2025 marks the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin and so for Watches and Wonders they’re paying tribute to a significant watch in the brand’s heritage: Vacheron Constantin’s first ever openworked watch. The watch in question was a pocket watch from 1918 featuring a partially skeletonised astronomical calendar complication. As such, the first of the tribute wristwatches is the Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface and there’s also a Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface and Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface. In addition to this openface trio there’s a new Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar.
Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface
The Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface has a 41mm diameter case in platinum, which means it should be part of the Excellence Platin series, though Vacheron Constantin haven’t used that term in the press materials for this collection. Excellence Platin is the name applied to the brand’s platinum limited editions that all follow a similar aesthetic with white dials and immaculately finished movements.
Focussing in on the dial, it is white with guilloché pattern that is disrupted by the large openworked portion of the display. It shows the inner workings of the complete calendar complications, which include day, date, month and moonphase. A complete calendar is one that displays all the information for a calendar year but that doesn’t account for the number of days in a month. We’ll discuss the difference between a complete calendar and a perpetual calendar shortly when we talk about the new Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface.
The movement that’s on display is the 2460 QCL/270, an automatic piece with a 40-hour power reserve. In terms of availability, it’s limited to 370 pieces, which is a lot more than the majority of Excellence Platin models so perhaps that’s why the moniker hasn’t been used here. Though with that platinum case, it’s still price on request like the Platin models.
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Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface
The second model in the Traditionnelle Openface collection is a Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date. Structurally it’s virtually identical to the Complete Calendar reference with a 41mm diameter case in platinum. It’s actually a hair thinner with a thickness of 10.94mm as opposed to 11.07mm – I’m sure any of us would be able to spot a 0.13mm difference Princess and the Pea style.
As for the display, there is more of the white textured dial on display here thanks to the retrograde date display occupying the upper half. It technically displays all the same information as the Complete Calendar just in a slightly different format with days, date, months and moonphase. The major difference though is that it’s a perpetual calendar, meaning that it’s capable of accounting for the different number of days in each month including February, whereas a complete calendar can’t. Reducing the number of times it has to be adjusted.
Powering it is the calibre 2162 R31/270, which is actually a brand-new movement with a 72-hour power reserve. It’s almost counter intuitive that the more complex movement has a longer power reserve but in order to achieve that it has a much lower frequency of 2.5Hz as opposed to 4Hz of the Complete Calendar. The Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface is also limited to 370 pieces.
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Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface
The final of the Traditionnelle Openface trio is the Tourbillon Retrograde model. Again, it’s 41mm in platinum and we’re back to the (dramatically, shockingly, unfathomably – please note the sarcasm) thicker design with an 11.07mm thickness. Like the other two watches, it follows the classic design of the collection with a smooth bezel and stepped lugs.
Where it feels dramatically different is the dial and display as it doesn’t have the calendar subdials of its sister models. It means there’s actually a much more pared back view of the movement through the openworked portion in the centre of the display, allowing you to see more of the brushed finishing. Though it’s no less spectacular as at 6 o’clock is the titular tourbillon with its rotating cage shaped like a Maltese cross.
The movement this time is the calibre 2162 R31/270 with 72-hour power reserve and 2.5Hz frequency. It’s equipped with hours, minutes, retrograde date and that tourbillon. Like the other models it’s also a limited edition of 370 pieces in celebration of the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin.
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Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar
That brings us to the fourth of the new Traditionnelle models, the Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar. While this isn’t an openface model, it’s still a platinum limited edition in the style of the Excellence Platin. It has a slightly larger case measuring 42mm x 11.1mm though the style is identical with a clean, round shape and polished finish across the case and lugs.
As for the dial, we can at last see a complete example of the white, guilloché design with Maltese cross motif that’s openworked on the other models here. It’s a really interesting pattern that reminds me of two things. One is Japanese zen gardens with their raked sand rock displays and the other is the Carl Suchy & Söhne Waltz which has a similarly raked appearance.
Powering the tourbillon and perpetual calendar complications is the calibre 2162 QP/270. Similar to both the perpetual calendar and tourbillon movements above, this calibre has a 72-hour power reserve and 2.5Hz frequency. It’s also finished immaculately as you’d expect from Vacheron Constantin with the Poinçon de Genève mark of approval.
In terms of availability it’s actually the most exclusive of the four watches, with only 127 pieces being produced.
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More details at Vacheron Constantin.
