VACHERON CONSTANTIN presents new 6 concept watches
Vacheron Constantin presents Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom, a series of six concept watches created within the Maison’s “One of Not Many Crafts Programme,” dedicated to fostering the future of horological craftsmanship.
The project invites six artisans whose practice lives outside the traditional métiers d’art associated with horology and challenges them to transpose their craft onto the scale of a watch dial. Each creation proposes a distinct artistic interpretation of wildlife, expressed through a different craft and brought to life on the dial — made possible by the Calibre 2460 G4 and its peripheral indications of time and date that turn the surface of the dial into a canvas for creative expression.
“By inviting practices rarely associated with horology onto the watch dial, the “One of not Many Crafts Programme” expands the creative vocabulary of Métiers d'Art within watchmaking. This approach has encouraged thinking beyond established categories —a form of creative incubation that opens new possibilities for artistic expression within the constraints of watchmaking”, explains Christian Selmoni, Maison Legacy and Style Director.
The result is a series of timepieces in which traditional crafts, reinterpreted at miniature scale, are transposed onto the dial, expanding the creative vocabulary of Métiers d’Art within horology while offering an avant-garde reinterpretation of the animal world — the inspiring muse chosen for the project and the unifying thread connecting all six timepieces.
Featherwork - Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom – Feather snake
Featherwork was chosen to bring to life an imaginary serpent coiling across the dial within a fantastical landscape. Rising only three millimeters above the surface, the snake achieves its remarkable sense of volume and plasticity
Glass Sculpting - Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom – Glass octopus
From the nocturnal circular landscape of the dial, a miniature transparent octopus appears to drift as if suspended in an imaginary underwater world. The background is composed of a hand-guilloché gold base coated with a dark blue color that invites the spectator into the depths of the ocean.
The creature, intricately sculpted entirely from transparent glass, rises only 3.5 millimetres above the dial, making it a truly remarkable miniature glass sculptures ever created.
Micro Origami - Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom – Oraygami
Suspended within the dial, as if gliding through the depths of the ocean, a group of miniature mantarays swirls across the deep-blue nocturnal background of the hand-guilloché dial. Each manta ray, varying in length from just 5 millimeters to a maximum of 10 millimeters, is folded from hand-colored Japanese paper specially dyed for the project and mounted on fine brass stems, giving the illusion of creatures floating weightlessly through water.
Gold Embroidery - Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom – Tiger broidery
A tiger in shimmering hues of honey and tangerine defiantly prowls across an imaginary jungle dense with lush vegetation encapsulated within the dial. The scene is the result of a technique rare in watchmaking: gold embroidery.
The feline beast is rendered using 9-karat yellow and white gold embroidery wires, creating the warm orange tones and white details characteristic of a tiger’s coat, while the stripes were achieved using specially developed ceramic-coated black wires laid over a copper base. The combination of these materials gives the tiger a sculptural quality and a dramatic chiaroscuro effect.
Paper Sculpting - Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom – Paper croc
From the circular frame of a watch dial, an all-white crocodile prowls through seemingly snow-covered vegetation. It appears sculpted from ice; in reality, it is fashioned entirely from white cotton paper.
Wood Marquetry - Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom – Wooden Wings
A fierce falcon dominates the dial in an experimental exercise in three-dimensional wood marquetry. Crafted from fifteen different wood species — each with distinct grains, textures, and colors, including smoked eucalyptus and dark blue-dyed birch — the bird is sculpted and hand-carved to reveal, with realism, the details of its plumage and layered textures, creating a vibrant sense of movement.
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