Vacheron Constantin & the history of the future
The answer is Vacheron Constantin.
And the question is: Which watch brand has collaborated with the Louvre? You know, the crib that safeguards the Mona Lisa, the Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. That Louvre. The same watch brand has a milestone of a collection dubbed as “Métiers d’Art” that features four great civilizations: Egypt (with the Grand Sphinx De Tanis watch), Persia (Lion De Darius), Greece (Victoire De Samothrace), and Rome (Buste D’Auguste).
Vacheron Constantin also boasts a Marc Chagall Paris Opera House timepiece, which is part of the maison’s private heritage collection. The word “sublime” is not thrown around sans résistance when describing a mechanical object that tells time, but let’s make an exception for that Chagall.
“We are entering a new era for Vacheron Constantin,” explains Gaël Porte, the brand’s managing director for Southeast Asia and Australia. “We want to touch base with clients, to enhance the client experience. Having our own boutique in Metro Manila is a step into that direction.”
It was not easy to find the right location, he admits. The watch landscape in our metro is very competitive. “Finally, we were able to find this beautiful location (in Greenbelt).”
Vacheron Constantin, created in 1755, is the oldest watchmaking maison that has never ceased production — despite wars, crises, or what-have-you. Porte says the brand is a humble tribute to the historic significance of its old manufacture as well as the amazing craftsmanship of its watchmakers.
“We are mastering so many different components in our manufacture in Geneva. We have two production sites — one in Vallée de Joux and the other one closer to Geneva called Plan-les-Ouates. The brand DNA is focused on the legacy of the maison itself.”
This idea of history and legacy have found their quintessence in the iconic Historiques 222, which is — according to Vacheron Constantin CEO Louis Ferla — “an illustration of (the brand’s) ability to perpetuate the avant-garde spirit of the maison.” For Christian Selmoni, the 222 watch is geared toward “something more authentic, more personal, or even more ‘disordered’ as well as endowed with character and organic shapes.” Designer Jorg Hysek reveals that his design was an attempt to balance elegance and sportiness, and how “these two elements fit in with Vacheron Constantin’s classic and refined universe.”
The Historiques collection, which is being relaunched, is — according to Porte — a very “important pillar, a point of distinction, a tribute to our maison’s heritage.”
Porte also talks about Vacheron Constantin’s classic lines designed for women. He insists that men are not the only ones obsessed with technical sophistication and aesthetic refinement when it comes to timepieces.
The Traditionnelle perpetual calendar ultra-thin “corresponds to women’s desire for mechanical complication timepieces.” While the Patrimony self-winding watch “symbolizes minimalist art expressed through horological refinement.”
Maybe one way of looking at the Vacheron Constantin boutique in Greenbelt is as “a site for time capsules”: with pieces that encapsulate a historic legacy, while deploying an aesthetic and a technology that foreshadow the future.
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Vacheron Constantin, distributed in the Philippines by the Lucerne Group, is at Space 1-069 Greenbelt 5, Phase 2 Ayala Center, Makati City.
