Happy birthday to the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony! As it celebrates its 20th year of production, the Richemont brand has enlisted French designer Ora Ïto to craft a new piece fit for the occasion.
Is there no ceiling for their creativity? The 2024 has seen Vacheron Constantin continue to bridge the gap between horology and artistry. From joining forces with Australia’s Reko Rennie to paying tribute to Imperial China, it seems that Vacheron Constantin’s imagination and craftsmanship is second-to-none. However, it seems that the Geneva brand is now tasked with commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Patrimony collection.
Inspired by Vacheron Constantin’s 1950s period of design, the Patrimony represents the brand in its purest form – minimalistic design and carefully engineered mechanics merged together in one excellent timepiece. But, before we get into the new piece, let’s take a quick look at how the Patrimony Collection came about.
In the 1950s, Vacheron Constantin References 6179 and 6187 were emblematic of the brand at the time and primarily characterised by their minimalistic aesthetics and their slenderness. This was in part thanks to the manual-winding 1001 and 1003 movements that were housed inside the 6179 and 6187. The Calibre 1001 was just 2.94 mm thick, featuring five arabesque bridges, whereas the 1003 launched in 1955 to mark the Manufacture’s bicentenary, became the world’s thinnest movement (1.64 mm thick) at the time. And still, today, is regarded as one of the highest-quality manual winding movements produced!
In 2004, Vacheron Constantin went back to this piece and brought out the Patrimony, and ode to the Ref 6197, and a fitting homage to this classic reference. Interestingly, over the last 20 years, Vacheron Constantin has kept the Patrimony true to the DNA of the original, typified by a round case with a slim bezel as well as a refined, domed dial with slender, curved applied hour-markers, curved baton-type hands and ‘pearl’ minutes track.
For the 2024 20th birthday celebration, Vacheron Constantin has turned to yet another master of design to ensure that the Patrimony’s second decade in production is celebrated appropriately. French designer Ora Ïto has happily taken up the challenge, with his design prowess ranging from work with Heineken and Davidoff to even dabbling briefly with horology in his work with Swatch.
He brings with him not only decades of experience but also his signature design philosophy: ‘Simplexity’, which is described as the art of visually simplifying objects of complex functions. With just three hands and a date, the Patrimony may be as simple as simple gets, but remember that it’s still a mechanical watch, which is always more complex than it lets on.
Encased in 40mm of 18k 3N yellow gold, and at 8.55mm thick, the 20th Anniversary Patrimony has been given a fittingly minimalistic makeover by Ora Ïto. The cambered dial has been toned gold, broken up by an infinitude of concentric circles that catch the light. Ora Ïto, when asked about the dial’s design, says the following:
“…this circular movement of light refers to the Baily Pearls, a spectacular phenomenon that accompanies an eclipse of the sun by the moon.”
The tone on tone continues with the slightly curved hands pointing to the yellow gold applied hour markers on the minute track. To create the minute track, Vacheron Constantin has added polished 18K 3N yellow gold pearls as markers, adding to the “Baily’s Pearls” effect Ora ïto has designed.
The date wheel text has been coloured red, adding effectively the only colour contrast to the dial and matching the burgundy alligator leather strap. When asked about the use of yellow gold for this latest Patrimony piece, Sandrine Donguy, Product Marketing & Innovation Director for Vacheron Constantin states:
“Yellow gold naturally holds a special place in the technical, precious and decorative approach to watchmaking art that the Maison has adopted ever since its founding. There have of course been a variety of trends, with yellow gold for example being very popular in the 1960s. In the 1970s, as watchmakers began to introduce steel to a much greater extent, yellow gold maintained a strong presence for Vacheron Constantin.”
Finally, Vacheron Constantin’s Cal. 2450 Q6 remains the beating heart of this 100-piece limited edition run, and is Geneva Seal Certified for good measure. Helping to keep the Patrimony thin, the Cal. 2450 Q6 measures just 3.60 mm thick, and when fully wound, has approximately 40 hours of power reserve and beats at 4Hz. Astonishingly, the movement houses 196 components and is an automatic winding calibre, all fitting into its slim size and pivoting on 27 jewels.
Final Thoughts
I always get a bit excited at the prospect of yet another Vacheron Constantin timepiece. While their releases are fairly constant – which can be hard to keep up with at times – you cannot make the argument that each and every release hasn’t been given the greatest amount of thought and care.
The quality of Vacheron Constantin’s releases are always insane. Teaming up with Ora Ïto only proves that, once again, the level of creativity at Vacheron Constantin put them massively ahead of the curve, cementing them firmly as “One of Not Many.” I’m not sure what they put in the water over at their workshops that makes their timepieces so damn good, but I’d sure love to know!
Reference: 85180/000J-H069
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 40mm case diameter x 8.5mm thickness
- Case Material: Polished 18k 3N yellow gold
- Dial: Gold with concentric styling, gold pearls on minute track and yellow gold curved hands.
- Movement: Automatic Cal. 2450 Q6 with Geneva Seal Certification, beating at 4Hz / 28,800 Vph and pivoting on 27 jewels
- Power Reserve: 40h
- Water Resistance: 30m (3bar)
- Strap: Burgundy alligator leather strap with 18k yellow gold pin buckle
