VACHERON CONSTANTIN – Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar - Planetaria Unique Piece 2021
- A single-piece edition Les Cabinotiers timepiece with a retrograde jumping perpetual calendar regulated by a double-axis tourbillon and complemented by a three-dimensional representation of the two hemispheres designed to provide 24-hour and day/night indications.
- A new Grand Complication movement, Calibre 1991, which took four years to develop
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Geneva, April 7th 2021 – A highly technical single-piece edition, the Armillary tourbillon perpetual calendar – Planetaria watch stages sophisticated complications in a manner bearing a unique aesthetic signature. Equipped with a new Calibre 1991 in-house movement, this timepiece celebrates the astronomical function par excellence: the perpetual calendar with precision moon phases.
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With its retrograde date appearing along a right-hand arc on the dial, as well as its circular retrograde month and day indications framing depictions of the Earth’s two hemispheres providing day/night indications, this timepiece is also regulated by a double-axis tourbillon. This new model, presented at Watches & Wonders 2021, is part of the theme of the Maison for 2021 : entitled Classic with a Twist, it highlights Vacheron Constantin’s creative energy, guided by an identity that celebrates a heritage and dares to deliver the unexpected.
Calibre 1991, a new Grand Complication movement
Extraordinarily complex with its 745 components, mechanical manual-winding Calibre 1991 is the result of a four-year development process. It powers two rotating globes representing the Earth's hemispheres, regulated by a double-axis armillary tourbillon. It corresponds to an innovative interpretation of the perpetual calendar, the astronomical complication par excellence which "reads off" the specificities of the calendar without requiring any adjustments before 2100.
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The perpetual calendar functions continue with the leap year appearing through a 5 o’clock aperture, along with circular day and month indications at 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock based on a jumping retrograde pallet-type display system. In the centre of the two counters, the two globes representing the Northern and Southern hemispheres perform complete rotations in opposite directions on a graduated 24-hour scale around the rim. The shaded areas of the domed sapphire crystal used for the day/night indication have been positioned in such a way that the armillary tourbillon resembles a sun darting its rays across the surface of the Earth.
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Nods to historical master-watchmakers
The complex mechanics of Calibre 1991 are perfectly epitomised in its armillary tourbillon, a technical challenge as well as a spectacular sight in itself. This movement regulating device endowed with a 60-hour power reserve benefited from the research conducted on the world’s most complicated timepiece, Reference 57260.
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Haute Horlogerie finishes
Every single detail of the finishes gracing this single-piece edition highlights this ingenious astronomical orchestration of time. Two galvanically treated titanium globes weighing barely 0.12 grams rotate gently on the finely grained dial. The 24-hour counters surrounding them are circular satin-finished with transfers, while the day, month and date indications are printed beneath the sapphire crystal.
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“Le Temps Céleste”
Each year, the Les Cabinotiers department unveils a range of single-piece editions relating to a theme cherished by Vacheron Constantin. The year 2021 is dedicated to "Le Temps Céleste" (which means Celestial Time), with timepieces referring to the astronomical origins of time measurement.
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Vacheron Constantin and astronomical watches
Astronomical watches enjoy a rich and longstanding tradition within the Maison. The Vacheron Constantin archives reveal a first perpetual calendar in 1884, integrated into a double-sided yellow gold pocket watch, now part of the Maison’s private collection. This was the beginning of a mechanical "epic" that would singularly take shape at the turn of the century.
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In 1900,
the Maison set up a workshop exclusively dedicated to the assembly of
watches with complications, often incorporating astronomical functions.
Orders flooded in for complicated and even very complicated watches. The
perpetual calendar was then combined with other technical feats such as
those enriching a 1905 pocket watch comprising a minute repeater, split-seconds chronograph and perpetual calendar with phases and age of the moon.
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Delivered in 1929, the pocket watch made for King Fouad I of Egypt with chronograph, perpetual calendar, Grande and Petite Sonnerie and minute repeater functions is characteristic of this golden age. This exceptional watchmaking expertise, later applied to wristwatches, would be powerfully expressed in the Tour de l'Île with its 16 horological and astronomical complications, produced in 2005 to mark the 250th anniversary of the Maison.
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It features a a sky chart, a complication that has become a speciality of Vacheron Constantin. 👆Reference 57260 ▶️ Link to photo album ► BIG FOTO, which has 57 complications, also features a sky chart, notably accompanied by sidereal time and a secular Hebrew calendar. In 2017, Vacheron Constantin once again innovated with Calibre 3600, powering displays of civil, solar and sidereal time, the latter synchronised with a mobile representation of constellations.
Les Cabinotiers: single-piece editions
In the Vacheron Constantin universe, Les Cabinotiers represents a department in its own right dedicated to the personalisation of Grand Complication models and single-piece editions. This tradition dates back to the 18th century, an age when master-watchmakers were called cabinotiers and worked in ateliers bathed in natural light, known as cabinets and located on the top floors of Geneva's buildings.
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Classic with a Twist
Vacheron Constantin’s creativity has always remained closely attuned to its time while evoking its memories. This byword for elegance, adopted by each watchmaker, artisan and designer throughout the years and centuries, celebrates heritage and dares to explore the unexpected. Poised at the intersection between technical virtuosity and aesthetic refinement, the enduring allure of Vacheron Constantin timepieces makes its way unscathed through passing eras.
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Sum-up
The Les Cabinotiers Tourbillon armillary perpetual calendar - Planetaria watch demonstrates technical mastery of watches featuring extreme astronomic and aesthetic complexity, with the integration on the dial of rotating globes. Equipped with the new manual-winding Calibre 1991 stemming from four years of development, this single-piece edition features a completely original perpetual calendar with a retrograde display of dates, days and months.
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
Click, to see the large size. ▶ BIG FOTO
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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Model: Les Cabinotiers Armillary tourbillon perpetual calendar – Planetaria
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Reference 9820C/000R-B707
Calibre 1991
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical manual winding
35 mm diameter, 11.20 mm thick
Power reserve: approximately 60h
2.5 Hz (18,000 vibrations/hour)
745 components
94 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece
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Indications
Hours and minutes
- Double-axis armillary tourbillon
- Perpetual calendar
- Retrograde date, day and month
- Moon phases in Northern and Southern hemispheres
- Northern and Southern day/night and 24h indication
18K 5N pink gold
46 mm diameter, 20.20 mm thick
Dials (front & back)
18K gold, opaline silvered dial
18k 5N pink gold hands
Strap
Dark brown Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales
Clasp
18K 5N pink gold folding clasp
Presentation box
Les Cabinotiers model
Unique piece
“Les Cabinotiers”, “Pièce unique”, “AC” hallmark engraved on caseback
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Press Release - 2021
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Vacheron Constantin
Press Department
10, Chemin du Tourbillon
P.O. Box 95
CH-1228
Plan-les-Ouates/Geneva
Tel. +41 22 930 20 05
Fax +41 22 930 20 06
press@vacheron-constantin.com
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