Over the past couple of years Vacheron Constantin has been making a big song and dance about the Overseas, and while there’s certainly a lot to love there, it feels like the Traditionnelle, the classic heart of the world’s oldest (continually operating) watchmaker has been a little side-lined. Well, no more as now the collection’s signature complication is getting an aesthetic makeover in a new Traditionnelle Complete Calendar.
The Complete Calendar is generally regarded as the poor man’s perpetual. It has all the various components – day, date, month – but needs to be adjusted every month. It’s still a solid piece of mechanical work of course, just not quite up there with annual.
Vacheron Constantin’s take on it however has always been a bit more interesting. Rather than having all the indications in apertures with wheels underneath, the Traditionnelle mixes things up. Both Day and month are pushed to the rim of the dial, while the date is marked off using a crescent moon-shaped hand around the edge. The result is a much cleaner, streamlined look when combined with the 6 o’clock moon phase.
This particular version isn’t mechanically new – Vacheron’s Complete Calendar has been around for a while now – but it is a new look, switching the previous pink gold case with white and giving it a slate grey dial. It’s a bit more modern, a bit less ostentatious but otherwise much the same watch.
That also means the same Calibre 2460 QCL/1 automatic movement, a more advanced version of Vacheron’s first in-house automatic number, the Calibre 2450. It has a 40-hour power reserve which with the number of indications isn’t too bad.
All in all, this new Traditionnelle Complete Calendar’s not breaking the mould; it does hint however that Vacheron hasn’t been neglecting their classic collection. Hints about next year’s Watches and Wonders? Let’s hope.
Price & Specs:
Model: Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Complete Calendar
Reference: 4010T/000G-B740
Case/Dial: 41mm diameter x 10.7mm height, 18k white gold case, velvet finished slate grey dial
Water resistance: 30m (3 bar)
Movement: Calibre 2460 QCL/1, automatic, 27 jewels, 308 parts
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 40h
Functions: Hours, minutes, central seconds, day of the week, date, month, moon phase, age of the moon
Strap: Black Mississippiensis alligator leather with calf inner shell
Price/availability: £35,100, exclusively available at Vacheron Constantin’s’ E-boutique.
More details at Vacheron Constantin.
