the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Celestial – Leo
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Yet, beneath the design lies one of Vacheron Constantin’s most modern movements: the ultra‑thin Calibre 2160. At just 5.65mm thick, it bears a tourbillon and is endowed with an 80‑hour power reserve, wound by a peripheral rotor that leaves the finishing—Côtes de Genève, perlage, hand‑done bevelling—entirely on view. It is a reminder that métiers d’art and horological substance are not separate pursuits but parallel ones.
While these are certainly standout novelties from Vacheron Constantin, none of them are looking to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they refine, reinterpret and reframe ideas that have lived within the esteemed manufacture for generations—be it the global practicality of the Overseas, the historic signatures of the Traditionnelle, or the artistic traditions of Métiers d’Art.
At 270 years old, Vacheron Constantin seems less concerned with novelty than with relevance: keeping alive what matters, showing it in new light and letting details carry disproportionate weight. It is the kind of restraint that only the oldest perpetually operating watchmaker can afford—and the kind of continuity that gives every small change meaning.
Credits
Photography: Ching
Art Direction: Jeremy Ang
Images: Vacheron Constantin
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Annabel Tan is the Editor of Watches and Jewellery at Tatler Singapore, where she covers all things luxury timepieces and fine jewellery across both print and digital platforms. She is also the Editor of Tatler GMT Singapore, a role that deepens her fascination with the ever-evolving world of watchmaking. Outside of work, she’s usually on the hunt for her next favourite watch that she can’t afford, planning her next beach getaway, or catching up on the latest Formula 1 race.
