Vacheron Constantin is marking its 270th anniversary with a new travelling exhibition, The Quest: 270 Years of Seeking Excellence, which opened at Harrods on 16 October 2025 and runs until November 13th. Following earlier editions in Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, and China, the London stop offers an immersive look at the Swiss manufacture’s history, craftsmanship, and technical development.
Hosted within the Fine Watch Room, the exhibition traces the brand’s journey from its founding in Geneva in 1755 to the present day. Divided into thematic sections, The Quest explores Vacheron Constantin’s defining values through displays dedicated to artistic crafts, fine finishing, high watchmaking, and complications. Archival pieces and interactive installations illustrate the evolution of the brand’s techniques over nearly three centuries.
Highlights include historical pocket watches and notable creations such as an 1817 quarter repeater and the 1979 Kallista, a unique timepiece carved from a one-kilo gold ingot and set with 118 diamonds. The exhibition also showcases the brand’s latest Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Quest of Time wristwatch, a limited series unveiled earlier this year. The watch features a robot humanoid that’s limbs move to indicate the retrograde hours and minutes, alongside a moonphase display, dual power reserves, and a star map depicting the night sky above Geneva 270 years ago. It’s an extraordinary piece and reason enough to visit the exhibition in its own right.
As you would expect from one third of the holy trinity of watchmaking, craftsmanship remains a central focus. Visitors can observe the traditional techniques still practised at Vacheron Constantin’s Geneva workshops, including enamelling, engraving, gem-setting, and guilloché.
The exhibition concludes with an area titled The Quest, which links timekeeping to astronomy. Set beneath a projection of the night sky, visitors are invited to create a personalised star chart based on a date and location of their choosing.
The Quest: 270 Years of Seeking Excellence runs at Harrods, 87–135 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge, from 16 October to 13 November 2025. Opening hours are Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 21:00, and Sunday, 11:30 to 18:00 (browsing only from 11:30 to 12:00).
More details at Vacheron Constantin.
